Toshiba 256GB SSD XBench

[Desmo1098]

How much difference is NCQ going to make with the Toshiba not having it? What practical use would it have for Adobe CS5 and what is NCQ really aimed at?

 

[WardC]

"theSeb" posted results for his 256GB Samsung, about 11% faster:

 

[WardC]

To give you an idea/comparison, this is how the 120GB Mercury Pro Extreme SSD in my Mac Pro tested:

 

[WardC]

Here is how the 256GB Toshiba SSD in my 13" 2010 "Extreme" MBA tested:

As you can see, your 312.01 on the 2011 is quite better than the 235.70 on the 2010

 

[Desmo1098]

I wish I had a Samsung - I like their products and I know I am being retentative about it but if I paid the same and didn't get the NCQ and better speeds I guess I have the right to be bothered. I am curious what format interface is the SSD's that Apple are using called? We will see aftermarket besides OWC?

 

[WardC]

They are the same Blade-style SSDs as the previous generation. The chipset uses a SATA III (6Gbit/sec) controller but the SSD connects at a SATA II (3Gbit/sec) link speed...it is a SATA II Blade SSD, but the MacBook Air apparently supports SATA III, which is significantly faster. I would not be surprised if we see some 3rd party SATA III SSD upgrade solutions in the future for the 2011 MacBook Air.

 

[KPOM]

To answer your original question, NCQ can speed up some disk tasks as it allows the controller to handle more tasks simultaneously. I had the Toshiba in my Rev D and while it lacked NCQ, it still seemed pretty fast.

I have the Samsung drive in my Rev E and am getting similar results to the others.

View attachment XBench Disk Rev E.pdf

 

[fotuwe]

Guys you won't feel the difference.
This is just numbers without any serious meaning (cmon 10% - thats nothing)..

I've had a Intel SSD in my MBP2010. Fast as hell - scores only 191! And it can't get any faster.. it just appeared everything on the moment you press the key

 

[Philflow]

How much difference is NCQ going to make with the Toshiba not having it? What practical use would it have for Adobe CS5 and what is NCQ really aimed at?

For single user situations NCQ hardly makes a difference, if any. Look at the real world benchmarks of the Kingston V+ 100 that also lacks NCQ. It's the same controller as the Toshiba in MBA.