I usually browse this forum to keep up with new driver updates and whatnot (especially all those freaking Realtek driver updates!), but I haven't seen a post about Intel RST drivers, so I'd like to let people know that Intel release a new version a little while ago:
Download Intel® Rapid Storage Technology (Intel® RST)
Hope this helps anyone who tries to keep their drivers/software up-to-date!
The latest version of the RST driver is not necessarily the best for your PC. Digest this excellent site http://www.win-raid.com/t25f23-Which...D-drivers.html
And the latest driver just flat out won't install on some of the Intel Chipsets. The Intel website to download the drivers from will tell you which version you need for your particular chipset. Unfortunately, sometimes the only way to tell what Inter controller you have is to install a working Intel driver.
I would have to agree, these drivers are all board (chipset) dependent as to which will and wont install on a given chipset. If you have a new chipset like I do (Z270) than you shouldn't have to worry. If you've got an old chipset like say an X58, then you may need to worry as to whether the latest IRST driver package will install.
That said, my latest IRST driver is 15.5.0.1051. Haven't looked for newer ones though.
And the big take-away from the Fernando Forum is that the AHCI driver is very simple and there is no real performance gain using one driver over another.
But if you are running RAID then there are big performance differences in running the most current and correct IRST driver for your chipset.
So if you are running your disks independently with AHCI you can stop worrying about having the "best" driver. Doesn't matter.
If you are running a RAID array however, then having the most current driver for your chipset does matter.
And the last IRST driver Intel made for your chipset is the last IRST driver you should ever need.
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