Need help setting up my SSD for Caching

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xKrNMBoYx
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Need help setting up my SSD for Caching

Post by xKrNMBoYx »

If you don't want to read all of this then scroll down to the section where I made the text bold.

Alright guys usually I go through a process of getting to know people in forums (Hopefully I can later on) but I need help setting up my SSD for caching.

A few months ago I purchased a 30GB Intel 525 mSATA SSD. I wanted to use IRST but I cannot because my notebook does not have an option to set my storage devices in RAID mode. So later I learned about NVELO Dataplex. The problem with that software is that it is currently only released for specific SSD's for a few licensed brands. Samsung purchased that company now so I don't know if they will ever release the software for all SSD's. The bigger problem is they don't support Windows 8 officially yet, and have a lot of other restrictions.

This is the last caching software I found. It installed great and the beta was successfully updated with the licence key. I have installed the Volume edition because I didn't know the difference between the Volume and Drive. The problem is I don't really know how to set it up. There is a guide offered but it's not dumbed down enough for me (sorry.)

So here are the details. I have the 30GB SSD, and I also have a 1TB HDD that is 5400RPM. This is my first laptop and I am used to using 7200RPM HDDs. 5400RPM is really slow when it's being utilized at 100%. What I want to do is use the 30GB SSD as a cache to the 1TB system drive. Can someone show me the solution in details. This may sound confusing but I know what all the options are in the program and what they mean, but I don't know how to set it up.

By clicking on each HDD/Volume at the top the information switches in the configuration section below. If I want to use the SSD as the cache for the 1TB (C:) drive do I click on the SSD (E:) and choose my settings, or do I select the HDD (C:) and choose my settings.

I would also like to ask what are recommended settings for the best improvement for SSD Caching with FancyCache. Is it safer to use MBU or LBW? Will the performance difference be massive?

The most important thing I need help for is the general setup.

.:edit:.

While I wait for a reply I am going to look through some threads. Already have six threads open to see if they help.

.:edit:.

Alright so as I said my goal is to make my C: drive perform better. So logically it would be correct assign L1 Cache and maybe L2 to the C: Drive correct? If I try to figure out this logically then this is what I would think is the correct way to setup FancyCache for me.

1) Select my C:\ Drive
2) Allocate my Level-1 Cache Size (Which is RAM)
3) Choose to Enable Defer Write or not

By doing this will FancyCache use the #Allocated RAM as L1 Cache, correct? Depending on how much RAM/L1 I allocated it would be good to allocate my unused SSD as Level-2 cache. So this is how I would think it should be allocated to cache my C:\ Drive.

1) Enable Level-2 Cache
2) Choose how much space I want to allocate from my SSD
3) Choose MBU or LBW
4) Select my SSD E:\ as the SSD/Flash/Other Drive for L2 Cache

Would this be the correct way to setup my SSD? I understand with MBU when the SSD gets full that FC will replace the data with the most frequently used data, and that the LBW will not replace the data on the L2 but will change in the L1.

Can boot time be improved with FancyCache? Will my frequently used programs open faster (Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Games, etc)?

Just curious as that's why I'm wanting to use a cache drive currently.

My SSD is a MLC SATA III Drive will using MBU severely use my writes?

Thanks
dustyny
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Re: Need help setting up my SSD for Caching

Post by dustyny »

5400RPM is really slow when it's being utilized at 100%.
So many people have come to this product looking for some magic that will make their slow hard drives fast. You will still have to read data off of the slow HDD and the cache only becomes useful after you try to access that data a 2nd+ time. So if we were to play a MP3, first it is read off the HDD, it goes into the cache, now if I play it again it will be read from the cache instead of the HDD. You will see an improvement in performance but it's not going to be enough to hide the fact that you have a very slow hdd.
Would this be the correct way to setup my SSD? I understand with MBU when the SSD gets full that FC will replace the data with the most frequently used data, and that the LBW will not replace the data on the L2 but will change in the L1.
I use LFU & MBU. I age out the less frequently used data and I suggest MBU as modern SSDs do not wear out as quickly as people think. People latched on to the possibility of SSDs wearing out but it never actually became a problem, now it's just an urban legend. Even a small drive such as yours would take a very long time to wear out.
Can boot time be improved with FancyCache? Will my frequently used programs open faster (Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Games, etc)?
No it will not. Boot time has a lot of things going on, you'd be surprised how much of that time is H/W.

My advice:
Don't use write defer. No offense but it's obvious that you don't understand how this product works and write defer is a potentially dangerous feature that puts your data at risk for corruption.
Don't use LV2 caching. At the moment there is a memory leak and it will starve your other apps.
Use LV1 caching, with as much ram as you can spare.
xKrNMBoYx
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Re: Need help setting up my SSD for Caching

Post by xKrNMBoYx »

You're right I had a specific use or want when I found this program. Sadly there is no support that explains this software from the devs or advanced users. So I can see that the blame is both on me and everyone else. It took three days for a single reply, and the reply really wasn't helpful. Luckily I just purchased a 120GB Intel 520 for $60 so I won't need this program anymore. This thread is closed. Hopefully once FancyCache comes out of beta Romex will provide more details on the software for users.
dustyny
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Re: Need help setting up my SSD for Caching

Post by dustyny »

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Last edited by dustyny on Tue Apr 30, 2013 12:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
dustyny
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Re: Need help setting up my SSD for Caching

Post by dustyny »

You're right I had a specific use or want when I found this program.
Most people are confused by the limitations of the program and expect that it can do far more than what software (in general) is capable of doing. I guess it does seem a bit magical. :)

That is one of the problems with this application. It's an advanced tool that needs a certain level of knowledge to understand how to use it but it draws a lot of hobbyists/gamers who need something a bit simpler. I think it has a bit of a identity issue at the moment.
It took three days for a single reply, and the reply really wasn't helpful.
Sorry my reply wasn't more helpful but the forum is full of my replies that do go very in depth at explaining how to use the product and how storage works in general. As always it's best to exhaust searching & reading the forums before asking a question, as people (such as myself) get tired of writing the same responses over and over again. Unfortunately besides myself there aren't many active people in the forums, I think the long break between beta's has lost some people.
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