Yes, you have a PC question.
Yes, you have a PC question.
Are you saving this information specifically for an NVMe cache setup with a HDD, or is there another purpose in mind?
I'm looking to boost performance by adding an M.2 NVME cache, similar to how PS5 uses its cache to speed up gaming loads. I also want a faster boot time to my desktop and overall smoother gaming experience. This isn't just about Steam—it's about optimizing load times and system responsiveness for my own games too.
Ensure Windows is installed and your games are set up on the NVMe drive. Completed.
Sure, I understand the concern. For a M.2 NVMe setup, you can enable or disable features like Raid depending on your needs. Just check your motherboard and BIOS settings to confirm what options are available.
Using it as a cache for an HDD requires more effort and won't deliver the performance you'd achieve with NVMe installations directly. This approach isn't ideal unless your NVMe drive is too limited for system or gaming use. To implement it for HDDs, you usually need to add software in Windows or use a motherboard that supports it (like Intel Rapid Storage). It doesn't connect to RAID technology.
I actually own a motherboard that supports all these features: Rapid Storage Technology, Intel Speed Step, Power Saving Mode, ECO Mode, Raid Mode, M.2 support, NVME mode, and more. The M.2 setup is interesting because it requires ports 3 and 4 to be disabled, which I already do for ECO Mode to save power. So technically, disabling it gives two benefits: it works with NVME cache like an SSD, or it functions differently. I wasn’t sure about that before.
The sole technology matters is RST. The rest play no role in caching. NVMe and SATA describe how an SSD links to the system (physical plus protocol). You can treat an SSD over NVMe just like one over SATA. Using it as a cache works similarly. It's beneficial for HDDs since reading/writing is quicker. If you connect NVMe directly, the HDD might shut down to save power. With a cache, it could stop if all needed data is there; otherwise it must spin up. Additional software increases the chance of errors.
So basically, your setup looks like this: Windows runs on an SSD, while the HDD holds your regular Windows files. You’re keeping everything else on a 5TB USB 3.0 portable drive. You thought about using an M.2 NVME drive for caching but didn’t go through it yet—just didn’t want to risk messing things up. Others have shared similar experiences, but no one explained clearly why that approach wouldn’t help or what the downsides would be. Some said it wouldn’t improve performance, others just claimed it wouldn’t matter since your system is already fast enough. You’re considering making a comparison video to see if it actually makes a difference, but you’re worried about losing the ability to transfer the cache between computers later. The M.2 drive is already installed and active, though it’s not being used for caching. It seems like the unused ports are disabled for the NVME slot.