er it's up to you. basically they are based on manual ssd optimization guides such as the one at thessdreview.com. you can check out which system features get adjusted in the detailed listing of each option. sometimes, adjustments in such optimizations will impact your computer systems. the easiest way to find out which one is good for you is to run each option for a week or two, and then you decide based on results. or, you can go for advanced option, in which you choose what to turn on, or off.

before samsung magician, i use manual optimizations for quite some time. to me i'm ok with maximum optimizations, so i just choose max reliability. (with 15% OP, over provisioning)

what's the capacity of your 850evo?

below is the benchmarks for 840 evo (500gb each, sata and msata version), showing the difference between rapid mode (top, sata) and normal (bottom, msata) speeds.

[attachmentid=5857373]

yeah. this is a laptop (xps 15; 4702hq, 16gb ram, full-ssd setup;w10 1511, intel rst 14.8).

after firmware fix for previous slow read bug a few months ago, samsung 840 evo works nicely ever since imo.

half? like sata2 speed? how come?

For intel based systems, it's best to connect ssd to intel sata port.

For sata cables, they shouldn't be an issue unless they're faulty. I use those that come with mobo. Also tried sleeved sata cables bought from sellers at garage sales. Worked too.

yeah you need to identify the 2x intel sata3 ports (referring to mobo manual)

as for the drivers, maybe, but usually ms.ahci driver should work also.

No problem

Yeah it's fast alright, because for common usage, read speed and random iops are still very useful in most cases.

That's also why it's ok to use ssd with sata2 ports. Not great, but good enough.