Whcih is faster: Intel RST or simply using a full SSD for your OS?

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DannyITR

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Sep 3, 2009
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My laptop came with a mini SSD that uses Intel RST in addition to the standard hard disk. If I wipe everything, would I get better performance installing my OS in its entirety on the SSD?

Am I correct in assuming the RST is just a way to augment a standard hard drive's performance with a tiny SSD? Or can this be used to increase speed on any setup, space permitting?
 
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DannyITR

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Well it came with Win 8 secure boot so I have to do all sorts of crap just to get into the bios but you can't "boot" off the SSD because Win 8 came installed on the HDD. I ordered a new Win 7 CD from newegg and I plan to install it.

It's 20GB so I'm hoping it's enough for a clean non-ASUS infected install of Windows.
 
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Deleted member 217926

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Agree with the above. It's just too small. You need to leave at least ~20% of an SSD free for TRIM to work correctly as well.
 
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DannyITR

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aaaah that' snot what I wanted to hear. I also need to install Word, Excel and Photoshop. I might attempt it anyways and will let you guys know how it goes.

Still looking for answer to weather a full SSD is better than a Intel RST + HDD setup. I would imagine it is.
 
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PatrikSt

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And did it work? It's the same I would like to try with my 24,9 GB SSD but I'm not realy sure if it works...
 
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gtaber

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I have a question along the same lines as this. My Asus laptop has a regular hdd and a mSATA SSD-the SSD is being used for IntelRST, and is only 28GIG. I want to replace the mSATA with a 128GIG mSATA, and the regular HDD with a 240GIG SATA SSD. Will my computer continue to function with out the IntelRST partition on the mSATA? Optimally, I would like to run the OS from the new 128GIG mSATA drive, and use the 240GIG for storage. It's an Asus 500CA viviobook, running windows 8.1, now just one year old, and out of warranty, so I can modify it. I haven't really played with mSATA before, and the RST stuff. If there is a guide you can point me to about this, that would be great.
 
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DannyITR

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It did work yes! I was pleased with the result but after the OS was installed I only had about 4GB of free space left. This can get eaten up rapidly with browsing, temp files, Apple Iphone updates etc. Not every program can be fully installed onto the D drive. What I had to do was set up what were called directory junctions. Instead of having Apple or another program default to backup onto the C drive, it automatically links the location to your storage drive and sends the data there. Instructions on how to do this are here:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/278262-mklink-create-use-links-windows.html

I also remember I had to change some setting in the BIOS in order for the computer to recognize the small SSD as a real drive instead of just a cache drive. I'm now in the process of returning everything to stock because I've sold the laptop in favor of a Microsoft Surface tablet with keyboard.


 
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DannyITR

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I was going to try this myself because the SSD for so small and it became annoying. Was going ot just buy a bigger one. It should work no problem. I made sure to get a USB stick and create a full recovery drive in case I ever wanted to go back. I also left the RST partitions intact but the computer worked fine without using RST.
 
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gtaber

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I was going to try this myself because the SSD for so small and it became annoying. Was going ot just buy a bigger one. It should work no problem. I made sure to get a USB stick and create a full recovery drive in case I ever wanted to go back. I also left the RST partitions intact but the computer worked fine without using RST.
[/quotemsg]

Well, I jumped in, and was successful-I bought a 128 gig mSATA SSD, and replaced the 24 GIG that came with my laptop. Machine still booted just fine to win 8.1, just booted slower. Using EaseUS partition manager, I could see the new SSD, and put a partition on it, format it and copy files to it. So, the next step was wipe the 128 GIG SSD, and remove the 500 gig HDD. I had already made a Win 7 install USB flash drive, so I then booted from the usb stick, and Win 7 proceeded to install normally to the mSATA 128 GIG SSD-fastest Win 7 install I ever experienced. Got Win 7 up and going, and that's what I'm using to type this. My next step is to reinstall the 500 GIG HDD and see if it will still boot from the mSATA. I don't want to wipe it, as that's the only place my Win 8 install that came with the computer is. (Not sure why, but I may want it later). I do have a Samsung 850 EVO 250 GIG SATA SSD on the way, which I am going to clone the 500 gig HDD to, and use it for storage.
Does anybody know how I can extract my windows 8 install from the special HDD partitions to either DVD or flash drive?
 
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