Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver 10.5
The new Intel RST driver incorporates some new features in support of Smart Response Tech. They only appear when you have an HDD and SSD installed.
Choosing to enable the cache brings up a simple window, where the default settings are suitable for probably 99% of users:
Once clicked through, almost instantly the switch is made and the HDD is reconfigured as a RAID device, with the SSD overlaid as a cache. The GUI then transforms into the following:
So with the transformation completed, it’s time to see just what sort of difference can be had with this change in place.
Great Article.
Allyn, is
Great Article.
Allyn, is there any reason this wouldn’t work using one of OCZ’s PCIE Revo Drives?
It has to be a SATA SSD
It has to be a SATA SSD connected to the Z68.
Awesome job Allyn, thank you.
Awesome job Allyn, thank you.
Allyn, can a RAID 1+0
Allyn, can a RAID 1+0 configuration (4HDD) be used together with the SSD Caching ? OR 2HDD in RAID 1 with th SSD Caching?
Yes. From the Intel
Yes. From the Intel docs:
Intel® Smart Response Technology only support 1 HDD + 1 SSD or 1 RAID Partition + 1 SSD combination.
I’d put the RAID 10 on the 4 SATA 3Gb/sec ports, for consistency.
Hi Allyn,
I have just
Hi Allyn,
I have just installed my OCZ 64GB SSD and am using a Hitachi 1TB HD. All is working well, but I would like to know if other factors (normally used on SSDs alone) need to be addressed here too?
Some of these factors are: Sector Alignment, turning off Defrag, No Pagefile, etc.
Thanks,
Bernie
Allyn,
I noticed the Intel
Allyn,
I noticed the Intel 310 40 Gig SSD on the HW leader-board. It looks like this drive is more for Notebooks vs, desktops where size and low power isn’t as critical. Any idea why we should select this vs. something designed more for Desktops? I want to use this drive on a Z68 MB as a SMART scratch drive. What do you recommend for around $100?
Looking at getting most or all of items on High-end HW Leader Board.
Thanks,
Mike
Sandy Bridge motherboards
Sandy Bridge motherboards have UEFI support (not sure if all of them have it).
What I did was create a single volume 4 x 2tb raid 10 array, C & D partitions, installed Windows 7 with EFI boot on the GPT disk.
Walla Sandy Bridge Raid 10 boot with 60gb SSD caching both partitions on the single volume.
Seems to be an excellent
Seems to be an excellent performance boost with older slower drives, but suppose you use a 60GB SSD cache, a 120GB SSD drive for apps, and a larger SATA 3 for data?
Would this be a waste of hardware?
What if the smaller drive used as a cache read/writes at about 250 Mbps and the larger SSD for apps writes at around 500?
Would one be better off leaving the cache out of the mix?
Thanks in advance!
Quick questions:
1) what is
Quick questions:
1) what is faster, 2x HDD 7200Rpm in RAID or 1 HDD + small SSD for caching?
2) would a combination of 2x HDD 7200RPM in RAID + small SSD caching both be as fast as 2x SSD in RAID?
sorry, how can io access the
sorry, how can io access the option rom menu? generally it’s “ctrl+i” but not on my laptop. thanks.