#cdrom cache
15 messages in this thread
Does anyone know of a software cd-rom cache and if it really works?
CD Speedway has been mentioned frequently here, although I haven't tried
it. Microsoft's SMARTDRV seems ineffectual at caching a CD-Rom. There's a
new product called SPEEDCACHE+ that's supposed to be excellent with
CD-Rom's as well as regular hard drives. I've ordered a copy to try it out;
stay tuned, will report what I find out when I get it. Also Super PC-Kwik
is reported to do a good job with CD-Roms.
Tom
I tried to get pckwik to cache a cdrom drive. It did not work at all. I
don't think it can be done. I bought CD Speedway. It works great. Take
care. Brian Hinkle, Anaheim, Ca
Brian,
I have no direct knowledge that Super PCKwik will cache a CD-Rom. My
mentioning it was because of a Windows User magazine review in which PCKwik
and the new Speedcache+ were reported to be very good at caching a CD-Rom
in contrast to SMARTDRV which gave no speed advantage over no cache at all.
I elected to try Speedcache+ because the review said it was much easier to
configure and use than PCKwik. We'll see what happens and maybe I'll
eventually end up with CD Speedway if Speedcache+ doesn't do the job.
Tom
Tom,
Hopefully, you are not referring to the mis-information printed by that new
Windows magazine. Even PC KWIK was surprised to learn that they cached
CD-ROM's…they don't! Smartdrv also does not cache CD-ROM's.
The review of Speedcache+ was deceptive in that the test was against a
product that didn't even cache the CD-ROM drive. This type of
misinformation from a magazine doesn't sit well with me. I don't doubt
that SPEEDCACHE+ can work to some extent, but it's the exact same product
as NORTON's cache, which we've tested, and doesn't use the patent pending
technology that Speedway does (i.e. file caching).
I'd like to hear your findings of Speedcache+ vs. CD Speedway.
Thanks for the reply and the info. Yes, I decided to try Speedcache+ based
on the Windows User review and probably will try CD Speedway as well before
I'm done. I need a cache that will give me smooth full motion video when
accompanied by sound. On my system, I already get good video motion from a
DOS-based application like Mammals but MPC stuff running from Windows tends
to break up and be jerky if sound is included with the video. My setup is
on a 386-20 machine with 16mb of RAM, a Sound Blaster (not Pro) board and
the low end (i.e. slow) Mitsumi CRMC-1000 CD-Rom drive, so it needs all the
help it can get.
regards,
Tom
Tom,
Setting up a decent sized cache should be effective for your MPC titles. I
hope to hear back on your results.
Reese.
Tom,
I have gotten good results with SpeedCache+, but have had some problems with
getting it to coexist with my multiple other TSRs (>a dozen of them). Let us
know how it works for you.
robin
Reese – The problem that Tom is having with full motion video and sound
breaking up or looking jittery…would the NEC CDR-84 with a 300kps
transfer rate and built in 64k cache cure this problem?
Would a software cacche still be required with the NEC-CDR-84 or would it
improve performance even more?
Thanks
Richard J. Casey >> R&B FIKMS <<
THe NEC-74 or 84 as stated in a review "butter smooth full motion video".
Thanks Albert – I am very glad to hear about the positive reviews on the
NEC CD-ROM products. I just ordered one and I am anxious to see how well it
performs. Thanks again.
Richard J. Casey
>> R&B FILMS <<
Richard,
The concept behind Speedway is that by buffering I/O to a faster medium
(for example hard disk) you should be able to take advantage of the access
time and DTR of that medium. Currently, because the file has to be copied
to the cache first, much of the DTR performance is offset by the CD-ROM's
performance. Access time, however, is another story. If you are using a
good disk cache with delayed writes your access time WILL improve in this
example dramatically. Motion video, I have found, always runs best when
it's not constantly jerking due to ROM access. Speedway, either in RAM or
Hard disk will take care of this problem. GIF and TIF displays also are
enhanced, as well as any high color graphic.
Your CD-ROM certainly has better DTR than the majority of drives. My
belief though, is that Speedway will make things faster, in that the copy
time to the cache is much faster on your drive than a drive with a DTR of
less than 200 ms.
Reese.
Reese – Thanks for the info. Where can I get a copy of the Speedway
software? I would like to try it out.
Richard J. Casey
>> R&B FILMS <<
You can purchase Speedway through any number of different resellers. TIGER
Software is the largest direct marketer of the product. We can also sell
it to you with an order placed to e-mail. Depending on where you are in
the world, Speedway is available at Egghead, Electronics Boutique, Software
Etc. Walmart, SAM's, and many other sources.
Reese.