Which is the best setting in BIOS for SATA operation mode for a laptop to connect SATA III based fast SSD drive, and why?
- ATA
- AHCI
- RAID On (Intel Rapid Storage)
There will be no RAID set in system (laptop with 1 drive slot only). I've read that "RAID On" enables AHCI anyways but would prefer some confirmation that one is better then the other.
For the sake of example the laptop I'm talking about is a Dell Latitude E6420 with an Intel Core i7-2720QM, 8 GB of RAM and an aftermarket SSD, an OCZ VTX3MI-25SAT3-240G Vertex 3 MAX, which will replace other standard drive that's inside.
But this questions is asked as general for future reference.
Some reference: How to configure the BIOS for RAID or AHCI on an Intel® motherboard
If you are using a SATA hard drive, set your BIOS to RAID mode. RAID mode provides the greatest overall flexibility and upgradeability because it allows your system to be RAID ready and enable AHCI.
Best Answer
Advanced Host Controler Interface (AHCI) is the best option if you have only one Hard Disk (or Solid State Disk). It provides the best interface to SSD-Operational System transfer rates for reading and writting. More information about AHCI you can find here.