Intel Matrix RAID and Smart Response Technology (SSD Caching)

[Holy_COW]

Hi,
I've been using Intel Matrix RAID for some time now, and I really like it as it allows me to have the best of both worlds (performance and reliability) without getting into expensive builds (RAID card, extra HDDs, etc) and still fitting in a small mATX/ITX case.


What I do is to use 2 HDDs, and thanks to the Matrix Raid, divide the disks into 2 RAIDs, a RAID0 for performance (windows/games) and a RAID1 for protection (documents, pictures, etc). -See the top of the image, current setup

With the Intel Smart Response Technology (SSD caching) I'd like to keep my setup and use SSD caching for the best READ performance, but since I don't have an SSD yet I wanted to ask the gurus here



- Will I be able to use SSD cache with the Matrix raid in place?
- Can I choose to cache only the RAID0? (each raid shows up as a different "physical" drive to windows) -see bottom of the image


Hope this can be done, as it will be a great SFF option, 3x 2.5" drives ends up being a great performance and data protection setup

[Christopher]

I think you might be able to. SRT allows you to cache system drives or non system drives, something NVELO's Dataplex doesn't allow you to do. The other thing you can do is take a SSD and use 32GB or so for cache and then you can keep the rest of the drives capacity for other uses.

But you should really consider just using a SSD instead of the R0 array, then turn both HDD drives into an R1 set. Given the price of some good 128 and 256 Gb drives, it's probably worth your while to just do one SSD with a R1 array for storage, rather than a needlessly complex setup.