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Then why not use fast RAM for the pagefile? battery backup with CF copy function would be easy, and big capacity RAM HDs are already made so the technology is available.
Long Term analysis of Intel Mainstream SSD's
- Thread starter Zarf
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Caporegime
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- 18 Oct 2002
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because mostly, memory, physical ram is FAR more expensive and would need a battery backup. I'm not talking about best of both worlds in terms of performance but in terms of usability. Write combining has its downsides, obviously though they aren't that bad. But we generally won't be moving away from needing a pagefile yet, you need temp files that need to be generated for use infrequently but not often enough for use in main memory or for when main memory needs something else. But if pagefile is going to be damaging SSD's in terms of read performance/fragmentation and lifespan, then why not stick it on a replaceable cheap section as opposed to killing the entire expensive SSD. I'm basically talking ways to make the money you do spend more effective, last longer, keep performance at top levels and minimise costs to replace worn out parts. A ram disk/drive is just in the "more money than sense" type situation. It gives you superb performance, but i'm simply talking about getting the most out of a SSD, not getting the best performance money can buy.
AS for the hybrid things out now, its less mixing different types, but more making one part removeable/replacable which afaik hasn't been done yet, at least not for general use products rather than some things aimed at certain people.
It just seems silly to pay £200 for a small drive and have it slowly damaged by pagefile, dropping performance and eventually dying early when you can get a £180 drive, a £20 addon, kill the addon with temp files and when that goes, just replace the £20 part.
Its still not "great" for home use because people won't get why they need it, and untill its a standard thing and OS's will automatically put the pagefile on a designated section without the average home user having to manually choose it, its not going to be perfect. But for the people who ***** £300 on raptor raid setups, enthusiasts I guess, it would be a pretty welcome option.
Intel's Response (to PCPer) - don't think this has been posted yet....
Hmm, looks like they are desperately trying to throw dirt on PCPer to minimise the articles effect, doesn't bode well for them having a solution to the issue soon.
Yes the pagefile is one of the most damaging things to have running on your SSD but that isn't the only thing that will quickly wear them from use by the system. System flags and markers used by the HTFS system (file last accessed probably one of the most relevant examples) area also being rewritten at an alarming rate. As previously mentioned we need a new file system for the formatting of SSDs which could then be written to take into account such devices as you propose. Think the installation Windows could also be configured to run a lot more friendly on this type of device. I don't see work on this really bearing fruit just yet but hopefully within the next few years if it proves that SSD do become more popular than traditional HDDs.