64 GB SSD Cache

[Excal13]

Hi Everyone,

 

i currently have two 3TB WD Red in Raid0 for my mass storage (OS is on 500GB 850Evo but I don't keep anything other than an OS and few essential files on it). Is it worth it to get a 64 GB cheap SSD as a cache drive for the Raid0 HDD? Will there be any material performance gains? If so anyone know any good and easy guides to set this up?

 

thanks,

 

[xentropa]

Is this drive heavily used for data transfer?  i.e. video editing or file server for many clients.  

 

The main disadvantage of HDDs is that it is not random access, so any operation that requires accessing different data on different parts of the disk would cause severe slowdowns, since the mechanical head has to move to the desired part as opposed to SSDs which can electronically access any part of its memory array at equal speed.  Only programs, games or file servers would utilize a storage device in this manner.

 

For operations that require sequential access (such as a very large video file) you will not notice any benefit since HDDs are capable of several hundred mbps read write if the data is sequential.  

 

If you are experiencing slowdowns with your HDD, try defragging first.

 

Overall though, from what I can guess you are using your PC for, I would say probably no noticeable improvement in performance.

[DannyRyu]

2 minutes ago, xentropa said:

Is this drive heavily used for data transfer?  i.e. video editing or file server for many clients.  

 

The main disadvantage of HDDs is that it is not random access, so any operation that requires accessing different data on different parts of the disk would cause severe slowdowns, since the mechanical head has to move to the desired part as opposed to SSDs which can electronically access any part of its memory array at equal speed.

 

For operations that require sequential access (such as a very large video file) you will not notice any benefit since HDDs are capable of several hundred mbps read write if the data is sequential.  

 

If you are experiencing slowdowns with your HDD, try defragging first.

 

Overall though, from what I can guess you are using your PC for, I would say probably no noticeable improvement in performance.

I Don't think thats what he's talking about.

He's talking about adding cache to his Raid 0 Array which I didn't know was possible until now...

[DannyRyu]

Just took a look. looks like it can increase speed by upto 30% on some tasks.

Looks like its a pretty good option for a cheap price.

[Excal13]

 

2 hours ago, DannyRyu said:

Just took a look. looks like it can increase speed by upto 30% on some tasks.

Looks like its a pretty good option for a cheap price.

Cool thx, where did you read up to 30% and what tasks?

[DannyRyu]

On 3/8/2016 at 10:43 PM, Excal13 said:

 

Cool thx, where did you read up to 30% and what tasks?

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4329/intel-z68-chipset-smart-response-technology-ssd-caching-review/4

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2593&page=1

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2048120/benchmarks-dont-lie-ssd-upgrades-deliver-huge-performance-gains.html

http://www.hardcoreware.net/ssd-cache-performance/

 

Don't know if they are all reliable sources but its really cheap and looks like a great alternative.