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I got a new "Gigabyte Z68X-UD4-B3" motherboard which supports SSD caching. I also have an old OCZ Vertex 60GB SSD and a WD Caviar Black(1T) HDD.

I am thinking of installing the OS to the HDD and using the SSD for caching. How would the performance in this setup compare with having the OS on the SSD?

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Have you searched before? Performance questions regarding SSDs/HDDs and operating systems have been asked and answered several times. – slhck Jul 19 '11 at 22:49
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I am not just comparing SSD and HDD. The motherboard support SSD caching, hence I want to know how the performance is compare to a dedicated SSD. Thanks. – garconcn Jul 19 '11 at 23:29
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Have you seen Anand's review of the Z68 chipset? It covers this, and the result is that you're better off dedicating an SSD to OS/Apps duty if it's large enough, but SRT is better than nothing. – afrazier Jul 19 '11 at 23:33
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The performance of Intel's Smart Response Technology (SRT) on Z68 Sandy Bridge motherboards has been examined by AnandTech:

it's not going to make your high end SSD obsolete. You'll still get better overall performance by grabbing a large (80-160GB+) SSD, putting your OS + applications on it, and manually moving all of your large media files to a separate hard drive. What SRT does offer however is a stepping stone to a full blown SSD + HDD setup and a solution that doesn't require end user management.

In other words, by using SSD caching rather than separating the SSD and HDD, you trade a bit of performance consistency for convenience and simplicity for the user.

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Thanks. I am going to have a look at the AnandTech review. – garconcn Jul 19 '11 at 23:41
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