Intel SRT - anyone use it, worth it? - Opinions Please.

[Rison]

Hey all,

I have read around some other forums on the Intel SRT feature in the Z68 boards. I'm just wondering if anyone has actually played around with it to test some of its features.

I'm looking to enhance performance in systems sold used for gaming.. in the past when we use SSD's, they eventually crap out - and customers using trim and updating firmware isn't going to happen.

So i'm looking at using a caching SSD on a Z68 board with a WD 1TB black for an upcoming system build and would like to hear some comments.. > or alternatives. <
We try to build rock-solid systems that we don't need to support after building. No cheap components, basically we don't want the call on some random night that someones system is down.

Question: if the SSD fails in an SRT enabled system, are you able to just pull the SSD and reboot & everything is cool? IE: RMA the drive, get perfomance back when a new drive comes back. Or do you have to reformat when a new drive comes back from RMA?

We're looking at getting a Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H, with a WD Black 1TB Sata3 64G drive with an Intel 320 40G or something.. haven't really looked up 'reliable' SSDs under 60G. I use vertex 3's in home systems.. but they crash and burn all the time (not for commercial use)

[jtktam]

i am using SRT now.. i have a pair of Seagate 2TB LP drives running RAID 1, then cached using OCZ vertex 3 64gb

i have tried different SSD for this purposes and you would want to get a fast SATA3 .. i tried vertex 2, M4, etc.. and so far the vertex 3 is the fastest

i am not sure when the SSD dies what happens, but to switch SSD drives, you just disable the acceleration, replace the drive, and re-enable the acceleration.. super simple

-joe