LGA1156 vs LGA1155 - some observations after an upgrade

[DevillEars]

This upgrade took the following form:

Motherboard: Asus P7P55D-E LX (1156) -> Asus P8P67 Deluxe (1155)
Processor: Intel Core i5 760 @ 2.8GHz (1156) -> Intel Core i7 2600 @ 3.4GHz (1155)
Memory: Kingston DDR3-1333 CL9 (4x2GB) -> G.Skill DDR3-1600 CL7 (4x2GB)
System Disk: Adata S501V2 128GB (SATA 6G) -> OCZ Vertex 3 120GB (SATA 6G)

Everything else has remained as it was (GTX550Ti; 1x1TB Barracuda 7200rpm SATA 6G & 4x2TB Hitachi 7200rpm SATA 3G; Corsair HX650; Lian-Li PC60PLUS II chassis)

Lian-Li chassis and mobo not a really great match as side-mounted SATA connectors and HDD drive cage positioning don't leave much space for SATA cables...

OBSERVATIONS:

The OCZ Vertex 3 with its Sandforce controller is ~30-40% faster than the Adata S501V2 with its Marvell controller.

Boot-up time (like-for-like) has dropped from ~60 seconds to ~45 seconds

Disk transfer using TeraCopy from 7200rpm SATA 3G inbuilt drive to GoFlex Portable 5400 via USB 3.0 has jumped from ~50MB/sec to 90MB/sec

Elapsed time for a DVD rip of a 110min minute DVD movie to 1920x1050 .mkv file has dropped from 40 mins to 28 mins

WEI scores have tracked the upgrade aprt from those sub-scores linked to graphics which are unchanged.

SOME THOUGHTS:

The improvements in SSD performance are as much to do with the mobo controller change as they are to do with the drives themselves. The P8P67 Deluxe implementation of SATA 6G via the P67 PCH is a lot faster than the Marvell on-board controller on the P7P55D-E LX (which was bottlenecked by a single 250MB/sec electrical lane).

The USB 3.0 performance improvement is largely due to the P8P67 Deluxe mobo's PCIe switch (aka "bridge") which has 4 x electrical lanes to the P67 PCH and allocates this 1GB/sec "pipe" to the three devices that are connected to it (USB 3.0 controllers, Marvell SATA 6G controller & JMicron eSATA controller). The USB 3.0 controller on the P7P55D-E LX had a dedicated single 250MB/sec lane to the P55 PCH.

ONE ASPECT...

I used to have intermittent problems with the Adata S501V2 on the old rig where, sporadically, it would not be picked up during controller initialisation and would only be "seen" after a reset button depression.

After the CPU/mobo/RAM/SSD switch, the Adata S501V2 was connected as a data drive to the spare port on the P67 SATA 6G controller and was used for Outlook PST file storage.

Initially, Outlook worked fine - instantaneous application load and near instantaneous display of folder contents. After an hour though, Outlook's "send/receive" started to fail with a message "Outlook data file not found". After a few shutdown/startup cycles, I moved the PST back onto the system drive (Vertex 3) and the problem has now disappeared.

Taking these two sets of problems together, I have concluded that this particular Adata SSD has a timing problem in its Marvell controller that is related to startup from idle. I will be removing this drive and returning it for fault-testing.

OVERALL

This was definitely a worthwhile upgrade - delivering both performance gains and removing two problem areas.

PS: After the hassles of re-loading software, re-setting parameters/preferences, etc this will be the last upgrade for quite some time....

 

[Redeye]

Thanx very much for posting this article. I have been toying with the idea of upgrading from P55A to P67 or Z68. I have a Vertex 3 120GB on a MSI P55A-GD65 mobo, and I know the Marvell controller is ****e on the P55 mobo's. After reading your article my mind is made up. Thanx

 

[yourang]

does your boot up time include post or not? 45 sec sounds high

 

[DevillEars]

does your boot up time include post or not? 45 sec sounds high

45 seconds from "press-the-button" through boot, post, start of services for 2 x external 3-drive housings (each with 3 x HDD), plus printer & scanner drivers into start Windows and ready for input.

Also, boot includes driver load for GTX550Ti, Marvell SATA 6G controller, JMicron eSATA controller, 2 x NEC USB 3.0 controllers & VIA Firewire controller.

There are a total of 11 x HDD (5 internal & 6 external totalling 19TB) plus the 2 x SSD.

I've read elsewhere of 35 second boot cycles but system was typical 3 x guitars & drums... (i.e. usual 1 x SSD + 1 x HDD rig)

Anyway, 45 seconds is better than 60 seconds...

Dave

 

[Hooligan]

Old man,
You need a case and that should be your next upgrade.
Cable management is horrible there... ;-/

 

[DevillEars]

Old man,
You need a case and that should be your next upgrade.
Cable management is horrible there... ;-/

I had decided on a different case - Lian-Li PC-9 - but the day I decided was also the day PC-9 was discontinued and out of stock everywhere...

With my luck, when it rains soup I'm outside with a knife and fork

I tend to be rather conservative when it comes to case design and am not wildly enthusiastic about garishly coloured under-desk lightshows, so will have to continue to search for something that has the internal space required combined with decent ergonomics and effective airflow that does not resemble some electronic Christmas tree.

 

[yourang]

cool was wondering as my vertex 2 is 10-11sec from windows starts loading

 

[DevillEars]

Thanx very much for posting this article. I have been toying with the idea of upgrading from P55A to P67 or Z68. I have a Vertex 3 120GB on a MSI P55A-GD65 mobo, and I know the Marvell controller is ****e on the P55 mobo's. After reading your article my mind is made up. Thanx

Be careful when selecting a mobo - some of the lower-cost 1155 options use the same controller interface approach where each on-board third party controller has its own dedicated (and limited) electrical lane (250MB/sec) into the PCH (Platform Control Hub e.g. P67 or Z68). Be prepared to spend a bit more for a board with a decent PCIe controller interface that offers more bandwidth between PCH and controllers. The Asus P8P67 Deluxe and P8Z68 Deluxe boards both come with a PLX PCIe "bridge" ( basically a PCIe switch) that handles the various on-board controllers (Marvell SATA 6G which offers 2 x additional ports over PCH; 2 x NEC USB 3.0 controllers - one for 2 ports on rear panel and one for internal header for front panel ports; one JMicron eSATA controller; one VIA IEEE1394 Firewire controller) These two boards are also supplied with a front-panel bay module with 2 x USB 3.0 ports which connects to internal header and fits into an available 3.5" front panel bay (or, using separate bay adaptor, into a 5.25" bay).

Luckily, the P67/Z68 chipsets offer two SATA 6G ports and up to 4 SATA 3G ports (depending on mobo implementation) and these two SATA 6G ports are both fast and stable. (This is a key difference versus the P55 which only supports SATA 3G through their on-chipset SATA controllers, which is why you will find third party controllers on the boards).

On some implementations of P67/Z68, any third-party on-board controllers are connected to a PCIe switch which has up to four electrical lanes into the PCH for aggregate bandwidth of 1GB/sec. The switch allocates this total bandwidth to any active controllers, so if USB 3.0 is only active controller at the time, it gets all 1GB/sec across its two ports.

One other area where 1155 scores over 1156 lies in the DMI (pipe between CPU and PCH) which is 25% faster on 1155 (5GT/sec versus 4GT/sec).

Finally, comparing apples with apples, 1155 (Sandy Bridge) CPUs are more power efficient than their equivalent 1156 (Lynnfield) CPUs - this results in lower power consumption and lower heat dissipation.

So, when moving from 1156 to 1155, you need to look to the total cost - mobo + CPU - and, check your current RAM for compatibility with the selected mobo. If you're like me and don't enjoy re-installing software you've already installed, then rather save up until you can acquire all the bits you need and do the upgrade in one shot rather than 2 or more exercises.

Have fun (it's worth the effort and cost)

Dave

 

[Hooligan]

I had decided on a different case - Lian-Li PC-9 - but the day I decided was also the day PC-9 was discontinued and out of stock everywhere...

With my luck, when it rains soup I'm outside with a knife and fork

I tend to be rather conservative when it comes to case design and am not wildly enthusiastic about garishly coloured under-desk lightshows, so will have to continue to search for something that has the internal space required combined with decent ergonomics and effective airflow that does not resemble some electronic Christmas tree.

Obsidian Series® 650D Mid-Tower Case - Obsidian Series - Cases

 

[Redeye]

Thanx for the informative information Dave . You really did your homework and I will definitely follow your advice and go for a High end mobo with proper third party controller.

 

[DevillEars]

Obsidian Series® 650D Mid-Tower Case - Obsidian Series - Cases

I'll see your Obsidian and raise you one PC-9F...

Lian-Li PC-9F Mid-Tower Case

 

[Hooligan]

I'll see your Obsidian and raise you one PC-9F...

Lian-Li PC-9F Mid-Tower Case

+1

 

[wmdvanzyl]

Excellent post. Had a question about the OS though. It looks like you did that upgrade and just went on running the same OS on the drives. IS that correct? I am asking because i ahve to upgrade now and i want the path of least resistance. Choices are (1) reinstalling windows (and going through the hassle of reinstalling every program) or (2) to just upgrade and then patch windows up one hole at a time.

Any suggestions?

 

[DevillEars]

Excellent post. Had a question about the OS though. It looks like you did that upgrade and just went on running the same OS on the drives. IS that correct? I am asking because i ahve to upgrade now and i want the path of least resistance. Choices are (1) reinstalling windows (and going through the hassle of reinstalling every program) or (2) to just upgrade and then patch windows up one hole at a time.

Any suggestions?

Hi,

NOT CORRECT!! I DID NOT carry on running on the same drives with software - this usually leads to BSOD problems...

After 2 or 3 iterations of change, I've found it's definitely worthwhile to do a full install of Windows and NOT to try any kluge approach (Took much longer to resolve "patching Windows up one hole at a time" problems than a full install).
A full install just requires that you can RTFM and follow the instructions to arrive at a properly installed system, whereas patching holes demands more knowledge/skills and has a high probability of a screwed-up result.

BTW, changing system drive and/or motherboard demands a re-install of windows - drive, due to boot sector location differences and board, due to BIOS & driver differences.

And, there is a facility in Windows 7 to assist in migrating data (but not applications/other software as registry updates will be needed).
Open Control Panel, and click on "System & Security" and then "Backup & Restore"
In the lower left corner of the window you'll see a link: "Windows Easy Transfer" Click on this link and follow the prompts (you will need an external hard drive to hold the data as a temporary storage to allow Windows re-install).

This function backs up your Favourites, EMail PST files, Photographs, Documemnts, Music, Media Files, etc.

For application files, you will have to re-install after hardware changes and Windows installation is complete as each application will need to re-update the registry which would have been refreshed during Windows installation.

Where applications have been purchased with media, this is not too much of a hassle. On the other hand, where applications were downloaded and no media supplied, you will need to re-download and re-install each application.

One tip when using downloaded applications: When downloading, select "Save" option and save the "installers" to USB drive in meaningfully named folder(s). This way, next upgrade will be easier as you won't have have to download the installers.

PS: Check your Windows OS "packaging": If no media supplied or media supplied as "DSP" version, these are priced low and limited to the original hardware configuration on which they were installed. Any upgrade requires re-licensing or prior approval from Microsoft to re-install so that product key authentication does not fail.

If your Windows was purchased from a retailer separately, you should have the "retail packaging" which does permit re-installation after hardware change but still limits usage to one system at any time (to prevent pirating/cloning).

To draw an analogy, it's always best to take the well-documented route as taking so-called "shortcuts" can see you wind up in Putsonderwater with Karsonderbrandstof and Beursiesondergeld...

My R0.02 worth...

 

[lowracer]

Hi,

<snipped>

BTW, changing system drive and/or motherboard demands a re-install of windows - drive, due to boot sector location differences and board, due to BIOS & driver differences.

<snipped>

had 2 instances of changing mobo and cpu this last week on win7 where I tried just booting the new computer with the old drive

one was from an asus rampage formula lga775 mobo, E8600, Nvidia 8400GS graphics card to Sandy bridge I5-2400, Onboard graphics on cpu and Asus P8H61-M LX mobo. I recently installed win7 and office and the general utilities on it, and it was very much almost a clean installation as there were no user data. This one started to boot up, failed, restarted, the windows assistent asked if it should fix, I said Yes, and it fixed it to boot successfully. I did go in and removed one or two device drivers that failed, and loaded the new drivers. later asked to re-validate windows, as lots of hardware changes, and everything was fine

The other one was also asus mobo (p5am-se or something) E8400 cpu and nvidia 6600GT graphics to sandy I3-2100, Onboard graphics on cpu (for starters, as the spare monitor doesnt have dvi), and Asus P8H61-M LX mobo. same process, but windows wasnt able to fix, and subsequently reinstalled

 

[DevillEars]

Hi LR,

You were lucky in the first instance... After >40 years in the IT industry (before retiring earlier this year), I've learned the hard way that shortcuts are seldom, if ever, the best way to arrive at a stable and fully-functioning system
At least doing a full Windows install results in your system being in a "known state" after completion, while any gyppo leaves you not 100% sure of where you are...

Changing storage type from IDE Emulation to AHCI on Win7 is a good example - tried two different shortcuts and both left me with an unstable platform, so went back to first principles and did a complete install after updating BIOS settings for storage type and everything worked fine after completion.

Some wise old dude once said to me "if its not worth doing properly, then it's probably not worth doing at all" (but he was a weird old duck anyway)

Dave

 

[wmdvanzyl]

It is great advice - not easy, but good. So let's make a quick list here, if you don't mind sharing some of those >40yrs if experience. My current set-up (in terms of software) includes an Ubuntu natty and a Windows 7 installation, all nicely managed at start-up by grub.

Now Ubuntu (my precious) will be fine with me swapping out hardware, but if i re-install Win7 it will want to get rid of all the competition on the MBR. So my plan is then as such:

1. Back up data in windows to secondary disc.
2. Steam games???? (not sure what the process is here)
3. Swap out hardware only putting back the windows drive
4. Install windows and drivers and apps etc etc
5. Put in drive with Ubuntu on and boot it up - do software changes
6. Check if windows boots from grub

What do you guys think?

 

[DevillEars]

Overall, your plan seems fine, just not sure what you mean by "Steam games"

BTW, do you have any requirement to share data between Win7 and Ubuntu environments? If you do, a NAS may be a worthwhile investment.

Dave

 

[wmdvanzyl]

I do occasionally share data between them, yes, but mostly from ubuntu accessing data on the ntfs drives - so no worries there... if i ever start accessing the other way then... well then we get to buy new toys.