NEW Intel P55 Mobos & Core i7 860 / i5 750 CPU LGA1156

[goldenaustin]

Hi,

 

I'm at work for the moment, but when i'm home I will try to do it again and take notes and a picture on what i changed in the bios.

 

Like I said before, I did this only for a short time because cpu temp was 60C after booting osx and went tp 94C when running geekbench.

 

Regards,

P

 

Yeah, that's quite hot, but on the bright side, you were able to post and boot. That means, if you get a good cooler, you'll be good to go and then some. I'm surprised of the large Geekbench score gap between your 860 oc'ed at 3.8 versus my i5 750 oc'ed to 4.2. You got over 12000 and I'm getting 10700. Could it be because of the i7's hyperthreading, or possibly RAM quantity (versus quality)? I'm running 4gig 2000Mhz g.skill RAM.

 

BTW, I just upgraded from a Cooler Master 212+ to a Corsair H50 (Fry's sale for $55 right now) and at 4.2, I'm seeing mid 30's idle and 50's for Handbrake and iMovie encodings. I highly recommend it, since I'm quite happy with the results.

[pverstraeten]

Yeah, that's quite hot, but on the bright side, you were able to post and boot. That means, if you get a good cooler, you'll be good to go and then some. I'm surprised of the large Geekbench score gap between your 860 oc'ed at 3.8 versus my i5 750 oc'ed to 4.2. You got over 12000 and I'm getting 10700. Could it be because of the i7's hyperthreading, or possibly RAM quantity (versus quality)? I'm running 4gig 2000Mhz g.skill RAM.

 

BTW, I just upgraded from a Cooler Master 212+ to a Corsair H50 (Fry's sale for $55 right now) and at 4.2, I'm seeing mid 30's idle and 50's for Handbrake and iMovie encodings. I highly recommend it, since I'm quite happy with the results.

 

For memory i used Kingston ValueRAM 4 GB DDR3-1333 Kit (Retail, KVR1333D3N9K2/4G)

I didn't OC the ram yet only cpu

 

How did you installed the H50 because I saw that there is only a 775 bracket with it ?

[goldenaustin]

For memory i used Kingston ValueRAM 4 GB DDR3-1333 Kit (Retail, KVR1333D3N9K2/4G)

I didn't OC the ram yet only cpu

 

How did you installed the H50 because I saw that there is only a 775 bracket with it ?

 

They repackaged the boxes with the 1156 brackets, so you no longer have to place a separate order for it. Even the documentation and box have been updated with 1156 references.

[theotherone]

They repackaged the boxes with the 1156 brackets, so you no longer have to place a separate order for it. Even the documentation and box have been updated with 1156 references.

 

 

It pays to have a quality cooler, for my zalman i just had to buy a new bracket for 1156 which was ony 2 Euros!

 

Btw.: how did you guys overclock the i5? Just pushing the fsb? What's the best mthod to push this thing from 2,66 to about 3 or 3,2?

 

TIA

[goldenaustin]

It pays to have a quality cooler, for my zalman i just had to buy a new bracket for 1156 which was ony 2 Euros!

 

Btw.: how did you guys overclock the i5? Just pushing the fsb? What's the best mthod to push this thing from 2,66 to about 3 or 3,2?

 

TIA

 

Hehe, the i5 won't even break a sweat at 3.6 on stock voltage, so I'd recommend you go higher than what you originally planned. I was lucky enough to get 4.2 at 1.28 vCore, which is why it's staying so cool.

 

Yes, for a mild OC, just change you multiplier to 20 or 21 (using turbo), then increase bus accordingly. I think if you stay low (3.6 and under), then you won't have to worry so much about disabling some of the CPU features. Of course, overclocking is always a YMMV.

[Adony]

Has anyone managed to install a ATI 4890 on his p55 system ? I tried to follow Netkas method (evo enabler, 4800kext, Legacy4800kext, X2000 kext...) but as soon as I install his "exotic 10.6.2" patch I get corrupted graphics after boot and safe mode causes kernel panic...

 

My config :

Gygabite P55-UD3

i7 860

ATI Radeon 4890

8gb of DDR3

 

Another thing : in your guide tony, is the pc EFI already compiled for P55 in your downloadable pack (see this post) ? Or do I need to compile it myself and then use it to replace the one of your guide ? I'm asking because my system seems to be too fast (the icons are bouncing faster than on my MBPro and the multicolored wheel turns very fast too...)

 

Thank you very much for your wonderful job by the way.

 

 

 

Sorry for my english, not my native language...

[constil]

Has anyone managed to install a ATI 4890 on his p55 system ? I tried to follow Netkas method (evo enabler, 4800kext, Legacy4800kext, X2000 kext...) but as soon as I install his "exotic 10.6.2" patch I get corrupted graphics after boot and safe mode causes kernel panic...

 

My config :

Gygabite P55-UD3

i7 860

ATI Radeon 4890

8gb of DDR3

 

Another thing : in your guide tony, is the pc EFI already compiled for P55 in your downloadable pack (see this post) ? Or do I need to compile it myself and then use it to replace the one of your guide ? I'm asking because my system seems to be too fast (the icons are bouncing faster than on my MBPro and the multicolored wheel turns very fast too...)

 

Thank you very much for your wonderful job by the way.

 

 

 

Sorry for my english, not my native language...

Hi

Yes, but not an 4890, mine is a 4850 simular the same Prozedure, i have to added the ID from this Card to the ATI4800Controller.kext, and in the Boot.plist "Graphic enabled"

 

<plist version="1.0">

<dict>

<key>Kernel</key>

<string>mach_kernel</string>

<key>Kernel Flags</key>

<string></string>

<key>Rescan</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>Graphics Mode</key>

<string>1680x1050x32</string>

<key>Timeout</key>

<string>1</string>

<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>

<string>y</string>

<key>SMBIOSdefaults</key>

<string>Yes</string>

</dict>

</plist>

and it works for me !

[Adony]

Hi, thanks for your answer.

 

Did you install the netkas exotic 10.6.2 pkg or did it work without it ?

And how do you add the card id in the ATI4800Controller.kext ?

 

If I sum up you installed :

 

Evo enabler in /your_hard_drive/System/Library/Extensions

Id added ATI4800Controller.kext in /your_hard_drive/System/Library/Extensions

activated the graphicenabled in boot.plist

Rebuilt the caches

Reboot

 

Is that all or is there anything I'm missing ?

 

I'm going to give another try and reinstall everything, I hope it will work one day...

[tonymacx86]

Another thing : in your guide tony, is the pc EFI already compiled for P55 in your downloadable pack (see this post) ? Or do I need to compile it myself and then use it to replace the one of your guide ? I'm asking because my system seems to be too fast (the icons are bouncing faster than on my MBPro and the multicolored wheel turns very fast too...)

 

Yeah- the supplied boot is PC EFI 10.5 that has been patched for P55 boards. It will solve the 'system too fast' issue.

[yoshiki_jp]

Hello,

 

My hardware:

MB: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4 (F4)

CPU: Intel i7 860

RAM: 4Gb 1333MHz

Video: XFX Radeon HD4870 512Mb

 

I tried tony's "Alternate Guide"

http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2009/11/alt...ow-leopard.html

but failed

 

With DSDT.aml GA-P55M-UD2, I can't use internal SATA;

"SerialATAPI initial device configuration did not complete successfully . (failedCommandInfo = 0x2)"

I connect HDD through eSATA and boot successfully, but I can't see internal sata drive.

 

Without DSDT.aml, following message appear;

"ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin::start - waitForService(resourceMatching( AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement) timed out"

 

Please help!

 

With EVOenabler.kext, now I can boot with/without DSDT and works well!

 

Thank you!

[profdre]

Has anyone managed to install a ATI 4890 on his p55 system ? I tried to follow Netkas method (evo enabler, 4800kext, Legacy4800kext, X2000 kext...) but as soon as I install his "exotic 10.6.2" patch I get corrupted graphics after boot and safe mode causes kernel panic...

 

My config :

Gygabite P55-UD3

i7 860

ATI Radeon 4890

8gb of DDR3

 

Hey Adony,

 

yeah I got a Radeon HD 4890 and it is properly recognized in System Profiler and the ripple effect in Dashboard works, resolutions are not restricted to 1024x768 anymore...but games like Age Of Empires III and Quake 4 don't work...can anybody check if it's GPU related or a general problem with P55 hackintoshs, maybe the games would need an update? UT 2004 works, however. I updated to 10.6.2 (followed tonymacx86's guide with the USB stick) and then installed netkas' QE_CI_Exotic patch 10.6.2.pkg (which was gladly updated so fast ) [At first I got the card working in 10.6.0 but with 10.6.2 the support was gone and the resolution was limited again.]

Check your com.apple.Boot.plist, it has to contain

<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>

<string>Yes</string>

(it's all in tonymacx86's package)

You won't need any extensions for the 4890 in /Extra, just install netkas' package!

 

Good luck,

profdre

 

I will answer myself so you will know how I got sound working on UD4

 

At first you have to set Azalia codec to "Auto" in BIOS (yeah I disabled it by mistake for a while :/ )

Then you'll need this file: http://www.kexts.com/view/147-acl888_hd_audio.html After downloading, just unzip it and install the 2 files by using Kext Helper supplied by tonymacx86's package. It's always good to repair permissions after dropping extensions in /System/Library/Extensions, so that'll be the last step. Quit Kext Helper and reboot.

Enjoy! (btw, the only files in my Extra folder are right now: EvOreboot, fakesmc, IOACHCIBlockStorageInjector, JMicronATA, NullCPUPowerManagement, PlatformUUID)

 

One more thing: the slow copying from my LG S-ATA DVD burner is just occurring when I copy via Finder (maybe it thinks, the disc contains video and remains slow, but calm) When I use Toast Titanium to make an image file, the drive spins up and copies with up to 20 MB/s.

 

Okay, so far...any news on support for the 6 S-ATA connectors supplied by the P55 chip?

 

Greetz,

profdre

[Treky]

yeah I got a Radeon HD 4890 and it is properly recognized in System Profiler and the ripple effect in Dashboard works, resolutions are not restricted to 1024x768 anymore...but games like Age Of Empires III and Quake 4 don't work...can anybody check if it's GPU related or a general problem with P55 hackintoshs, maybe the games would need an update? UT 2004 works, however.

 

My ATI Radeon HD4870 work with Netkas PC-EFI bootloader and integrated graficenabler like a dream. No additional extensions for videocard needed. Age of Empires III work on my system. Most other games I have working too without any problem. I don't have Quake 4. Quake 3 Arena, Call of Duty 4, Doom 3 and many more working. Halo let crash the whole computer after some minutes and Age of Empires II crash too.

[theotherone]

Okay, so far...any news on support for the 6 S-ATA connectors supplied by the P55 chip?

 

Greetz,

profdre

 

 

On the p55m-ud2 they work (sata/esata), i think this should be true for all other P55 mobos from gigabyte.

[profdre]

My ATI Radeon HD4870 work with Netkas PC-EFI bootloader and integrated graficenabler like a dream. No additional extensions for videocard needed. Age of Empires III work on my system. Most other games I have working too without any problem. I don't have Quake 4. Quake 3 Arena, Call of Duty 4, Doom 3 and many more working. Halo let crash the whole computer after some minutes and Age of Empires II crash too.

 

So Netkas PC-EFI bootloader is included in tonymacx86's package, right? First you install PC EFI 10.1 and then you update by exchanging the bootfile?! Or do you mean another bootloader? Would be nice if you would describe your installation process if it differs from tonymacx86 or if you chose other extensions. Thanks!

 

On the p55m-ud2 they work (sata/esata), i think this should be true for all other P55 mobos from gigabyte.

 

 

Yes, they should and it's nice that they actually work on the UD2...but you're right, they must work, elsewise the mobo would be useless for a Hackintosh...I'm just wondering why they don't work on the UD4(P) and I'm not the only one with this problem...and you have also installed using tonymacx86's method? Or do you included any other driver for the S-ATA chip? I think on the UD4 the JMicronATA kext is necessary for the 2 grey Gigabyte ports, am I right?

[TomasCZ]

Hi all, so it looks, that this configuration os fully working except sleep at this time.

I have tried the sleepenabler.kext for 10.6.2 and it is still the same, no wake up (I have F4 bios)

 

And I have solved my last big problem - it wasn't possible to switch HDMI to TV modes like 1080p/50Hz, the problem is in

NVDANV50Hal.kext

NVDAResman.kext

It is necessary to replace both with kexts from 10.6.1 by kexthelper. And it is working after restart.

 

And my last issue (except sleep) is in quality of mpeg2 playback, the upscale to fullHD is horrible (VLC and DVDplayer too) but I know, that the problem is not in Hackintosh, it is the same with the macbook pro connected to external fullHD mon. The upscale of Power DVD or WinDVD under Windows is much much better, do you know some solution?

The strange thing is, that upscale of other format than mpeg2 is good (when I convert the mpeg2 in mpegstreamclip to mpeg4, the picture in fullHD preview is better). Is here anybody with better solution for playing DVDs under Mac ?

 

 

- I have tested disk speeds - around 80-100MB/s from first to second Samsung

- video playback in VLC (full HD mkv, divx...), DVD player is without any problem. CPU usage during full HD mkv playback is around 45-50% in Activity mon. - so it is 50% of 1 CPU core only.

- usb hardware like Canon scanner or usb mass storages working too

- graphics acceleration is ok - Photoshop GPU acceleration ....

 

 

 

Thank you very much tonymacx86 and Chanelius

I have good new, my system is working, I'm not in the end of all tests, but these parts are ok:

- graphic card acceleration - OK

- sound - OK

- all 8 CPU cores are visible in Activity monitor

- RAM freq. is OK in the system profiler - 1333MHz

 

I have tried to run Geekbench and I have 9211 in 64bit mode.

I will test disk speeds and other tests but as first, I will make a backup of working partition

 

I used the 1st method, not faster 2nd, because there was the problem to run upgrade of Snow Leopard to other than running system (I have tried it under Macbook pro 2,26 13", OSX 10.5.8) I have tried both tricks in the manual to solve this problem without sucess , but 1st method is ok.

 

For sucessfully bootup the 10.6 before upgrade to 10.6.2 It was necessary to replace the 10.6.0 kernel with the one from 10.6.2 before upgrade, because the system cannot boot up.

I'm using the SATA2USB convertor, so files modifications of SL instalation from my macbook are not problem.

 

BIOS settings are in defaults except SATA (must be in AHCI mode)

 

OSX 10.6.2

4x2 GB KINGSTON ddr3-1333mhz-cl7

GIGABYTE N98TSL-1GI-NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT passive

GIGABYTE P55M UD2

INTEL Core i7-860 2,80GHz + ARCTIC Freezer Xtreme Rev.2 (I still have the box, I will install this one later), box is the most loud component in the case now...

1x SAMSUNG SpinPoint F3 500GB, 1x SAMSUNG SpinPoint F1 1000GB

SEASONIC SS-650HT Energy 80-Plus

AKASA OMEGA case

 

....

Thank you very much to all Snow pioneers in this forum.

 

Tomas.

[DankeSloan]

I have a couple of questions regarding the Gigabyte UD2:

 

1. Does the Firewire work? I plan to use my Hackintosh for video editing, so if this doesn't work, I'd have to get a compatible Firewire card.

2. Is anyone powering the 8 pin slot with a 4 pin connector? I've noticed that most P55 motherboards allow you to do this, but I can't find any indication that the Gigabyte model does.

 

First post here (I think). So hello.

[Eyecube]

Hey,

I just installed everything through the Alternate Method posted by Tony and i'm running through a few problems...

 

I can't get the sound to work :s

 

I currently have:

- i7 860

- P55-UD3R

- 8Gb of RAM

 

I think i've noticed a few people making it work under this mobo, and just wanted to know how they did it.

 

Is it possible to Dual Boot with Windows 7 on the same drive? If so, how? I've read that it's possible on two separate ones by just removing the OSX drive when installing Windows 7 and then put it back in.

 

And finally, last question, my RAM is at 1333, any idea how to put it to 1600? (Bought it as 1600).

 

Thank you very much for the help.

Thank you Tonymac for all your guides/help. I'm proud to share your name ^^

[snokarver]

Reporting back on a few things, plus one question:

 

1. Some of you have talked about dual booting. Putting both Windows and OS X on the same partition works differently than on two separate drives. So if you're running into issues putting it on the same partition, now you know why. It can be done, just takes extra steps.

 

2. I've updated my BIOS to the latest version - F4. It solve the issue with my USB keyboard no longer working during boot. It also added new memory configurations so my system now runs the RAM at 2000 rather than 1333. Currently under 10.5.8, that's at about 6400 - about a 300pt increase. It also let me choose the boot order - which it didn't before (I had to do it manually via the order the cables were plugged in.) Keep in mind making changes can reset the boot order.

 

3. If you're debating on getting a SSD or not, don't. It's fast at first but they get really slow when they have to write over blocks that have been written to. Windows 7 and newer drives support TRIM, which solves this problem. 10.6 does not support it. So while at first your SSD may be smoking fast, after a while you'll end up with MUCH slower speeds - like 10MB/s. You're better off with a 2TB drive.

 

4. You need either the Intel or the jmicron (I forget which) to use the Intel SATA ports.

 

One question though - what's the best way to upgrade from a 10.5.8 iDeneb install to a 10.6.2 vanilla install? I'd rather not have to reinstall all my applications. Thanks.

[vetters]

Hello all,

I have successfully gotten my rig (i7,ud2) running in 10.6.2. A huge thanks to TonyMac and everyone else with their input in this thread. Everything works great except for my clock speed. It shows up at 2.83 instead of 2.80. I used the modified Netkas 10.5 boot file by TonyMac and it is still fast. Could the problem be I'm using the DSDT file provide in the snowleopard zip provided by TonyMac since that what created on an i5? Any other thoughts to what could be causing this? I really appreciate everyone's help. Thanks

[goldenaustin]

Hey,

I just installed everything through the Alternate Method posted by Tony and i'm running through a few problems...

 

I can't get the sound and ethernet to work :s

 

I currently have:

- i7 860

- P55-UD3R

- 8Gb of RAM

 

I think i've noticed a few people making it work under this mobo, and just wanted to know how they did it.

 

Is it possible to Dual Boot with Windows 7 on the same drive? If so, how? I've read that it's possible on two separate ones by just removing the OSX drive when installing Windows 7 and then put it back in.

 

And finally, last question, my RAM is at 1333, any idea how to put it to 1600? (Bought it as 1600).

 

Thank you very much for the help.

Thank you Tonymac for all your guides/help. I'm proud to share your name ^^

 

I have the UD3R and for Audio I posted a link in post #518. For LAN, I used this kext here:

http://www.kexts.com/view/117-realtekr1000...!!.html

 

For RAM, try selecting the XMP profile in the bios. Generally, the profile is stored in your RAM, and will pretty much load up the correct settings in the bios.

[aushack]

virtual bool IOHIDEventSystemUserClient::initWithTask(task*, void*, UInt32): Client task not privileged to open IOHIDSytem for mapping memory

anyone know how to get passed this so i can boot into 10.6.0 and update to vanilla 10.6.2?

 

i used tonymacx86's Retail P55 Guide on my Core i5 with GA-P55-UD4P and 4870 1GB. is this a DSDT.aml error or do i need a different kext for my 4870? thanks

 

i think its not booting because the DSDT.aml is currupted/wrong permissions or in the wrong location. when Chameleon loads the boot files and kexts i think i see a mention of DSDT.aml not loading, but its too quick to confirm.

 

i dont have a working hackintosh just a MacBook Pro, so i couldnt setup the hard drive after the install like in Tony's retail P55 guide. i used these commands after installing from Terminal in the OS X Installer to copy over Chameleon & PC EFI 10.5, boot file, DSDT, Qoopz kernel and the Extras. do these commands look right? did i copy over the DSDT.aml correctly? is there any other way i can copy over the files after installing with just a MacBook Pro and this Tower PC which has Windows 7 installed atm?

 

note: i copied out the Chameleon directories using Pacifist which are /usr/sbin/fdisk and /usr/standalone/i386/

 

sudo rm /Volumes/Snow\ Leopard/usr/sbin/fdisk

cp -p /Volumes/USB/usr/sbin/fdisk /Volumes/Snow\ Leopard/usr/sbin

cp -p -r  /Volumes/USB/usr/standalone/i386/ /Volumes/Snow\ Leopard/usr/standalone/i386

rm /Volumes/Snow\ Leopard/mach_kernel

cp -p /Volumes/USB/mach_kernel /Volumes/Snow\ Leopard

cd /Volumes/USB

cp -p -r boot DSDT.aml Extra /Volumes/Snow\ Leopard

[Treky]

So Netkas PC-EFI bootloader is included in tonymacx86's package, right? First you install PC EFI 10.1 and then you update by exchanging the bootfile?! Or do you mean another bootloader? Would be nice if you would describe your installation process if it differs from tonymacx86 or if you chose other extensions. Thanks!

Nothing special process did I used. I don't know what tonymac describe. I installed boot0 and boot1h of chameleon RC3 package and copied the boot file I posted some post earlier to harddisk. So, if you read PCEFI 10.5 when bootloader start all is fine. What I noticed, the com.apple.boot.plist file can be fast invalid, maybe one wrong space between the lines - I don't know. The GraphicsEnabler option was ignored in this com.apple.boot.plist.

 

Ever tried to boot with GraphicsEnabler=y option at command line on PCEFI boot prompt ?

 

Give it a try if not. It helped by my probably invalid com.apple.boot.plist. And I removed all additional extensions. All disabled extension should be activated. That is all, but your HD4890 is maybe a bit different, I don't know. Apple never build that in his own computers.

[Eyecube]

I have the UD3R and for Audio I posted a link in post #518. For LAN, I used this kext here:

http://www.kexts.com/view/117-realtekr1000...!!.html

 

For RAM, try selecting the XMP profile in the bios. Generally, the profile is stored in your RAM, and will pretty much load up the correct settings in the bios.

 

 

Hey thank you alot

I got the sound and all to work. Did you get the sleep to work though?

 

Now it's just my RAM. I activated the profile in the BIOS, and it says its a 1600 but in SL it keeps on saying it's at 1333. Is there anything else I need to change?

 

Thank you again

[yurkaaa]

Hello and thank you too everyone participating in this thread, especially tonymac. Following tonymac's snow leopard install guide I have been able to install snow leopard, boot and update to 10.6.2. However I did all this using my hard drive connected to USB via Sata to USB connection. Now after I had updated and had everything but sound working I connected the hard drive straight to the motherboard via sata. Now when I try to boot it hangs saying "Still waiting for root device". I don't know if it's because the bootfile or some thing was configured as a usb external drive (Which is what SL was detecting it as) or if it's something else? Another thing that maybe worth mentioning is that while the drive was connected through USB I went to system info and under the SATA devices it said it was not detecting any SATA devices, I have 2 other SATA drives connected but I figured they weren't being detected because they are formated in NTFS. If anybody has any ideas please feel free to help.

 

My specs are:

 

GA-P55-UD5 (F3 Bios)

 

i7 860

 

Asus 8800GT

 

4GB 1333 RAM

 

Thank you in advance!

[VGM10000]

3. If you're debating on getting a SSD or not, don't. It's fast at first but they get really slow when they have to write over blocks that have been written to. Windows 7 and newer drives support TRIM, which solves this problem. 10.6 does not support it. So while at first your SSD may be smoking fast, after a while you'll end up with MUCH slower speeds - like 10MB/s. You're better off with a 2TB drive.

 

I would have to disagree with you for several reasons:

 

1. Some drives support TRIM, and although 10.6.2 sure doesn't, Apple will most likely build support for it very soon (10.5.7 at the latest), since they not only already have SSD's as in option in their laptops, but have a keen interest in making them a worthwhile upgrade (they make hefty profits on them). Most people coughing up an extra $200+ for these drives aren't basic consumers but power users, and they will know what technology they are buying and wether or not it supports important technologies such as TRIM.

 

2. You only really notice a huge slowdown if you constantly delete and re-write on the SSD (since the issue arises from "deleted" blocks having to be removed as new ones are being written). I am looking to simply install the OS and all my applications on a SSD, as most people would, and unless I was very indecisive as to what to what programs I wanted, or if I reached the full capacity of the drive, I would notice no slowdown in write speed.

 

3. Keep in mind that this performance decrease is for write speed, not read speed. Although it will take longer to save to the drive, data will still be accessed many, many times quicker than any RAID of HDD's.

 

That's to say that, in terms of the performance gains in accessing/running applications, booting the OS, opening files, you will immediately see extraordinary speed boosts, and continue to enjoy the speed of the drive without it degrading at all.

 

In my opinion, read speeds are what make SSD's worth the price. Even if, over time, saving to them can slow down, access time can still be at an astounding 250MB/s, and that will never change over the life of the drive.