As you know, we love SSD Caching here at HCW. It is our recommendation that every PC have one installed for any mechanical drive you have – even if you have an SSD installed already. We have found that SSD caching is pretty much just like using a pure SSD, so there really is no reason not to use it.

If you have a motherboard based on the Intel Z68 or Z77 chipset (among some others), you already have the ability to SSD cache with Smart Response. However if you don’t, you need to look to third party cache software. The most popular being Dataplex, made by NVELO. This is the software that comes with products like the Crucial Adrenaline, OCZ Synapse, among others. We have found that this software is just as effective as Intel’s.

NVELO’s Dataplex software is currently available on many different dedicated SSD Cache products

That is why it is somewhat disappointing that the most popular alternative to Smart Response was just purchased by Samsung, an SSD manufacturer. We’re not sure what this means for existing products at this point, but I’m pretty sure moving forward, we won’t be seeing any new third party products using Dataplex. One can assume that we will start seeing new dedicated SSD Cache products from Samsung eventually.

I guess we’ll have to look at some other solutions as well – something that can work with any SSD will be very useful. There are a few out there, and we’ll be contacting vendors shortly. Stay tuned!