Posted November 13, 2021 Hey, I wonder if it is worth to use an SSD as cache for a hard drive. I use Windows 10, and I use my hard drive for games mostly. I'd love for the games I play the most to load faster but I really don't want to micro manage installing some games on SSD and others on the HDD. Could I just use an SSD as a cache? My specs: Asrock AB350 Pro, Ryzen 5 1600, 1 x SATA SSD, 1 x NVME SSD, 1 x SATA HDD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted November 13, 2021 Author Also, if you think it's worthwhile, could you recommend any (preferably free or cheep) software that can help me with that? I'd like the cached data to always be on the HDD in case the SSD would fail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted November 13, 2021 It should help, especially if you can afford new SSD of around 500GB in size, that should cache a several games in case you switch between them. AMD have a free one but your system might be too old to be supported: https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/store-mi Primocache is not free but a generic solution that should work on any system: https://www.romexsoftware.com/en-us/primo-cache/ I don't have experience with either of the above. On the flip side, how much space do your games take up? It might be worth considering just getting an extra SSD to use for games. Gaming system: R7 7800X3D, Asus ROG Strix B650E-F Gaming Wifi, Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE ARGB, Corsair Vengeance 2x 32GB 6000C30, RTX 4070, MSI MPG A850G, Fractal Design North, Samsung 990 Pro 2TB, Acer Predator XB241YU 24" 1440p 144Hz G-Sync + HP LP2475w 24" 1200p 60Hz wide gamut Productivity system: i9-7980XE, Asus X299 TUF mark 2, Noctua D15, 64GB ram (mixed), RTX 3070, NZXT E850, GameMax Abyss, Samsung 980 Pro 2TB, random 1080p + 720p displays. Gaming laptop: Lenovo Legion 5, 5800H, RTX 3070, Kingston DDR4 3200C22 2x16GB 2Rx8, Kingston Fury Renegade 1TB + Crucial P1 1TB SSD, 165 Hz IPS 1080p G-Sync Compatible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted November 13, 2021 For the cost, just get an SSD and get rid of the HDD. The small amount more you'd pay (unless you have a 4 or 8 TB gaming drive) is worth the less complex single drive arrangement. CPU: Ryzen 9 5900 Cooler: EVGA CLC280 Motherboard: Gigabyte B550i Pro AX RAM: Kingston Hyper X 32GB 3200mhz Storage: WD 750 SE 500GB, WD 730 SE 1TB GPU: EVGA RTX 3070 Ti PSU: Corsair SF750 Case: Streacom DA2 Monitor: LG 27GL83B Mouse: Razer Basilisk V2 Keyboard: G.Skill KM780 Cherry MX Red Speakers: Mackie CR5BT MiniPC - Sold for $100 Profit Spoiler CPU: Intel i3 4160 Cooler: Integrated Motherboard: Integrated RAM: G.Skill RipJaws 16GB DDR3 Storage: Transcend MSA370 128GB GPU: Intel 4400 Graphics PSU: Integrated Case: Shuttle XPC Slim Monitor: LG 29WK500 Mouse: G.Skill MX780 Keyboard: G.Skill KM780 Cherry MX Red Budget Rig 1 - Sold For $750 Profit Spoiler CPU: Intel i5 7600k Cooler: CryOrig H7 Motherboard: MSI Z270 M5 RAM: Crucial LPX 16GB DDR4 Storage: Intel S3510 800GB GPU: Nvidia GTX 980 PSU: Corsair CX650M Case: EVGA DG73 Monitor: LG 29WK500 Mouse: G.Skill MX780 Keyboard: G.Skill KM780 Cherry MX Red OG Gaming Rig - Gone Spoiler CPU: Intel i5 4690k Cooler: Corsair H100i V2 Motherboard: MSI Z97i AC ITX RAM: Crucial Ballistix 16GB DDR3 Storage: Kingston Fury 240GB GPU: Asus Strix GTX 970 PSU: Thermaltake TR2 Case: Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX Monitor: Dell P2214H x2 Mouse: Logitech MX Master Keyboard: G.Skill KM780 Cherry MX Red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted November 13, 2021 Author 3 hours ago, porina said: It should help, especially if you can afford new SSD of around 500GB in size, that should cache a several games in case you switch between them. AMD have a free one but your system might be too old to be supported: https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/store-mi Primocache is not free but a generic solution that should work on any system: https://www.romexsoftware.com/en-us/primo-cache/ I don't have experience with either of the above. On the flip side, how much space do your games take up? It might be worth considering just getting an extra SSD to use for games. I wanted to use my old SSD because I am saving up for other things. I think I'll try looking into the primocache thingy >< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted November 13, 2021 Author 2 hours ago, dizmo said: For the cost, just get an SSD and get rid of the HDD. The small amount more you'd pay (unless you have a 4 or 8 TB gaming drive) is worth the less complex single drive arrangement. I thought about it but it is expensive to buy a big SSD Like a 1TB one is an entire month worth of me going to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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