Best RAM cache software

[kizoku_95]

i have an old 500gb 7200rpm seagate HDD and it seems to have become quite slow. Recently a friend of mine suggested that i start using RAM caching software and to that suggestion i searched the internet and found some RAM cache software but i couldnt decide which is the best one for my system.I just want faster program load times nothing else!

my system has 8gb total ram DDR2. please suggets me a good ram caching software and how much ram i should use as an cache.

please help! 

[GoodBytes]

If you have Windows Vista and up, you have SuperFetch, it works like RAM cache.

It monitors what you run when you run it, and pre-loads your application before you do, for faster startup. It's enabled by default.

 

Beside that, make sure that your SATA controller is set to AHCI mode on your BIOS, and you can always deep defrag your HDD.

For deep defragging, I highly recommend O&O Defrag. while it is a paying software, the trial software is all you really need, as a deep defrag, you do this just once, and you are good until you next time re-install Windows (assuming you use Windows defrag or something else to continue the maintain the drive fragment free).

 

Once O&O defrag installed and open. On the top menu, click on "Zone Filling", then when you click on the down arrow of the Start button, you should have as option: OPTIMIZE/Complete.

Click on that, and depending on how much data you have on your drive, and how much fragmented it is, you may want to leave it overnight (be sure to set Windows to not go to sleep after a while). The process can take 5-8hours, if you are packed with data or heavy fragmented. Basically what the deep defrag will do, is not only defrag your drive like any other defrag software, What it also does is relocated data based on access. This allows to have Windows startup files to be one after another, and same for your programs. As your HDD head will reduce the number of time it needs to move to a new location to get other files by the program you are running or Windows itself, it will increase performance.

 

If that doesn't help, or you want even faster, then I am afraid you need to get an SSD as your best option. I recommend a 120GB SSD if you are on a budget, where you put Window, programs, and most played games, and put your personal data such as video, music, pictures on your HDD, as that doesn't require a fast drive, as pictures are fairly small, and videos are streamed from the disk so there is no load time, beside the video player, which will be on your SSD in any case.

 

They are 3 types of SSD.

 - TLC based nand SSD

 - MLC asynchronous based nand SSD

 - and, MLC synchronous based nand SSD

 

- TLC has the most limited number of writes, but still sufficient for most people. The Samsung 840 is the only SSD on the market uses these chip. They are the same chips as USB flash drives. The SSD has a 3 year warranty.

 

- MLC asynchronous based nand, cost more, but support even more writes than TLC based nand. This SSD is great if you write a lot on your SSD, and if perfect for most people on this forum. They have 3 year warranty.

 

 - MLC synchronous based nand,, cost the most, but they are the fastest drives, benchmarks reflects better real world performance, and support much more writes. This is the type of SSD, you can trash of writes daily like an HDD, even dare I say it, defrag (even thought, as testing a million and one times, showed 0 performance increase, as it can access all parts of a file in 1 shot) and not have to worry about anything. Hence why they have a 5 year warranty.

 

If you are not compiling code all day, or doing extremely write intensive task, and don't care/need about the fastest performance money can buy (at least on the consumer market, for SATA based SSDs), then it's not for you. TLC is sufficient, MLC asynchronous is if you want to be on the safe side of things, and you download a lot.

 

Please remember that the warranty length is NOT the life span of the SSD. See it more as a: guaranty of 0 issues for that period, assuming no manufacture error, or something that breaks it, like a power spike or something, or other bad luck event. Usually after 3-4 years, you'll have by then a much faster, more reliable, larger and cheaper SSD, and you'll probably buy one.  So even if you assume that the warranty is the expiry date for an SSD, you have nothing to worry about.

 

If you are concerned about the reliability of an SSD. Usually, if make sure that your SSD has the latest firmware before you put any data on once you buy it, and that it passes 3 months of computer usages, it will be fine. So you may want to keep that HDD with Windows on and everything for at least 3 month after you get your SSD. And beside, all your personal data will stay on the HDD so you'll lose nothing important, beside. Remove that broken SSD, if you by bad luck it ended up faulty, and your system will boot on your HDD, as Windows is still there form 3 months ago. Usually it's not a problem., and are reliable.