- Softperfect ram disk serial serial#
- Softperfect ram disk serial drivers#
- Softperfect ram disk serial software#
This leaves just enough room for modules with normal heatspreaders, although taller DIMMs may bump their heads on the 5.25″ drive bay ceiling. The RAM disk’s DIMM slots are arranged in pairs of four, with spacing similar to what you’d find on a motherboard. It also took a couple of firmware revisions for the ANS-9010 to get along with the OCZ DIMMs we used for testing. You’ll want to pay attention to that compatibility list, because registered and ECC DIMMs aren’t supported. ACard doesn’t yet list any 8GB modules on its memory compatibility list, either. For most folks, cost alone will limit the drive’s total capacity to 32GB or less. Keep in mind that 8GB memory modules are extremely expensive, though. ACard says module densities up to 8GB are supported, bringing the drive’s total capacity potential up to an impressive 64GB. Instead of being tucked away in an internal hard drive bay, it slides into an external 5.25″ optical bay where you can see it.īusting the ANS-9010 open reveals eight 240-pin DDR2 DIMM slots. Storage solutions generally aren’t much to look at, but the ANS-9010 is a little different. To keep DRAM data intact, you have to keep the chips juiced. While flash memory cells retain their data when the power is cut, DRAM is volatile, so it does not. DRAM’s resiliency does come with a cost, though. Effective wear leveling algorithms and single-level cell memory can greatly improve the lifespan of a flash drive, but they just prolong the inevitable.
Softperfect ram disk serial serial#
The Serial ATA interface is currently limited to 300MB/s, and even with both its SATA ports active, ACard only claims transfer rates up to 400MB/s for the ANS-9010.Īnother benefit DRAM has over flash memory is that there’s no limit on the number of write-erase cycles it can endure. However, that 6.4GB/s is just a theoretical peak. I’ve already mentioned DDR2’s 6.4GB/s transfer rates. So why use DRAM over the flash memory everyone and their mother seems to have their fingers in? Speed, for one.
Softperfect ram disk serial drivers#
The move to hardware-based RAM disks has made things much easier by allowing users to access memory modules through a standard hard drive interface without the need for drivers or even an operating system.
Softperfect ram disk serial software#
RAM disks were a software solution back then, so they used memory already plugged into your motherboard. Those who have been around for a while will remember that sectioning off a chunk of system memory for storage was all the rage back in the day. Can this latest RAM disk live up to its staggering performance potential, and perhaps more importantly, could you live with it as a primary hard drive?īefore taking a closer look at the ANS-9010, I should date myself by noting that the RAM disk concept is really nothing new. The ANS-9010 also features a pair of Serial ATA ports, allowing it to function as a single drive or masquerade as a pair of drives that can easily be split into an even faster RAID 0 array. However, a company called ACard has done one better with the ANS-9010 RAM disk, which has eight DDR2 DIMM slots and support for up to 8GB of memory per slot. The original i-RAM’s total capacity was limited to 4GB of DDR SDRAM, so it’s not particularly useful by today’s standards. The i-RAM was ridiculously fast, and for most intents and purposes, it behaved exactly like a normal hard drive. Then, about three years ago, Gigabyte went out on a limb with an i-RAM storage device that allowed users to plug four DIMMs into a PCI card that hooked up to a standard Serial ATA port. The hardware to do so was initially offered only for high-end servers and workstations, and it was priced accordingly. Of course, you still need a way to get DRAM chips to behave as a hard drive. That’s like lining up a 40-horsepower motor ripped from a Vespa against the W16 monstrosity that powers the Bugatti Veyron. What’s more, even Intel’s fastest X25-E flash drive is limited to 250MB/s reads and 170MB/s writes, but your average DDR2-800 DIMM can read and write at up to 6.4GB/s. DRAM chips offer solid-state storage, too, and they’re widely available on plain old memory modules. The focus of most solid-state storage discussions centers on flash-based solutions, but they’re not the only game in town.
And it’s getting even more interesting, because in addition to an entire family of flash drives, the SSD market also has a crazy uncle.
Nonetheless, the recent almost-affordability of blazing-fast flash drives has been an interesting development in the storage world.
Think less Scarlett Johansson and more Tina Fey. Of course, that hotness is relative-this is still the storage market we’re talking about.
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