Maximum PC

Alright, I'll get this out of the way: netbooks suck. But I have an old one lying around, and I had a pretty decent unused SSD (Corsair Nova SATA 2) lying around, so I decided to combine the 2 to make one hopefully-useful tech toy. Problem is, the results aren't what I expected and I don't see why.

The Nova 2 is comparable in stats (CrystalDiskMark) to an OCZ Vertex 3 Solid that I had in my desktop. That drive got a 7.5 in Windows Performance Index (originally 7.9 before an update).

I put the SSD in my netbook (having to reinstall Win7 after a disastrous attempt at using the lackluster Macrium Reflect Free) and even though the Nova utterly annihilates the OEM hard drive across the board, I'm still only seeing a 0.5 increase in WEI. The HDD gave me a 5.4 in WEI. The SSD gave me a 5.9, yet on the desktop it should have at least been a 7.0.

Running CrystalDiskMark on the drive in my netbook gives me nigh identical stats to running it on my desktop. I'm also noticing extreme lag for an SSD, when I open windows I have to wait for them to load, the instantaneous response of the SSD in the desktop is gone. I realize that some of this is due to the unmistakable, unforgivable suck of the Intel Atom processor, but this performance is almost indistinguisable from the HDD despite having several times the performance in all categories.

My netbook is a Samsung N150 from early 2010.

What gives?

Do you have your SATA connections set to AHCI in the BIOS in the netbook? Are there any firmware updates available for your SSD? Also, have you tried looking for any BIOS updates for the Samsung netbook (I noticed there are several different specific model numbers for Samsung N150 netbooks at Samsung's site)?

I just find it strange that crystaldiskmark running on the netbook can "see" the ssd's performance but windows cannot. I'm surprised that the netbook has sata 2, considering how Intel shafted us with the atom and the integrated graphics.

I believe that everything on the netbook is set up properly and is up to date, but I'll check again.