Is Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver required for xtreme3 gen3 with ssd and hd?

[shwick]

I'm looking through the available drivers for my ASRock xtreme3 gen3 and see one, Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver.

I don't install drivers unless I want the feature it provides.

Is this driver necessary when I'm running a ssd for os/apps + hd for storage? I have no raid setup.

 

[dfuze]

If I understand what you are asking then you don't need it. It's more if you have your OS running on the spinning HD and want to use the SSD to act as the cache to make the other drive run faster, but if you have the OS running on the SSD (same here) then you don't need it.

BTW, I just got the same board, loving it so far.

 

[boochi]

The intel drivers should perform better than the microsoft ones. My ssd speed went up after installing them.

 

[shwick]

dfuze, did you install the RST drivers? you sound like you have the same setup as me. im not using ssd as cache, im using my 128gb m4 as a separate drive altogether just for os/apps/games

 

[Meghan54]

I'm looking through the available drivers for my ASRock xtreme3 gen3 and see one, Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver.

I don't install drivers unless I want the feature it provides.

Is this driver necessary when I'm running a ssd for os/apps + hd for storage? I have no raid setup.

The simple answer is no, you don't.

The RST drivers are only for using an SSD as a cache drive along with a conventional mechanical hd. In the situation you're doing, SSD as OS drive, mech. HD as storage, you only need the routine chipset drivers any mb needs, but no RST drivers at all.

 

[Xorp]

They aren't needed, only the chipset drivers are

 

[shwick]

great thanks a lot guys i won't be installing this driver then :biggrin:

 

[Diogenes2]

Just a bit of clarification.

The RST driver, is actually just a management console application; it lets you manage Intel RAID and SSD caching ( Z68 ) from within Windows.

You can manage RAID and SSD caching configurations from the RAID controller BIOS during boot, when RAID is enabled in the CMOS ..

 

[wirednuts]

Just a bit of clarification.

The RST driver, is actually just a management console application; it lets you manage RAID and SSD caching ( Z68 ) from within Windows.

You can manage RAID and SSD caching configurations from the RAID controller BIOS during boot, when RAID is enabled in the CMOS ..

what is the more practical application then, if someone would chose to use an ssd as cache? i was always a bigger fan of software raid configurations, because it was always impossible to save failed hardware raids....

but if youre just designating the ssd to be cache, that seems like something that would be good to do in hardware... so which is better in reality?

 

[Diogenes2]

Which is better ?

I think it is a matter of personal preference ..

I'm sure most would consider the RST console application to be more user friendly ..

 

[boochi]

The simple answer is no, you don't.

The RST drivers are only for using an SSD as a cache drive along with a conventional mechanical hd. In the situation you're doing, SSD as OS drive, mech. HD as storage, you only need the routine chipset drivers any mb needs, but no RST drivers at all.

Wrong

Just a bit of clarification.

The RST driver, is actually just a management console application; it lets you manage Intel RAID and SSD caching ( Z68 ) from within Windows.

You can manage RAID and SSD caching configurations from the RAID controller BIOS during boot, when RAID is enabled in the CMOS ..

Wrong

Intel RST are drivers for Intel ICH controller hubs and are not just for SSD caching. I don't know where you get your information but these drivers have existed long before any SSD caching schemes. These drivers are supposed to improve performance over the Microsoft drivers for RAID and AHCI setups. The management console is only a small portion of what the package contains.

 

[SocalMark]

But they are the same right?

 

[Diogenes2]

Wrong

Intel RST are drivers for Intel ICH controller hubs and are not just for SSD caching. I don't know where you get your information but these drivers have existed long before any SSD caching schemes. These drivers are supposed to improve performance over the Microsoft drivers for RAID and AHCI setups. The management console is only a small portion of what the package contains.

Supposed to?

 

[IGemini]

Is it required? No. But it may help. It's dependent on the hardware and the use. Using RST saw no benefit with my hardware versus W7's default msahci driver, but I can't say the same for everyone else.

Install RST. If it doesn't enhance anything for you, there's nothing saying you can't uninstall it later. Unless someone has the same exact hardware as you, you won't know unless you actually run it yourself. Don't worry about clutter or whatever.

 

[boochi]

Supposed to?

On all my equipment I have seen noticeable speed gains after installing the RST drivers. On a friends machine I saw virtually no improvement. I believe this was due to the fact he was using conventional sata drives that were 4 years old and the controller achieved max transfer speeds with the microsoft drivers. I would be shocked if a SSD did not see gains with the RST drivers.