Benefits to using a PCI SSD for OS and SSD caching for games/programs?

[FuturDreamz]

No sorry this isn't for a physical system that will be built anytime soon, but hypothetically could a system that has a SSD for the core OS benefit from a SSD cache? A massive game or project library can exist on rust drives, but can be cached to a SSD when actively in use in order to improve performance. Any major benefit to such a setup?

 

[essenbe]

I have several Samsung drives which have caching. It, in effect, creates a ram drive for caching. When you run a benchmark you get some really outstanding scores, but for everyday use, there is no improvement.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I have several Samsung drives which have caching. It, in effect, creates a ram drive for caching. When you run a benchmark you get some really outstanding scores, but for everyday use, there is no improvement.

I believe you are referring toSamsung's RAPID (RAM caching) that first came out on the 840 EVOs and was later added to the 840 PROs; the 850 PROs and EVOs both also have RAPID. RAPID only works off the SSD that has it enabled. it isn't the same as SSD caching a HDD (or "rust drive" as the OP called it).

Seagate has several drives called SSHDs (Solid State Hard Drives) that have an 8GB NAND chip to cache the spinner. However, those give a noticeable increase in performance only if the same files are frequently accessed and are limited by the small size of the NAND. Most gamers I've seen who said they tried the SSHDs were not impressed by them. I tried a 500GB 2,5" SSHD in a notebook and I also was not impressed (a 500GB 2.5" WD Black was clearly faster).

Moving on, SSD caching, same as with an SSHD, will improve the speeds of only the most frequently used files that can all fit on the SSD. Still, performance will not be as good as if the files had been placed on the same SSD set up as an individual drive instead of a cache for a spinner.

While putting games on an SSD will dramatically decrease loading times of programs and games, it will not make a program or game run any faster unless the program or game has to access storage frequently. If you can't afford a decent SSD that can handle all your games, a better game plan (pardon the pun) than caching would be to store your games on a spinner and install only the ones you are currently playing to a smaller, less expensive SSD that is still big enough to hold those few. Since you will be increasing the number of writes using this tactic, I strongly suggest avoiding the TLC EVOs and stick to better quality MLC SSDs, such as the 850 PROs (or even a somewhat less expensive 840 PRO if you can still find them).

 

[FuturDreamz]

I have several Samsung drives which have caching. It, in effect, creates a ram drive for caching. When you run a benchmark you get some really outstanding scores, but for everyday use, there is no improvement.

I believe you are referring toSamsung's RAPID (RAM caching) that first came out on the 840 EVOs and was later added to the 840 PROs; the 850 PROs and EVOs both also have RAPID. RAPID only works off the SSD that has it enabled. it isn't the same as SSD caching a HDD (or "rust drive" as the OP called it).

Seagate has several drives called SSHDs (Solid State Hard Drives) that have an 8GB NAND chip to cache the spinner. However, those give a noticeable increase in performance only if the same files are frequently accessed and are limited by the small size of the NAND. Most gamers I've seen who said they tried the SSHDs were not impressed by them. I tried a 500GB 2,5" SSHD in a notebook and I also was not impressed (a 500GB 2.5" WD Black was clearly faster).

Moving on, SSD caching, same as with an SSHD, will improve the speeds of only the most frequently used files that can all fit on the SSD. Still, performance will not be as good as if the files had been placed on the same SSD set up as an individual drive instead of a cache for a spinner.

While putting games on an SSD will dramatically decrease loading times of programs and games, it will not make a program or game run any faster unless the program or game has to access storage frequently. If you can't afford a decent SSD that can handle all your games, a better game plan (pardon the pun) than caching would be to store your games on a spinner and install only the ones you are currently playing to a smaller, less expensive SSD that is still big enough to hold those few. Since you will be increasing the number of writes using this tactic, I strongly suggest avoiding the TLC EVOs and stick to better quality MLC SSDs, such as the 850 PROs (or even a somewhat less expensive 840 PRO if you can still find them).

Yeah I am kind of seeing this on my system with the Seagate Hybrid. Stuff I use 90% of the time is cached and so my system is really speedy and I'm happy with it. It doesn't affect games too much (though a little). But honestly, you can fit a lot of useful information into 8GB, such as files/executives that the user or system uses rather frequently but doesn't keep in memory.

There is literally a night-and-day performance difference when dualbooting Windows 8 (my main OS) and Windows 10. Windows 10 gets almost no speed improvement and takes a while to do anything, while Windows 8 is literally *click*BOOM*click*BOOM*click*BOOM*click*BOOM*click*BOOM*click*BOOM