Which are the "best" Intel AHCI/RAID drivers?

Fernando · August 19, 2019, 5:14pm

@podkaracz :
You can find the answer within the start post of this thread (especially within the table at the bottom of it). That is why I have moved your request.

elisw · August 19, 2019, 8:07pm

Intel RST(e) v13.2.8.1002 or v14.8.18.1066
…as shown by Dieter (Fernando)

podkaracz · August 20, 2019, 1:15am

For msi h110m pro-d i played few games and i could notice huge difference in input lag idk everything seemed more in touch with v14.8.18.1066 driver i did not try v13.2.8.1002 do you think it might outperform v14.8.18.1066 which works like a beast btw i did not expect this much improvement over generic win 7 ahci drivers.

Testing mod+signed Intel RST(e) driver v13.2.8.1002 now which as test said should be best ones.

On my system v14.8.18.1066 performs the best thanks for advice !

podkaracz · August 21, 2019, 12:10am

This kind of testing is next level and i was doubting ill see difference but i did so my question is are there any other testing methods for example for i input lag for lets say usb 3.0 which is extremly high on win 7 for kaby lake on h110m and where do i find it here. Thanks. How to find drivers based on input lag and stuff is there a tool like this one to test hdd/ssd performance for other drivers. Thanks

jcamb · August 21, 2019, 4:59am

This appears to have solved the issue. The Dell M1530 is no longer blocking / becoming unresponsive on drive I/O–it can continue to function for perhaps a few more years. I stress tested it with diskspd as well.

Thanks so much for helping out some random person on the internet like this

podkaracz · August 22, 2019, 12:46am

v14.8.18.1066 on h110 chipset is rock solid i tested it with all programs and my dpc latency used to jump like crazy all the time and now its rock solid 80-85 no matter what is happening RECOMMENDED ! This driver is a game changer.

Outsyde · September 3, 2019, 11:33pm

I have a Sunrise Point laptop, the exact chipset is HM170. It originally shipped with 14 Series RST(e) drivers, and these are the ones I’ve been using thus far.

The results of Fernando’s benchmark, in particular Section B where the underlying hardware was a Z170 chipset, the desktop analog of the chipset in my laptop, suggest there could potentially be a significant performance gain from using 15.5 Series instead. Would you suggest I should switch to that driver?

The laptop has an Insyde BIOS and the EFI RaidDriver module under GUID 382F560D-17A9-4887-BD9C-EB439C1CC482 is version 14.0.0.2198. Should I replace it with another version and, if yes, which version from the available ones would you suggest?

Other considerations include: need TRIM support but won’t be running in RAID mode, it’s just for a single SSD.

Fernando · September 4, 2019, 9:47am

@Outsyde :
The benchmark results of a system with an Intel RAID0 array cannot be transfered to a system with a single HDD/SSD, no matter if running in AHCI or RAID mode.
Questions:
1. Which specific AHCI/RAID driver version is your OS (which one?) using now?
2. Why do you want to change it?
3. Is your on-board Intel SATA Controller running in AHCI or RAID mode? If it should be the latter, why didn’t you change the SATA mode within the BIOS to “AHCI”?

Outsyde · September 4, 2019, 3:40pm

Thank you for your answer @Fernando !

Long answer:

The OS is Windows 10 (14393). It was installed back in 2016, and the driver versions I used then are most likely no longer the optimal choice as of now. As I’m about to replace the OS with a new Windows 10 (17763) image, I’m also looking to use the best drivers currently available.

The AHCI (PCI ID 8086:A103) driver I’ve been using thus far is Intel’s 14.8.0.1042, the most recent version provided by the laptop manufacturer. It works fine but is quite dated (2015-11-04). I didn’t run into any noticeable issues with it (otherwise I would have updated it earlier) but there is probably a better one around I should be using instead.

The SATA controller is running in pure AHCI mode (no RAID).

TL;DR:

OS: Windows 10; Driver: Intel SATA AHCI 14.8.0.1042.
The current driver is likely suboptimal.
AHCI only.

To be more specific, the two questions I have are:

I. Which driver is the optimal one to use in this scenario?

14.8.0.1042: still the most recent one provided for this model by the laptop manufacturer (2015-11-04)
14.8.18.1066: the latest 14 Series driver (2017-09-06)
15.5.2.1054: the latest 15 Series driver (2017-04-24)
Yet another one

II. Which version of the EFI RaidDriver module in the BIOS to use?

14.0.0.2198: keep the original one, do not change anything
14.8.2.2397: the latest 14 Series module available
15.9.2.3386: the latest 15 Series module available
Yet another one

Side note: there is a successor laptop model by the same manufacturer with the very similar HM175 chipset. The driver posted for it is version 15.9.1.1018, and the RaidDriver module in the BIOS is version 15.5.0.2875. These could be one of the other options to consider using.

I guess I’m overthinking it quite a bit because mine is a very simple setup but since I have a moment to spare on it I want to be sure I’m doing it the best way possible.

Perhaps there is no definite answer unless I run some tests myself. If I were to do so, would the above be the potentially best versions to try, or should I consider other ones as well?

Thanks.

Fernando · September 4, 2019, 4:09pm

@Outsyde :
If you are searching for the best performing AHCI driver for your Intel 100-Series chipset system, I recommend to look into the chapter C of >this< thread.
A BIOS modification regarding the Intel RAID modules doesn’t make any sense, because these modules are not used at all by your system as long your on-board Intel SATA Controller is running in AHCI mode.

Outsyde · September 4, 2019, 4:32pm

Thank you for clearing this up, @Fernando . I was obviously looking in the wrong places.

I can see from your results that with the Z170, the performance peaks with 13 Series drivers, and gets worse with every subsequent major version. This is very interesting. If I wanted to run my own comparison would you recommend Anvil’s Storage Utilities (last updated in 2014) or perhaps some other benchmark? (CrystalDiskMark?)

Last question then, just to check: is there any other EFI BIOS module where an update could increase AHCI performance then? (I guess the answer is no.)

Fernando · September 4, 2019, 5:44pm

@Outsyde :
Here are my answers to your questions:
1. “Anvil’s Storage Utilities” are not really new, but for me the best benchmark tool for SSDs. That is why I recommend its usage (look >here<).
2. None of the AMI Aptio UEFI BIOSes contain any Option ROM or EFI DXE module, which has any impact on the performance of any Intel SATA AHCI Controller.

Zetren · September 16, 2019, 7:00am

Why is v11.2.0.1527 recommended over v11.6.0.1702 for ICH10R?

Thanks

Fernando · September 16, 2019, 9:11am

@Zetren :
You obviously meant the Intel RAID ROM and not the driver version.
Since the Intel RST driver v11.2.0.1006 is by far the best RAID driver for old Intel Southbridges, I recommend to put the matching Intel RAID ROM into the BIOS, but this is only valid for systems, whose Intel SATA Controller is running in RAID mode.

Zetren · September 16, 2019, 12:46pm

Yes, I meant the ROM not the driver. I know drivers should match. I’m asking why is v11.2.0.1527 recommended v11.6.0.1702 assuming I can flash the ROM to match my requirements.

Thanks

Fernando · September 16, 2019, 2:00pm

@Zetren :
The usage of the Intel RST RAID ROM v11.2.0.1527 is only recommended, if
a) your on-board Intel SATA Controller is running in RAID mode and
b) you have installed the Intel RST driver v11.2.0.1006 (which I recommend to use with your system).

podkaracz · October 6, 2019, 10:58pm

Hi,
I have msi h110m pro-d which doesnt support raid thats why msi did not make ahci/sata/raid driver for it and recommends using windows native driver but i can tell that using v15.9.8.1050 and in smaller degree v14.8.18.1066 improved my gaming experience and overall performance. Its not imagination because i used programs to test it.

Also i saw all tests here were made on ssd my question is if i use HDD 1TB Western Digital Blue are those tests any different than for hdd and which driver do you recommend ?
Which driver has least latency and decent write/read ?
So far v15.9.8.1050 is the leader and v14.8.18.1066 is second.
Did you guys make tests for h110 on HDD 1tb ? IM IN AHCI MODE !

#edit1
Could you please link me up all the driver versions u use for ur mobo z170 because my h110 is pretty similar and i would like to use the same drivers as you do since it looks that you know which ones perform better.

#edit2 MSI STATEMENT

EDIT by Fernando: Unneeded blank lines removed (to save space) and MSU Support statement quoted

Fernando · October 17, 2019, 8:36pm

@podkaracz :
Why don’t you do the requested driver comparison tests yourself? This way you will get the most realistic answers.

No mainboard manufacturer except Intel "makes" AHCI/RAID drivers. The mainboard manufacturer can only test the required drivers, which are developed and released by the producer of the related Storage Controller (here: Intel), and then offer them to their customers…

podkaracz · October 18, 2019, 3:10am

I did some testing and its hard to judge because i rate them by stability not by read/write speed and it looks like 15.9.8.1050 feels the best but not sure because i did not test all drivers.

Fernando · October 18, 2019, 10:24am

@podkaracz
If you are searching for the best Intel RST/RST(e) driver, there is no need to test all of them.
Tip: The most stable resp. bug free drivers are the latest of the related development branch (e.g. v11.2, v13.2, v14.8, v15.9 etc.).