Intel Z68 Express with Smart Response Technology

Name: Intel Z68 Express with Smart Response Technology - Page 8
Brand: Intel

by Marco Chiappetta — Wednesday, May 11, 2011, 12:00 AM EDT

We also ran a number of tests in an attempt to illustrate the performance impact of Intel’s Smart Response SSD caching technology. What we’re showing you here on this page are the eight tests that comprise the PCMark Vantage HDD benchmark suite. We ran these tests in four different configurations: with the system outfitted with a standalone, 10K RPM HD, with an Intel 311 SSD, and finally with Smart Response enabled using the HD and 311 SSD together, in both Enhanced and Maximized performance modes.

Benchmarking Intel's Smart Response Technology

PCMark Vantage HDD Test Suite

(Note: Intel Smart Response scores are an average of 4 runs of the benchmark)

The first thing that becomes immediately apparent is the gargantuan performance advantage the SSD has over the hard disk in these tests. If you have the funds, using a standalone SSD of sufficient capacity as a boot volume is absolutely the way to go if you seek all-out performance. Using a small SSD like the 20GB 311 model featured here in a Smart Response configuration, however, results in some huge performance gains for a relatively modest investment. With Smart Response enabled, the Z68 Express-based system offered data transfer speeds multiple times that of the HD alone.

Tags: Intel, Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, SSD, Enterprise, Sandy Bridge, caching, Z68, Smart Response

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com