I'd like to know of just one instance of what exactly caused a "compatibility issue". Does the firmware get trapped in infinite loops with certain hardware? Is the SSD physically wired incorrectly and it has to corrected by clever firmware tricks? Do certain motherboards have firmware or wiring problems? I'd like to just understand how a motherboard that supports standard A isn't compatible with an SSD that also supports standard A. It seems to me that one or the other isn't supporting standard A like it should be, but i'd love to hear some details on that.
It's a bunch of BS IMO. If there's incompatibility between two devices, which one is causing it? Simple question for which we might ever get he answer unless someone other than Crucial tells us. Every time I consider a SSD purchase I'm reminded of how early in the stage the products are and how unstable both the hardware and software are.
Anand, your feedback of new products to manufacturers always help to improve quality & reliability. Thank you for always concern on behalf of users to protect & improve consumers benefits! Wish you have a safe & pleasant trip to Spain this weekend, take care :)
I wish a manufacturer would just be up-front about it once !
I own two of these C300's and it scares me to think I may lose work that is on them at any moment.
I think they are totally confused up there in Idaho, Maybe they are in a rarified air situation? They shipped my C300 to me by the longest route I can imagine; I'm only about 400+ miles away in Oregon and they gave the darn thing to a shipper that sent it to the other side of the Mississippi River and then got it shipped to me from there in , I think it was Kentucky.
No need for a replies, just making my dis-satisfaction known.
It has been my experience that Micron SSDs are very sensitive to dips in the power rail. For instance, I had a C200 based 1.8" drive. The 1.8" drives run off 3.3V. I experienced some failures. The failure report came back stating that the drive entered a brownout state when the power rail dipped to 3.14V. I know other 1.8" drives state that they can operate down to 2.7V....3.14V doesn't seem that much of a stretch on a 3.3V line.
I just wonder if this issue could be related to some of the C300 bricking and failures.
I know the firmware is supposed to help allow TRIM and help reduce performance degradation over time when directly connected.
However, it has been posted nearly all over that TRIM commands and drive wear leveling are not performed on two drives connected in RAID 0.
If this is true (which I can't seem to find a definitive answer on), then would we even need to bother with the Firmware002, since hypothetically, it will not help TRIM the drives?
Also, if this true... will our RAID 0 configured drives continually experience performance degradation over time leaving us with the only option to regain factory performance being to completely erase the drive, low-level format and re-install?
Thank you in advance for any guidance! Before I bother with any further Firmware issues, I want to know if there is anything useful for connecting 2 or more C300 SSDs in order to help preserve performance.
The entire stack has to support TRIM for it to be functional. I.E. The OS, storage driver, as well as the actual SSD. Trim is supported on Windows 7, and by several storage drivers (i.e. the default MS driver, some of Intel's chipset drivers, etc). However, most RAID controller drivers, IIRC including Intel's chipset RAID, still do not have TRIM support and will not pass along the requests to the SSD.
It won't even be recognized in the disc manager although the Device manager is calling it a C300. Can't even use the bootable ISO from Crucial to re-run the firmware to get it back in operation; Doesn't look good right now as there are threads at the Crucial support forum that are complaining about 2 months and no RMA Return from the manufacturer in Meridian Idaho by one of the posters.
Must be lucky. I have four of the 256GB C300s with no problems at all. Using the four C300s in a pair of Addonics Dual Drive RAID enclosures. Limited by the eSATA performance through Expresscard34 on MacBook Pro, but otherwise no issues at all. Primarily using them with Final Cut Pro.
Can you confirm whether the new firmware fixes the performance degradation and TRIM commands. These drives are looking mighty tempting if they can get those issues sorted out.
Guess it takes more time for the firmware to show up , i'm getting one C300 256GB in 2-3days (on shipping at the moment) , hopefully they will release the firmware this month so i can update my drive before using it
I posted on his previous C300 article. Note- I would not purchase one of these without the updated firmware. The one I bought last week died after only 1 day- Loading everything up...spend some time testing...was pretty happy- Came in this morning and the thing is toast.
Tried to update Firmware, etc. with no luck. They are replacing with an updated drive.
I'm shocked they are still selling these (direct no less) with such problems-
I followed the firmware update from crucial. I haven't had any problem with drive but decided to use firmware update release 002. No problem with latest firmware for me. I set bios to IDE = ATA place SSD on port 1 of sata II and disconnected remaining drives until flash completed. The performance has remain a positive experience for me.
First screenshot shows the drive after heavy Iometer load, last screenshot show the drive after a "quick format". Note that neither sequential writes nor an extended idle period seem to trigger the garbage collection (second & third screenshot), so the GC seems much weaker than on Intel drives.
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23 Comments
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Duwelon - Friday, May 7, 2010 - link
I'd like to know of just one instance of what exactly caused a "compatibility issue". Does the firmware get trapped in infinite loops with certain hardware? Is the SSD physically wired incorrectly and it has to corrected by clever firmware tricks? Do certain motherboards have firmware or wiring problems? I'd like to just understand how a motherboard that supports standard A isn't compatible with an SSD that also supports standard A. It seems to me that one or the other isn't supporting standard A like it should be, but i'd love to hear some details on that.The0ne - Friday, May 7, 2010 - link
It's a bunch of BS IMO. If there's incompatibility between two devices, which one is causing it? Simple question for which we might ever get he answer unless someone other than Crucial tells us. Every time I consider a SSD purchase I'm reminded of how early in the stage the products are and how unstable both the hardware and software are.FlameDeer - Friday, May 7, 2010 - link
Anand, your feedback of new products to manufacturers always help to improve quality & reliability. Thank you for always concern on behalf of users to protect & improve consumers benefits! Wish you have a safe & pleasant trip to Spain this weekend, take care :)Ol'Bud - Friday, May 7, 2010 - link
I wish a manufacturer would just be up-front about it once !I own two of these C300's and it scares me to think I may lose work that is on them at any moment.
I think they are totally confused up there in Idaho,
Maybe they are in a rarified air situation?
They shipped my C300 to me by the longest route I can imagine;
I'm only about 400+ miles away in Oregon and they gave the darn thing to a shipper that sent it to the other side of the Mississippi River and then got it shipped to me from there in , I think it was Kentucky.
No need for a replies, just making my dis-satisfaction known.
Mr.Clarke
RU482 - Friday, May 7, 2010 - link
It has been my experience that Micron SSDs are very sensitive to dips in the power rail. For instance, I had a C200 based 1.8" drive. The 1.8" drives run off 3.3V. I experienced some failures. The failure report came back stating that the drive entered a brownout state when the power rail dipped to 3.14V. I know other 1.8" drives state that they can operate down to 2.7V....3.14V doesn't seem that much of a stretch on a 3.3V line.I just wonder if this issue could be related to some of the C300 bricking and failures.
Zan Lynx - Friday, May 7, 2010 - link
Spinning drives will also fail if the power drops very far. The heads can hit the platter and wipe out data you weren't even writing.It sounds like these SSDs are trying to reproduce that experience.
IanJamesTi - Friday, May 7, 2010 - link
Board Asus Rampage IIISSD: 2x C300 256GB
I know the firmware is supposed to help allow TRIM and help reduce performance degradation over time when directly connected.
However, it has been posted nearly all over that TRIM commands and drive wear leveling are not performed on two drives connected in RAID 0.
If this is true (which I can't seem to find a definitive answer on), then would we even need to bother with the Firmware002, since hypothetically, it will not help TRIM the drives?
Also, if this true... will our RAID 0 configured drives continually experience performance degradation over time leaving us with the only option to regain factory performance being to completely erase the drive, low-level format and re-install?
Thank you in advance for any guidance! Before I bother with any further Firmware issues, I want to know if there is anything useful for connecting 2 or more C300 SSDs in order to help preserve performance.
aka1nas - Friday, May 7, 2010 - link
The entire stack has to support TRIM for it to be functional. I.E. The OS, storage driver, as well as the actual SSD. Trim is supported on Windows 7, and by several storage drivers (i.e. the default MS driver, some of Intel's chipset drivers, etc). However, most RAID controller drivers, IIRC including Intel's chipset RAID, still do not have TRIM support and will not pass along the requests to the SSD.yacoub - Friday, May 7, 2010 - link
listing which motherboards would be helpful.Ol'Bud - Sunday, May 9, 2010 - link
It won't even be recognized in the disc manager although the Device manager is calling it a C300.Can't even use the bootable ISO from Crucial to re-run the firmware to get it back in operation;
Doesn't look good right now as there are threads at the Crucial support forum that are complaining about 2 months and no RMA Return from the manufacturer in Meridian Idaho by one of the posters.
Darn.. I'm so lucky !
MrClarke
mdevlin - Sunday, May 9, 2010 - link
Must be lucky. I have four of the 256GB C300s with no problems at all. Using the four C300s in a pair of Addonics Dual Drive RAID enclosures. Limited by the eSATA performance through Expresscard34 on MacBook Pro, but otherwise no issues at all. Primarily using them with Final Cut Pro.Xtrykr - Monday, May 10, 2010 - link
Hi Anand, did Crucial send you any beta firmware updates to test? Or do you think we're going to be hooped for a while?P.S. what is the real issue with C300 that is causing the degradation over time? Thanks!
Kevin the Tech - Monday, May 10, 2010 - link
Can you confirm whether the new firmware fixes the performance degradation and TRIM commands. These drives are looking mighty tempting if they can get those issues sorted out.pengivy - Tuesday, May 11, 2010 - link
Where is the firmware?? The link of C300 is gone??I can't find it now...
d3vnul - Tuesday, May 18, 2010 - link
Guess it takes more time for the firmware to show up , i'm getting one C300 256GB in 2-3days (on shipping at the moment) , hopefully they will release the firmware this month so i can update my drive before using itspudit88 - Thursday, May 20, 2010 - link
I posted on his previous C300 article. Note- I would not purchase one of these without the updated firmware. The one I bought last week died after only 1 day- Loading everything up...spend some time testing...was pretty happy- Came in this morning and the thing is toast.Tried to update Firmware, etc. with no luck. They are replacing with an updated drive.
I'm shocked they are still selling these (direct no less) with such problems-
smithwd - Thursday, May 20, 2010 - link
For what its worth - the new firmware is back out with a new and improved updater.Here's a link: http://www.crucial.com/support/firmware.aspx
I will try it tomorrow and let you know how it works.
smithwd - Friday, May 21, 2010 - link
I followed the directions and the update worked for me with no problems.NurFACE1 - Friday, May 21, 2010 - link
I followed the firmware update from crucial. I haven't had any problem with drive but decided to use firmware update release 002. No problem with latest firmware for me. I set bios to IDE = ATA place SSD on port 1 of sata II and disconnected remaining drives until flash completed. The performance has remain a positive experience for me.turbodreams - Sunday, May 23, 2010 - link
The new Firmware does indeed solve the TRIM issue, as it can be seen here:http://www.hardwareluxx.de/index.php/artikel/hardw...
First screenshot shows the drive after heavy Iometer load, last screenshot show the drive after a "quick format".
Note that neither sequential writes nor an extended idle period seem to trigger the garbage collection (second & third screenshot), so the GC seems much weaker than on Intel drives.
reighnman - Monday, May 24, 2010 - link
0002 is back up with a new update tool, hopefully we'll see some more testing :)Golgatha - Wednesday, May 26, 2010 - link
Check my post. I have a link to the firmware download page as well.http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=20770...
Drive is as fast as ever across the entire drive.
Ol'Bud - Saturday, June 19, 2010 - link
My C300 was RMA to newegg and they were very supportive and paid it back.Then it went on sale after the issues with firmware had been resolved and it was more than a hundred dollars cheaper,
So I re-ordered.
Everything is running just fine now.