Hi JB, all the performance between the two were based on the same configuration with the exception of NCQ enabled which boosted the READ speeds for the 4k QD32 test in AS SSD bench, everything else, the performance was attributed primarily to the Firmware Update (at least for me).
I did not risk flashing the C300 with the new SB850 because AMD made it clear that the SB850 is native Sata3. There is a way to force it to Sata 2 in the BIOS, but again, I did not experiment with this. So what I did was I brought my C300 over to my friend's place to get it flashed. He has a Gigabyte X58A-UD3R. It is native Sata 2 on the ICH, and has an accompanying controller for Sata 3. I followed the steps, removed all other storage devices with the exception of the dvd rom, and plugged the C300 into Sata port 0, set it to IDE mode, booted from CD, and the whole thing took about 10 minutes without any errors or hiccups.
For those with any of the new SB850 motherboards, and would like to run the C300 along with a RAID array comprised of other hard drives, you will need to go to your BIOS settings and set all SATA ports to run in RAID mode. Next, you will need to download your motherboard provider's AMD ACHI for RAID drivers. What these are is they will essentially provide ACHI features to your SSD (that is not in RAID), and RAID to your RAID array. For instance, I am running a single C300 in AHCI, and 4 x Samsung Spinpoint F3s in RAID 10. Its quite deceiving, but if you have the Asus Crosshair IV Formula like I do, even if the C300 is running off a SATA port that is designated to be in RAID mode, it actually isn't as long as in the AMD Option ROM setting, you do not make the C300 as part of that array, then yer good, the drivers will pass through the AHCI commands as per norm (at least this is what was explained to me on an overclockers.net thread).
In Windows under device managers, it will show NCQ and caching as being checked on, but in reality, it isn't! You need to install AMD RAID Xpert. This should come as part of your mobo install cd. Log into it, and then for each hardware in the physical view, enable NCQ. In the Logical view, enable it for your RAID array. This has substantially boosted my 4k QD32 reads as you can tell from the above picture, but all things set aside, the new firmware update did increase performance across the board in general, and by as much as 10-25% in some instances. The neat thing about AMD RAID Xpert is that it also tells you when a drive is in "IDLE". I have not yet found a way to verify whether or not TRIM/GC is actively working in the background while the drive is in idle, so if anyone knows of any command lines or apps that can allow me to observe it in action would be much appreciated.
Hope this helps.
