SSD set up options

[edgedemon]

Can i clear up a few things as a first time SSD user?

I have two crucial 128Gb M4 drives that Im planning on setting up as a RAID 0 solution on my R4E mobo.
I have a 2 TB drive for storage which Im concerned about being the bottleneck for my system?

I understand that I will need to use Intel RST drivers and that they are bringing RAID 0 TRIM support to the drivers - has this happened yet???

When they enable TRIM support, will it mean an OS re-install?

Best way to set up the drives for maximum system performance?

option 1 - Have an OS partion, an Apps partition and a cache partition for mechanical HDD
option 2 - Just have a partion for OS, use the rest for apps and then set up a RAM drive - I have 32Gb of RAM, so have a bit spare

Can I do both??

option 3 - just have a RAM drive?


option 4 - Would I be better picking up a cheap 60GB SSD and using a non intel SATA port (I know they are slower) and devoting the entire SSD to cache for the mechanical HDD even if it is not the primary OS drive - can I do that?

As you can see, Im getting a bit confused with all the options..

Also as a side note, why do people recommend moving the my documents folder to the HDD, surely it makes sense to move everything you use often to the SSD

 

[Dirk]

Raid the M4's and use as Primary, and use the the HDD for storing Media/Backups.

That's it. No need for partitioning.

RST doesn't have TRIM yet but i doubt you'd need to re-install when the time comes. Probably just an RST upgrade.

 

[edgedemon]

But wouldn't I see a performance boost if I use a cache or RAM drive..
As the space on the SSD's is limited, like most people I still face a lot of stuff being on the mechanical drive and therefore that will be the bottleneck.
Im seriously thinking of buying a cheap SSD and trying to use it as cache for the HDD to avoid the performance hit.
Otherwise all the money Im spending on this high end system will be wasted as the slowest point of the system will be the same as my last system - the HDD

 

[Dirk]

How big is your primary install now? 256GB should be enough for most people. You don't have to have every game you own installed at the same time do you? My C: is ~25GB currently.

Ramdisk is pointless if you already have an SSD as your Primary drive so i see no reason to waste time with one.

The only thing you really want on your Storage drive is Media files, which are fine on a HDD.