review of available RAM & Program storages -Fast!

[jonjan]

Here's some info I collected and organized on totally-silent storage.... which is also much faster...


FASTER DATA STORAGE I/O

collection and main features of available
PATA, SATA, PCI-E x1 RAM drive Cards,
and application RAMDisk, RAM cache, and RAM drive volumes (mirrors)....


RAM storage is totally silent, since the RAM sticks act as storage and they have no moving parts. Also they are much faster than hard drive storage..

General Idea of what is possible with these... (i-Ram)

http://www.techreport.com/reviews/2006q1/gigabyte-iram/index.x?pg=7
So it sure looks faster also..


Here's what I found...


RAM CARDS

HyperOS HyperDrive IV (empty 8GB card $700 , empty 16GB card $1,050)
http://www.hyperossystems.co.uk/07042003/products.htm#hyperosHDIIproduct
PATA or SATA interface, 8-16GB storage, battery for 2hours of non-powered data retention, and external cord to PSU for data retention as long as the PSU is plugged in (even when in shut-down mode)

Also similar is Gigabytes iRam (empty 4GB card $120)
http://www.techreport.com/reviews/2006q1/gigabyte-iram/index.x?pg=1
(link gives data on the speed difference.. as fast as 4 RAID0 drives)

And Cenatek Rocket Drive (2GB card, upgradable to 4GB $1,600)
http://www.cenatek.com/product_rocketdrive.cfm
which seems comparatively more expensive, for it's capacity and it's PCI.

DDRDrive (8GB card $?)
http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/02/03/ddrdrive_ssd_announced_for_q1/
is supposed to be released soon, using PCI-E x1 slot


RAM Disk Applications

SuperSpeed's RamDisk $50, SuperVolume $90 and SuperCache II $150
http://www.superspeed.com/desktop/ramdisk.php
RamDisk makes a virtual Disk from the RAM installed on the system board... the 'disk' data can be loaded at start-up, and also be saved to an image file at shut-down. SuperVolume has the RAM mirror the data from a drive or partition, and that is used for I/O... and the I/O is also transferred to the hard drive itself. SuperCache uses the RAM as a cache, the same way as SuperVolume, but for drives/partitions that are larger than the amount of RAM available for the app.

WinSoft RamDisk $35
http://www.winsoft.sk/ramdisk.htm
Functions the same as the above RamDisk.

Cenatek RamDisk $50
http://www.cenatek.com/product_ramdisk.cfmAppears to be the same thing


FACTORS

Speed
the SuperSpeed http://www.superspeed.com/desktop/ramdisk.php
RamDisk, SuperVolume, and SuperCache have the strengths of not having the bottleneck of a SATA, PATA or PCI-E interface... especially RamDisk which only uses the board RAM.

Capacity
HyperDrive IV has the benefit of holding 8GB or 16GB, whereas the SuperSpeed apps and iRAM can only use 4GB, and SuperSpeed would actually use less since some RAM is needed for the usual on-board operations.

Data Retention
HyperDrive and iRAM can retain data after shut-down, by battery for a few hours (HyperDrive- 2hrs, iRam 5-10hrs), and by an external power plugged to the PSU, or to a wall outlet or UPS.
The SuperSpeed apps SuperVolume and SuperCache can retain data after full shut down and no power, since the data is also written to the hard drive.

Cost
Including the cost of $80 for a 1GB RAM stick, and $140 for a 2GB RAM stick (about the cheapest DDR1 on pricegrabber))

Gigabyte's iRam card at $450 for 4GB is $110 per GB of RAM drive.

HyperOS HyperDrive card is $1300 for a 8GB card at ($160 per GB) , and $2,100 for a 16GB at ($130 per GB) .

SuperSpeed RamDisk app. is $300 for 3GB at ($100 per GB) (assuming 4GB is installed on the board, and 1GB is used for the usual physical RAM uses). Using 2GB is $210 at $105 a GB . And using 1GB costs $130 for $130 a GB.

Cenatek RamDisk is the same cost as SuperSpeed's RamDisk... $100/GB for 3GB, $105/GB for 2GB, and $130/GB for 1GB.

WinSoft RamDisk is a bit less, $90/GB for 3GB, $100/GB for 2GB, and $115/GB for 1GB.



There is also the ability to combine SuperCache or SuperVolume, with an iRam or HyperDrive IV. So the reading and writing to the hard drive would be faster.



Jon

explore your highest guidance, whatever it may be
P4 3.8, Fortron FX700(watt), 2 nVidia NVS400 quad-vid PCI cards, CNPS9500 modded w/ 120x38mm fan (special thanks to Eric owner of www.acousticpc.com for all his help my fav trusted site for the top quiet/silent items)
Pics of my home-made modded system www.helpusall.com/computer ~ My Organization www.helpusall.com

 

[big_cheese]

Well done. I'm thinking about getting i-ram.

 

[jonjan]

thanks : )

if you do get it, it'd be great if you can post back on your experience with it.

Jon
"free your self... be your self"