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mSATA SSD as Exclusive Cache?

olneydesign
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Hey guys!

 

I am in the process of building my first rig in about 10 years... I have enjoyed some of the Linus Tech Tips videos, and have found them to be helpful.  I have noticed in a few of the videos he suggests partitioning a portion (60GB) of your SSD main drive as a System Cache (or is it Hard Drive Cache?) partition, alongside a separate HDD for file storage.

 

My question is...

 

Can I install a (relatively) cheap mSATA SSD directly to my motherboard (MSI MPOWER MAX) to serve exclusively as my disk cache?  Thus saving space on my SSD boot drive for system and applications.

 

Is this possible?  Useful?

 

Thanks for your help!

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extremely interested in this thread! ive asked this question many of times but never have gotten an answer. I have a 120gb ssd partioned into 3 parts. 64gb for a potential HDD cache, 12gb for buffering (I will never put anything on this section) and the rest is OS and programs. all the cache drives mention unplugging your ssd but obviously I cant do that. hope you find an answer!

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Yes, it will work

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Yes, it will work

but how? :(

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extremely interested in this thread! ive asked this question many of times but never have gotten an answer. I have a 120gb ssd partioned into 3 parts. 64gb for a potential HDD cache, 12gb for buffering (I will never put anything on this section) and the rest is OS and programs. all the cache drives mention unplugging your ssd but obviously I cant do that. hope you find an answer!

 

What is the primary benefit of partitioning your SSD for "potential HHD cache"?  In the video he says "To accelerate our mechanical drive."  Does this mean access times to files will be quicker on the HDD?

 

 

Yes, it will work

 

Is this as simple as telling windows where to store its cache files?  and if so, something you could setup through the command lines during OS installation?

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it allows for common files and programs to be speed up by cache information on the ssd. this only works if its a common file. like lets say you open a game off your hdd multiple times a day. this will potentially speed that time up after a while. this is my understanding of it. not 100% sure though

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It works great. I typically use the Intel 313 20 or 24 Gig mSATA drives since they're SLC type chips, but will be trying the new Intel 525 series in a few days, 30 or 60 gig forget which one.

 

I have many systems with this and at first you don't see the boost till you're logged in for awhile and it starts caching your apps/data, then its like super fast. Your millage may vary depending on how you use your computer.

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It works great. I typically use the Intel 313 20 or 24 Gig mSATA drives since they're SLC type chips, but will be trying the new Intel 525 series in a few days, 30 or 60 gig forget which one.

 

I have many systems with this and at first you don't see the boost till you're logged in for awhile and it starts caching your apps/data, then its like super fast. Your millage may vary depending on how you use your computer.

Is this setup redundant or even wasteful if your main drive is an SSD, with the system and all applications stored here, then a HDD purely for Data?

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Is this setup redundant or even wasteful if your main drive is an SSD, with the system and all applications stored here, then a HDD purely for Data?

 

I use it with spinning drives, most likely wasteful/pointless as you state with a SSD OS drive. You can have the cache drive setup with the HDD and have the caching benefit.

I roll with sigs off so I have no idea what you're advertising.

 

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I use it with spinning drives, most likely wasteful/pointless as you state with a SSD OS drive. You can have the cache drive setup with the HDD and have the caching benefit.

I guess the benefit I'm looking for is faster access to large photoshop and model files (Max, Revit, Rhino etc.) that will be stored on a HDD. Does Intel SSD Caching help with large files? Or only "system" files?

Also if I have an secondary, cheapish, SSD for the primary SSDs caching will that prolong the life of my bigger main SSD?

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I guess the benefit I'm looking for is faster access to large photoshop and model files (Max, Revit, Rhino etc.) that will be stored on a HDD. Does Intel SSD Caching help with large files? Or only "system" files?

Also if I have an secondary, cheapish, SSD for the primary SSDs caching will that prolong the life of my bigger main SSD?

 

The caching feature works with hard drive access, no matter what the file content is, including OS files/programs.

I roll with sigs off so I have no idea what you're advertising.

 

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Well all said n done! The question still remains! How do i do it? I have a primary ssd for os but in addition to that i have another 120 gb ssd in my build along with other mechanical drives.... i know u could do it via intel srt but i cant seem to find any download link anywhere.. are there any other softwares that allow u to use ssds as a cache for mechanical drives?

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Yea, I forgot that. You need to install the Intel Rapid Storage Technology app and then when that's installed you run it and from the initial Status tab select the mSATA drive and add it as a caching device for the hard drive which you'll have to pick if there's more than one hard drive.

I roll with sigs off so I have no idea what you're advertising.

 

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i was certain that srt worked only on os drives. or that you had to 1st install windows on the hdd then srt then move the os to the ssd.

Anything I write is just a comment, take is as such, there is no guarantees associated with anything I say.

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Intel Smart Response Technology works on any compatible chipset motherboard and requires an SSD or mSATA SSD with at least 18.6GB of free space and a single hard drive or RAID volume. mSATA SSD's are often used for SRT as they're normally limited in storage size.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgYPk2j5PNM

 

 

http://download.intel.com/support/chipsets/sb/intel_smart_response_technology_user_guide.pdf

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