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    Caching drive question

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by Platelock, Dec 29, 2012.

  1. Platelock

    Platelock Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hey guys!

    Quick stupid question.. I've got the 750gb HDD and the 32gb SSD Caching drive and I'm curious as to how I see if the caching drive is doing what it is suppose to do. Are there any options I need to enable? Anywhere I can see the drive and if its working?

    I have windows 8 FYI.

    Thanks for the help!
     
    Platelock, Dec 29, 2012
    #1
  2. Sublime865

    Sublime865 Notebook Consultant

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    The caching - as far as everything I have read - is automatic. For day to day tasks; boot up, opening apps, loading files, etc; it should behave like an SSD and be blindingly fast. I would comment that it isn't an area I am too experienced in so I would definitely like someone who actually knows what they are talking about to confirm XD but as far as I know there isn't anything you'd need to do.
     
    Sublime865, Dec 29, 2012
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  3. Platelock

    Platelock Notebook Enthusiast

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    Yea. I've heard that it just kinda does it's own thing. I guess I'd like to know its working properly considering I paid for it haha.

    Thanks for your input! Anyone else got some info?
     
    Platelock, Dec 29, 2012
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  4. radji

    radji Farewell, Solenya...

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    Intel RST will tell you if the mSATA drive is setup for caching. But there isn't really a way to see how your cache drive is performing in real time (or at least there's no app or widget I've found to date). If your cache drive was setup from factory, then there's no reason to shout that it's all not working likes it should.
     
    radji, Dec 29, 2012
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  5. Platelock

    Platelock Notebook Enthusiast

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    Definitely not shouting that its not working. Just curious about a way to see that it is doing the job.
     
    Platelock, Dec 29, 2012
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  6. MickyD1234

    MickyD1234 Notebook Prophet

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    You could just turn it off and do some timing tests. Just use the IRST icon on the taskbar and you can do it from there...
     
    MickyD1234, Dec 30, 2012
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  7. Alienware-L_Porras

    Alienware-L_Porras Company Representative

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    This is true, you can do that and try some benchmarks and see if it performs any better. If the loading time on apps and Windows is fast then it is definitely working. 750GB HDD are not that fast without the mSATA caching.
     
    Alienware-L_Porras, Jan 2, 2013
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