We've heard mentions of AMD's downloadable RAMDisk software which will portion off a part of your system RAM to act as a cache drive to give you all the benefits of an SSD cache drive without the costs. There are three levels, two free levels which will give you 4GB if you do not have Radeon branded memory and 6GB if you do. For $18.99 you can get the Xtreme version which will allow you up to 64GB on any type of RAM and will get rid of the upgrade now pop up which you will see on the free versions. This software should work with any modern CPU from AMD or Intel which is a great move on AMDs part to help make this software popular. Hardware Canucks checked the boot time with a Super Anti-Spyware scan that is launched during boot which slowed the RAMDisk down a bit however the launch time of CS5 was significantly faster than even an SSD. Check it out here, or just download it from here.
"With memory prices on the decline and Intel's RST caching offering a great solution for budget conscious buyers, AMD is reviving the idea of memory-based application acceleration. Called Radeon RAMDisk, it promises to reduce load times to mere seconds on even the most basic of systems."
Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:
- Samsung 840 Pro @ [H]ard|OCP
- Samsung 840 Pro SSD @ Guru3D
- OCZ Vector 128GB SSD @ Tweaktown
- OCZ Agility 4 - 256GB SSD @ Funky Kit
- Intel DC S3700 Data Center SSD @ SSD Review
- Crucial M4 256GB SATA III SSD Review @ PCSTATS
- Mushkin Atlas 480GB mSATA SSD @ Tweaktown
- Exploring the Relationship Between Spare Area and Performance Consistency in Modern SSDs @ AnandTech
- Kingston SSDNow V300 SSD @ SSD Review
- Plextor Updates The Firmware on M5 Pro @ AnandTech
- Sandisk Extreme SSD 120GB/240GB review: too little too late? @ Hardware.info
- WD Red 3TB NAS Hard Drive Review @ Legit Reviews
- Western Digital RE (WD4000FYYZ) 4 TB Hard Disk @ TechARP
- 25 3.5-inch hard disk round-up: battle of the terabytes @ Hardware.info
- Western Digital Black 4TB Hard Drive Review @ Hardware Canucks
- Silverstone FP37 SDXC USB 3.0 Card Reader @ Benchmark Reviews
- Synology DS713+ NAS and DX213 Expansion Unit @ Kitguru
- ioSafe Solo G3 Fireproof and Waterproof External Hard Drive @ Tweaktown
- Silicon Power Diamond Series D03 USB 3.0 Portable HDD Review @ Madshrimps
- Silicon Power Armor A80 1TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive Review @ NikKTech
- Hitachi Touro Desk Pro 4TB USB 3.0 External HDD Review @ Madshrimps
- ADATA DashDrive Elite HE720 2.5" 500GB External Hard Drive @ eTeknix
- Synology DS-413 review: versatile 4-bay NAS @ Hardware.info
- Patriot Gauntlet Node Portable Wireless 2.5″ HDD Enclosure @ Kitguru