Jump to content

Using system drive as local cache vs non system drive


zeoce

Recommended Posts

I was setting up a new drive for Plex 4k streaming, and I had the thought: would there be improved performance if I set the local cache location to a non system drive vs the C:/ drive (both SSD)?

i.e. would the C:/ drive performance be affected moderately by windows and other programs in the backgrounds internal system usage, enough that the clouddrive local cache read/write would be detrimental to affect streaming performance? If so I would purchase another SSD for clouddrive use exclusively.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd take a wild stab and say probably negligible difference so long as windows is idle and behaving; checking task manager, my fileserver's boot SSD is currently averaging ~1% active time, ~450 KB/s transfer rate, ~1ms response time and <0.01 queue length over 60 seconds at idle, and it's a rather old SATA SSD. I think you're much more likely to run into other bottlenecks first.

But YMMV as it depends how many simultaneous streams are you planning for, what other background programs you have running, etc. You could test it? Open task manager / resource monitor, set to show the drive's active time, transfer rate and queue length, then open some streams while you run an antivirus scan or create a restore point and so on?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes.  But YMMV. 

Mostly, having the cache on a different drive means that you're separating out the I/O load, which can definitely improve performance.   Though, this depends on the SSDs you're using.  Things like AHCI vs NVMe, and the IOPS rating of the drive make more of a difference. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have not moved to 4K yet, but the streaming requirements of my 1080p movies is less than 1 MB/s. Any drive in my pool can keep up with that demand. What is your streaming requirements for 4K media?

Anyway, if you really want to maximize your cache speed, you could try out PrimoCache and use your system RAM as Level 1 cache/buffer. That would be many times faster than even a SSD. They offer a free 30 day trial period to see if it works for your setup.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...