SSD Cache + SSD Question

[r00k]

Hey a search didn't yield the answer i needed, necessarily, so it's time to take it the the [H] experts..

My sister just got a new Dell laptop, which came with a 500GB 7200rpm hard drive and an mSATA 32GB RealSSD.

I upgraded her HDD to a Samsung 840 Pro 256GB.

In the BIOS, there are options for ATA, AHCI, and Intel Smart Response Technology, with the underlined being selected by default.

The question: which bios option should i use? Is it even worth bothering to have the SSD set up for caching? Could I / should I just set it up as a secondary drive letter for who-knows-what?

 

[plugwash]

If you want to use SSD caching then you will need to leave the SATA mode on "Intel Smart Response Techology". If you don't then I doubt it will make much difference if you choose that mode or AHCI mode. Avoid ATA mode, it's less efficient and the only real reason to use it is if you are running an old OS image and can't be bothered beating it arround to make AHCI work

I don't think there is any point in using one SSD to cache another so i'd just leave the small SSD as a secondary drive. More space always comes in useful for something sooner or later.

 

[r00k]

Update: a little more digging shows that, in disk management, 8GB of the mSATA is enabled and in use as a "Hibernation Disk". The rest is disabled.

Is it safe to assume Intel Smart Response Technology keeps the AHCI features enabled?

Update 2: Samsung SSD Magician says AHCI is not enabled. Is AHCI responsible for TRIM?