Slow SATA III 600 (6gb) File Transfer Speeds

Important Drivers General: Storage Drivers (AHCI/RAID, NVMe and USB)
21

The LSI adapter is the LSI00301 SAS 9207 adapter, it is a SAS AND SATA III adapter ( Amazon.com: LSI Logic Controller Card LSI00301 SAS 9207-8i 8Port Internal SAS/SATA 6Gb/s PCI Express Single Retail : Electronics )- I need it for the additional HHDs, not sure what is so incomprehensible about that.

I asked a couple of specific questions with respect to what drivers are BEST suited for the system, given the stated hardware, and I provided specific answers to ALL of your questions. CLEARLY I am not going to change out the SATA III HDDs AND the LSI Controller for SAS items, I don’t even understand why that would be brought up.

You asked “what about the “Storage Controllers” section?” - and I responded with what is there.

The system is clearly configured as ACHI, but it is NOT clear what the BEST drivers (and MEI) are to use. It LOOKS like I should potentially use the Intel RSTe drivers v6.3.0.1022 drivers, but i am not positive - since the v6 are titled Intel VROC NVMe RAID driver v6.3.0.1022 WHQL, while the v5 are titled Intel RSTe AHCI & RAID drivers v5.5.4.1036 WHQL.

I read through the ME Analyzer thread & the GitHub site, and I still don’t have a clue as to how to use it - all I know is that CURRENTLY, the MEI is v11.7.0.1045.

— DS

22

I apologize for the “intrusion”, but i’ve been following this thread and the reports posted by the thread owner, … a bit confused/repeated, but thats only my opinion, so besides the more experienced on this subject, our GURU Fernando, i would like to share my contribution.

First of all, the tool ME Analyzer is not related to any operations on the Intel ME OS driver.
This tool is for analysing/identify the Intel ME Firmware image on the current SPI/Bios of a system. You should read it again… and later on you can even update your system.
Current Asus bios file comes with the 9.1.37.1002.

Now back to the main issue, lets ignore here the LSI as it uses its own drivers and not related to the mainboard/chipset controllers (But it uses her BUS…), you can even disable/unplug the card for later on individual tests/benchmarks for a more dedicated/clean analysis of the standalone mainboard controllers performance.

Motherboard chipset reported VEN_8086&DEV_8D02:
Intel (R) 9 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI
aka
Intel(R) C600+/C220+ series chipset SATA AHCI
aka
C610/X99 series chipset 6-Port SATA Controller AHCI

As the system has only an SSD and AHCI sata disks, no raid disks/arrays reported and configured in bios as standard AHCI, then we can exclude the use of the Intel RSTe driver set, as we see here offered by Fernando
image

But before this final set of drivers (AHCI mode), there’s a situation that it needs attention

Upon a fresh system install, these controllers appears as standard MS names “Standard SATA AHCI Controller” as you noticed already, but as we do want a performance and updated system, the 1rst thing to do is always the installation of the Intel(R) Chipset Device Software
After performing this operation and rebooting the system, the name of the controllers will change their name according the Intel INF controllers ID related drivers.

All this of course is just the same HW ID controller DEV_8D02, this is the IDs that usually we need from users to help them.

As you may noticed in the Asus product support, it was offered the v13 and being the latest package the v14.

Well that’s exactly what we see in Asus latest bios file and if the current system bios is untouched an is set as AHCI mode, its what you have now…
image

So i do suggest to take your decisions in driver select/testing, following the linked drivers from Fernando regarding v13/v14 (Intel 8-9/X79/X99), reading his described driver notes and performing tests/benchmarks, without/with the LSI controller card and take your conclusions.
Its also there but ill remind it again… the Intel controller OROM has no influence in a system as AHCI, only as RAID and thats not the case here, so its excluded.

Again sorry for the intrusion to both and good luck.

23

Hello @MeatWar !

Thank you for the nice, very clear explanation on things :slight_smile: I have downloaded the Series 6+ chipset file Latest Intel Chipset Device INF files v10.1 Series WHQL comp 08-18-2023 and will install that, and then the non-RSTe drivers - and of course, the current ASMedia SATA & USB drivers.

What about the MEI - should I update that as well?

Thanks much!

— DS

24

As you may often see some publications regarding vulnerabilities and exploits on Intel/AMD processors and the release of updated mCodes to patch this, we can also read reports of users that gain/lost system performance applying these new mcodes manually or by latest OEM bios update files.

The same is to the Intel ME FW Engine or to the AMD version AGESA, but here we see less references to system performance gain/losts, still the ME FW is a micro OS inside the system and can impact in several parts of it.

So yes, you can update it as its only a user choice to do so and most part of users do it preferring security to any impact on performance.

Latest version for your system is the ME 9.1 1.5MB v9.1.40.1000, on the previous linked thread, good luck.

25

Just wondering, with the Intel Chipset file, as they are only the individual INF files, and you would have to manually select which one you wanted to install - the TXT file indicates:
Intel(R) C610 series/X99 chipset family (Wellsburg)

But that is NOT correct, nor is it what CoreTemp v1.18 reports (or any other hardware reporting program) indicates.

My CPU is an Intel i7 6850K (Broadwell-E) - though Device Mgr reports it as a Xenon E7 v4

So I’m a bit confused (and hesitant to use those files).

— DS

26

Broadwell was presented later in 2016 for X99 support.
Nothing like a good reading…
Products formerly Wellsburg (intel.com)
Intel X99 - Wikipedia

But if you need to take all your doubts, grab the old chipset drivers from Asus and look inside…

Also, the relevant part on a driver (.inf) is the HW Device ID, the names by Intel/Microsoft and Asus may vary a bit but one thing is for sure… any system will look for the correct HW id on the driver.
Not often but not rare, is also the related SubSys/REV present in the main device HW ID, this can also gave impact on the final name displayed on a system.

We are talking of a 2014 hw generation… no w10/11 back then and users now always want the most recent drivers, so a lot has changed since then dont you think…

27

Ok, so I tried to install JUST the drivers manually - and the system kept saying that the best drivers were already installed. So, I ran the package for Intel RSTe Drivers & Software Set v14.8.18.1066 WHQL and that changed ONE of the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers -

Now it is: Intel(R) 9 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller v14.8.18.1066
Hardware ID Info:
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8D02&SUBSYS_86001043&REV_05
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8D02&SUBSYS_86001043
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8D02&CC_010601
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8D02&CC_0106

However, I cannot get the other Controller to update - it is still just Standard SATA AHCI Controller v10.0.19041.1889 Hardware ID Info:
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8D62&SUBSYS_86001043&REV_05
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8D62&SUBSYS_86001043
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8D62&CC_010601
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8D62&CC_0106

If I go to manually select either INF file (iaAHCIC.inf or iaStorAC.inf) I get the warning that it is not recommended and may not be compatible.

Running the ASMedia 1x6xSATA3 v3.3.5.0000_WHQL package does not appear to do/change anything (though it ran without error). I am confused as to why I do not see ANY reference to the ASMedia SATA in Device Manager.

The same goes for the chipset - and of course, the current Intel INF utility v10.1.19444.8378 does not work (platform not supported).

UPDATE: Ok, so I manually selected the WELLSBURG INF for one of the chipset devices and it updated from v10.1.1.38 to 10.1.3.1 - however, it only updated that one component. Do I have to manually update EVERY component one by one?

UPDATE 2: Ok, I guess there are only six (6) chipset items:
3xPCI Express Root Ports
1xLPC Controller
1xSMBus Controller
1xSPSR

Still left with the issues of no ASMedia SATA bridge and the 2nd SATA bridge just being Standard SATA AHCI Controller. I tried switching on the Intel RST option in the BIOS, but that wanted to switch the system from AHCI to RAID, and I’m not running RAID. However, I do have the RST program icon (with green check mark) running in the system tray - I also disconnected all of my other SATA drives when I did the install).

UPDATE 3: Ok, after more research, it seems this bridge wanted the Intel RSTe AHCI & RAID v5.5.4.1036 WHQL x64 Driver - selecting the iaAHCIB.inf which had the matching Hardware ID. Installing that actually moved that to the STORAGE CONTROLLERS section and re-named it Intel(R) C600+/C220+ series chipset sSATA AHCI Controller v5.5.4.1036.

Not sure why it is that way, but going to give it a try.

— DS

28

The Windows Device Management doesn’t know, which is the best driver for the related device. It only checks, whether the HardwareIDs of the device is supported by the related diver. Additionally it may compare the date of the driver and the trustworthiness of its digital signature.
Since you have an Intel X99 chipset mainboard, whose SATA and sSATA Controllers are both running in AHCI mode, I recommend to install an Intel RSTe (“Enterprise Edition”) AHCI driver, which supports them both.
The latest RSTe drivers, which are fully compatible with the Intel SATA AHCI Controller DEV_8D02 and the related sSATA AHCI Controller DEV_8D62, are the v6.3.0.1022 ones dated 01/13/2020. The DEV_8D02 Controller needs the iaAHCI.inf for the manual installation, whereas the DEV_8D62 Controller needs the iaAHCIB.inf file.
Don’t forget to uninstall the Intel RST Software v14.8.18.1066 from within the Control Panel before trying to install the RSTe drivers.

As long as none of the ASMedia SATA ports are in use, you don’t have to search for a SATA driver, which supports the on-board ASMedia SATA Controller.

29

Ok, the issue of not seeing the ASMedia COULD be because I have all of the other drives currently disconnected. I just did a SysRestore to before I started the drivers, so will install v6 - I was not certain because of the VROC designation, and not running RAID. Will check for system stability after v6 install and update!

Thanks!!!

— DS

30

Well, System Restore didn’t go 100%. I went and installed Driver Booster 10.6 and it installed the drivers as expected. They are now both under Storage Controllers as Intel(R) C600+/C220+ series chipset SATA AHCI Controller v6.2.0.1238

The chipset is now v10.1.1.45. However, because they were both moved under Storage Controllers, I no longer have an entry for IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers .

And oddly, I still see no sign of the ASMeda SATA3 - but that package is also no longer installed. Not sure whether I should or need to install it - surprised that Driver Booster didn’t do it.

Now I just have to test speeds tomorrow.

— DS

31

This may indicate a problem regarding the hardware configuration.
Which kind of “System Restore” did you do (complete reinstall of a backup or return to a previously taken Restore Point)?
Did you uninstall the Intel RST Software before trying to restore the system?

Why didn’t you install the newer Intel RSTe AHCI drivers v6.3.0.1022 as I proposed to use?

32

I did not do an uninstall, as I expected that would be part of the restore.

I can try installing the v6.3.0.1022 drivers.

— DS

33

If you haven’t uninstalled the Intel RST Software, it will be restored.
Note:

  1. The installation of the Intel RST Software is only useful for systems, whose Intel SATA Controller is running in RAID mode.
  2. The Intel RST Software version has to match the currently running Intel SATA driver version.
34

Ok, I checked the system and the RST software is NOT installed. I was able to easily update the RSTe AHCI drivers manually to v6.3.0.1022 :slight_smile: Just selecting the directory for each of the devices allowed the update without issue.

When i did the restore, it also removed the install of the ASMedia v3.3.5.0000 drivers. As I KNOW this mobo has 2 x 1061 SATA Controllers, I will install the software package and see if it properly detects them. Oddly, ALL of my drives are connected and functioning correctly (have not yet done speed tests).

— DS

UPDATE: Oddly, even after the installation of the ASMedia drivers/software, I do not see any ASMedia devices in Device Manager, aside from the USB devices.

UPDATE 2: Ok, so now, just using Win10’s default copy, speeds are hitting ~200MB/s, though occasionally dropping down to ~150, but not for long, averaging in the 170s pretty consistently. :slight_smile: SOOOOO much better than it was before. Still have to install TeraCopy, as I like the fact that it lists out all the individual files and you can add/remove/stop at any time, as well as the CRC checks. It would be nice with M$ decided to put those little features in. I’ve considered other copy/move programs, but haven’t found one as fast & versatile as TeraCopy 3.2Beta. I expect speeds will drop a bit with it, mostly because of the extra time for the CRC checks. Have not yet tested copying to/from USB yet though. However, I expect it to be reasonable.

Also finally took the time to properly tweak the settings for my RealTek LAN (Realtek PCIe GbE Family Controller) - funny, for years I thought I was using the Intel LAN Controller :smiley: After some research, it seems the RealTek is actually superior to Intel’s.

Now to decide on whether to install the ReakTek Audio or leave the Nvidia audio - I know I’ve had some issues with them “stomping” on each other before, but I believe that the RealTek audio is supposed to be better.

35

@DeathStalker

According to the Manual for the ASUS Sabertooth X99 this mainboard has an ASMedia USB 3.1 Controller, but no Asmedia SATA Controller!

36

Hmm, it seems I did err a bit earlier - the mobo is the SABERTOOTH Z77 - with an X99 CPU - I apologize for that confusion (I actually didn’t know they made a TUF SABERTOOTH X99 board)

Page 9 of the PDF manual - Safety information - ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 User Manual - Page 9 of 178 | Manualsbrain.com
ASUS Sabertooth Z77 review - Product Showcase (guru3d.com)
ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 (Intel Z77) Motherboard Review (tweaktown.com)
Asus Sabertooth Z77 review: Asus Sabertooth Z77 - CNET

— DS

37

@DeathStalker
If any HDD or SSD is connected to any on-board SATA Controller (no matter from which manufacturer), the Windows Device Manager would show the Controller within the “IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers” or “Storage Controllers” section. There is no need to install any separate driver, because modern Windows Operation Systems contain a generic AHCI driver, which supports all AHCI Controllers.

38

Oh! I did not know that. I expected that I would see the specific items that were Intel & those that were ASMedia - as I do with the USB devices. It is “interesting” that the SATA Controllers have now moved from the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers section to the Storage Controllers section.

— DS