Best SSD for caching/Intel SRT

Performance is much better when a solid state drive is used as a Windows 7 boot drive and to store software applications.

Intel's SRT caching technology was designed for buyers who cannot justify or afford the cost of a larger capacity solid-state drive. According to Intel, the original idea was that for about $100.00 a user could purchase a small capacity ssd of about 20GB and use it as a cache to improve hard disk drive performance. The actual improvement could not compare to a stand alone ssd. Intel also tested different capacities all the way up to 512GB and concluded 64GB was the point of diminishing return. It made more sense to use a 64GB ssd as a boot drive that also contained software programs. Intel was hoping that if business clients saw an increase in performance, then they would be induced to purchase larger capacity ssd's.

Here is a link to the instructions published by Intel:

http://download.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/...

Here is a link to Intel support for SRT:

http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/highlights/chpsts/...

Here is a link explaining SRT and how to set it up:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Intel-Smart-Resp...

All of the SATA III 6Gb/s ssd's you mentioned are good drives. The Crucial C300 is a very popular drive. The Crucial m4 is supposed to be a new and improved version of the C300.

That reply isn't' accurate. SSD caching greatly increases performance of traditional disk, coming within range of SSD disks. It's great tech! Google benchmarks for SSD caching, it's very impressive.

I don't doubt the fact that the results are impressive, but is it more cost effective for performance to buy an SSD for caching rather than buying one to store OS and main applications?

This thread is ancient history from July 2011 and should have been closed.

The information was accurate at the time I posted it. A lot has changed since then.

First, there has been an improvement in ssd caching. NVELO probably did the best job of improving caching software.

Second, there has been a large reduction in ssd prices. Today you can buy a lot more than a 20GB ssd for $100.00. Currently you can purchase a modern 3rd generation SATA 3 6Gb/s 128GB solid state drive for less than $100.00. If you can install the operating system, software applications, utilities, and favorite games on a 128GB ssd, then caching becomes a moot point.