I just got Primo Cache yesterday and it looks promising!

[RJARRRPCGP]

 

[Deleted member 242843]

Yeah, Primocache is really cool. Can do multi-tiered caches for most storage configs. I have been using it for a while now.

 

[Assimilator]

The whole reason for the existence of caching solutions was the fact that HDDs have high latency; SSDs inherently do not and therefore don't need caching. So why exactly do you think you need this?

 

[Deleted member 242843]

Mostly for speeding up raid arrays or jbods comprised of hdd rather than ssd. A ram cache on top of an ssd cache can do wonders for their performance.

There are other use cases. can use a small nvme ssd to cache a larger sata ssd. Can do all manner of tiered storage with it. Great for windows-based iscsi, nvr, nas, or basically any storage hosted in windows. One can certainly do the same thing without it, but boy, does primocache make it easy.

I have always been a fan of using ramdrives to speed things up.....this makes it super easy. They also have a completely separate ramdrive program, if one prefers.

 

[Ruru]

The whole reason for the existence of caching solutions was the fact that HDDs have high latency; SSDs inherently do not and therefore don't need caching. So why exactly do you think you need this?

Remember the caching thing when SSHDs were a thing. IIRC they sped up the drive pretty notably.

 

[JLBENEDICT]

Does PrimoCache clean up desktop icons? Just asking.. no reason

 

[Wirko]

Does PrimoCache clean up desktop icons? Just asking.. no reason

Maybe not but it sure caches them, so screen redraw is a bit less slow.

There are other use cases. can use a small nvme ssd to cache a larger sata ssd. Can do all manner of tiered storage with it.

Now this part sounds interesting.

 

[AVATARAT]

The whole reason for the existence of caching solutions was the fact that HDDs have high latency; SSDs inherently do not and therefore don't need caching. So why exactly do you think you need this?

The latency to RAM is lower than to NVME, and the transfer is huge, and this is healthy for the life of NVME as well.
Ultimately it's not a big deal, but why not?

Yes, for HDDs this is a game changer.
I've been using it for over a year and there's no way I'm going back.

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

Deferred-write is one of the best features! It knows to have trimmed data not written to SSDs in the first place. Like the old-school, Windows gets a big dose of third-party-help again!

The most noticeable, would be to write to RAM first, before going to the SSD. Looks like this helps the most with small writes. Hopefully, many people with a desktop, has a UPS now.

This is not just for platter drives, folks!

 

[Shrek]

I would be concerned about a crash or power cut when stuff is still in RAM

 

[Visible Noise]

Been using it for at least 10 years on every machine I’ve owned. I‘ve bought enough licenses that I have qualified for volume licensing.

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

I would be concerned about a crash or power cut when stuff is still in RAM

I can manually flush the cache. Also, here's a technique I've been using for years and years: After important file changes, I choose restart on the Start menu, let it reboot, then go into Windows and then choose "Shut down" then let the PC get turned off, then power it back on and login again. That's how I avoid most file corruption incidents.

 

[Deleted member 242843]

Also, here's a technique I've been using for years and years: After important file changes, I choose restart on the Start menu, let it reboot, then go into Windows and then choose "Shut down" then let the PC get turned off, then power it back on and login again. That's how I avoid most file corruption incidents.

SHHHHH......dude, stop giving the secrets away

If people ever catch on to proper power-cycling, I'll be out of a job.

 

[bhobba]

There is a guy I know who builds custom operating systems. It's just a standard Windows installation with extra features removed, e.g., I use Chrome instead of Edge, so Edge is removed. I am getting him to include Primo Cache to use on my SSD after a bit of investigation. I am also getting some new Laptops and will be using them on my current rig, which has an i7, 32 GB, and a 256 GB HDD, but I will be giving it to my sister. My new Laptop (and I was kind enough to get another two for my sister and nieces, since they were on special) has 64GB RAM and a 1 TB hard disk.

Windows does a lot of caching on disks anyway. Have a look at:

Enlightening findings on file compression and PrimoCache - Romex Software Forum

I personally doubt that a 23% improvement will be noticeable. The primary benefit appears to be that you can allocate a substantial amount of RAM to cache and achieve very high hit rates, thereby significantly reducing wear on the SSD. The person in the above post has 32GB and uses 24GB for cache. As RAM prices fall, we end up with huge caches.

No need to do it on ordinary hard drives. Windows seems to do a good enough job of that with write caching

Oh - I almost forgot. First post here - so please be kind. I'm 70 years old these days - my mind is not quite what it used to be.

Thanks
Bill

 

[Logic]

There is a guy I know who builds custom operating systems. It's just a standard Windows installation with extra features removed, e.g., I use Chrome instead of Edge, so Edge is removed. I am getting him to include Primo Cache to use on my SSD after a bit of investigation. I am also getting some new Laptops and will be using them on my current rig, which has an i7, 32 GB, and a 256 GB HDD, but I will be giving it to my sister. My new Laptop (and I was kind enough to get another two for my sister and nieces, since they were on special) has 64GB RAM and a 1 TB hard disk.

Windows does a lot of caching on disks anyway. Have a look at:

Enlightening findings on file compression and PrimoCache - Romex Software Forum

I personally doubt that a 23% improvement will be noticeable. The primary benefit appears to be that you can allocate a substantial amount of RAM to cache and achieve very high hit rates, thereby significantly reducing wear on the SSD. The person in the above post has 32GB and uses 24GB for cache. As RAM prices fall, we end up with huge caches.

No need to do it on ordinary hard drives. Windows seems to do a good enough job of that with write caching

Oh - I almost forgot. First post here - so please be kind. I'm 70 years old these days - my mind is not quite what it used to be.

Thanks
Bill

Wear:
Is reduced due to proper, coalesced writes, written to suite the sector or page or erase block size of the underlying media.
ie: Primocache queries the underlying drive to get/deduce these parameters.

Also; all that oft changed/updated files stay in cache and are changed/updated there.
Windows knows that most of the world considers a computer broken to the point you need a new one if data gets lost/corrupted, so plays beyond safe.
Me: Unless it's a file I personally created like a document or photo; it's on the net and can be re-downloaded.
Documents are saved to the cloud keystroke by keystroke, thx to Google Docs.
Photo's too.


The fact that the PrimoCache's read cache is faster than windows' read cache was a surprise.
Question is; does it get as many cache hits as Windows, what with Windows' Superfetch, Prefetch, layout.ini file and .PF files..? WhoTH knows what's actually going on there!?