1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:07,440 The concept of RAM discs or RAM drives is not exactly a new one. And the idea 2 00:00:05,359 --> 00:00:10,559 behind it is pretty simple. If you have more system memory than your 3 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:14,880 applications require, you can use software to allocate some of it to make 4 00:00:12,559 --> 00:00:19,920 a lightning fast storage device that your system sees exactly the same way it 5 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:24,320 would any other standard hard drive or solidstate drive. Meaning you could use 6 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:28,880 it for anything. Sounds cool, right? Well, we do lots of cool stuff on this 7 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:32,800 channel. We've even got a Razer Siren review coming soon. So stay tuned for 8 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:40,480 that. But for now, roll the intro, then we'll tell you more. 9 00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:46,320 Cooler Master's Case Mod World Series is your opportunity to show off your 10 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:51,520 modding skills and win great prizes. Entries close February 7th, 2015. Click 11 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:56,079 now to learn more. Now, the first time pretty much anyone hears about RAM 12 00:00:53,760 --> 00:01:00,879 drives, their mind starts buzzing with ideas like, "Oh, snap. I could put my 13 00:00:58,559 --> 00:01:04,239 operating system on it or like I'm gonna put all my games on it so I'll be the 14 00:01:02,559 --> 00:01:09,200 first one to the heli in Battlefield. But life is never that simple, is it? 15 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:14,320 System memory is usually at least an order of magnitude more expensive than 16 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:19,360 even high-end storage drives. So those multi- gig application and game installs 17 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:23,439 get really expensive real fast. And even if you did want to buy as much RAM as 18 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:29,439 you can fit in your motherboard, unless you're buying a server grade board, that 19 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:31,200 won't be as much as you might hope. And 20 00:01:29,439 --> 00:01:36,560 the list of disadvantages actually keeps on trucking here. RAM is what is known 21 00:01:33,439 --> 00:01:39,680 as volatile storage, which means every 22 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:41,759 time the system powers off, it empties. 23 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:46,720 That means that most RAM disk utilities need to essentially recreate the drive 24 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:50,880 when they're launched. And every time you boot, the drive needs to be refilled 25 00:01:49,119 --> 00:01:55,360 with whatever you want to store on it from a reserved spot on your system 26 00:01:52,880 --> 00:02:00,560 drive. A process that is bottlenecked by the aforementioned system drive and can 27 00:01:57,759 --> 00:02:04,240 therefore be quite slow. Then if you update anything while using the RAM 28 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:08,160 drive, it will need to commit those changes back to your system drive when 29 00:02:06,079 --> 00:02:12,080 you shut down by dumping them from the RAM disk. And then of course if the 30 00:02:09,920 --> 00:02:16,959 system shuts down unexpectedly then you're in for a real problem because any 31 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:23,120 changes not committed like a a save game or a file are just gone. But in spite of 32 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:27,520 all those challenges many performance enthusiasts and gamers remain committed 33 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:32,640 to trying to make RAM drives as practical as they can be. And one such 34 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:37,760 enthusiast startup Tim on Twitter thinks he's finally done it at least for gamers 35 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:42,000 with a product called Dim Drive. Now, to be clear, the underlying technology is 36 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:47,280 exactly the same here. There's no voodoo magic, but the claims that Dim Drive 37 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:51,920 makes about simplifying the process and optimizing the application itself for 38 00:02:49,519 --> 00:02:56,239 gamers intrigued me. So, I got on the phone with Corsair, had them send me a 39 00:02:53,840 --> 00:03:01,440 32 gig kit of their Vengeance LPX DDR4 2400 MHz RAM, which I ran in quad 40 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:06,720 channel on an ASUS X99EWS motherboard for a basically as good as it could 41 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:11,680 possibly get scenario for DIM drive to really prove to me if it's worth the 42 00:03:09,519 --> 00:03:15,599 money. So, first a quick tour of the product, though. On the main screen is 43 00:03:13,599 --> 00:03:19,599 an autopop populated list of the Steam games that you have installed. The star 44 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:23,599 allows you to easily sort whichever ones you want to the top. The size shows you 45 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:27,760 how much RAM you'll need to cache that game. The wrench to the far right lets 46 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:32,640 you choose whether to autoload that game and whether to enable real-time file 47 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:38,879 synchronization, which should, knock on wood, protect you from progress loss in 48 00:03:36,159 --> 00:03:43,519 an unexpected shutdown scenario and a less RAM option to show DIM drive where 49 00:03:41,519 --> 00:03:47,519 the important files are to cache for this title. So you can boost performance 50 00:03:45,599 --> 00:03:51,519 potentially without caching the entire game and therefore getting a little bit 51 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:56,000 more mileage out of your RAM. Finally, the slider next to the wrench tells that 52 00:03:53,680 --> 00:04:00,959 game whether to cache or not. In the apps tab, you can add non- Steam games 53 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:05,200 or any other applications you want by manually uh dragging them onto the 54 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:09,599 window or right-clicking and clicking add. Then the settings tab lets you 55 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:13,840 configure your drive letter, the size of your DIM drive, your startup options, 56 00:04:11,519 --> 00:04:18,239 and your color scheme. Finally, at the very top of the window is the master 57 00:04:15,439 --> 00:04:22,479 slider to turn DIM drive on and off. And I'll give this to Tim. This is a lot 58 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:28,320 simpler to configure than RAM disk software that I've used in the past. But 59 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:33,520 even if it works as intended, is a RAM disk really a sensible upgrade for 60 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:35,840 gamers. Storage speed is well documented 61 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:41,280 as having literally zero impact on your FPS. So, the thing to look at then is 62 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:47,440 loading times. We ran four different scenarios. a one terabyte 7200 RPM WDD 63 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:53,759 black hard drive. A one terabyte Samsung 850 Pro SSD. That same SSD with 64 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:55,600 Samsung's rapid RAM cache enabled. We 65 00:04:53,759 --> 00:05:00,080 needed to show several results for this one, by the way, to show how it learns 66 00:04:57,199 --> 00:05:05,840 over time. And finally, DIM drive with the full game loaded into memory. 67 00:05:03,280 --> 00:05:10,080 And this conclusion probably won't surprise anyone who has fooled around 68 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:13,199 with RAM drives before, but it was still an interesting experiment for me to run 69 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:17,600 and make a video about since I wanted to play around with the software anyway. I 70 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:21,360 really think that DIM drive has made enormous strides towards making RAM 71 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:25,919 drives easier to use, but that doesn't change that the most compelling storage 72 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:30,320 type for an enthusiast PC or gaming PC is still an SSD. It's only a few times 73 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:34,560 more expensive than a hard drive and makes your entire system much more 74 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:39,280 responsive, not just game or application loading times, and it costs about 75 00:05:36,639 --> 00:05:44,639 onetenth what you'd spend per gig to put your games in RAM every time you boot 76 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:46,240 up. Now, if DIM drive was like 10 bucks 77 00:05:44,639 --> 00:05:49,600 and you're the kind of person who really only plays one or two games and enjoys 78 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:53,520 being the, you know, the first one to the heli, like I said before, then it 79 00:05:51,759 --> 00:05:58,720 would actually get a pretty strong recommendation. At $30 though, it's a 80 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:03,680 little too much for me to buy for personal use, though. Speaking of things 81 00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:07,360 that cost too much, razors. But fortunately, today's episode sponsor, 82 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:11,840 Dollar Shave Club, has got that shiz taken care of for you. All you've got to 83 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:16,240 do is for a very affordable monthly fee, sign up for Dollar Shave Club and they 84 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:21,039 will ship you razors and other shaving supplies straight to your door once a 85 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:25,759 month. So you don't have to get off your butt, go to the grocery store, find 86 00:06:23,280 --> 00:06:28,880 someone to unlock that freaking safe that they keep the razor blades in for 87 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:34,560 some reason. I've had people tell me, "Well, Lionus, they don't keep the razors in a behind a lock and key at my 88 00:06:33,039 --> 00:06:38,400 store." Well, you know what? They do here. I actually have footage of it that 89 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:41,759 maybe we can find or maybe we can't. But the point is, it's a pain in the butt to 90 00:06:40,479 --> 00:06:45,840 go get these supplies. And on top of that, you're paying way too much for 91 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:48,560 them. Dollar Shave Club's razors are high quality and they've got a bunch of 92 00:06:47,280 --> 00:06:52,800 other great shaving supplies too, including their Dr. Carver shave butter 93 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:56,960 as well as their aftershave and their one wipe charlies, which actually aren't 94 00:06:54,400 --> 00:07:02,080 shaving supplies unless you were trying to clean your butthole so you could 95 00:06:59,599 --> 00:07:04,800 shave that. One wipe Charlie's are butt wipes for men, by the way, in case you 96 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:11,360 couldn't figure that. Anyway, I don't remember where I was going with this, guys. It's dollarshaveclub.com/Linus 97 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:14,240 to start saving time and saving money on your shaving supplies. It's good stuff. 98 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:18,720 Check it out. It's linked in the video description. And I think we're pretty much done here. Can't believe I was 99 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:23,280 talking about butthole shaving. I mean, what is this? What does this show come to? Anyway, guys, like this video if you 100 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:27,039 liked it. Dislike it if you thought it sucked. Leave a comment below and let me 101 00:07:25,039 --> 00:07:30,400 know about dim drives or if your feelings are just more complicated than 102 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:33,039 this. As always, also linked in the video description, you can support us. 103 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:38,000 You can buy a cool t-shirt like this one. Give us a monthly contribution so we can make videos like this one. Or 104 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:41,919 just there's one other thing, right? Change your Amazon bookmarks one with our affiliate code. So, we get a small 105 00:07:40,639 --> 00:07:48,280 kickback whenever you buy stuff. That kind of stuff helps us out a lot. Thanks again for watching and as always, don't 106 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:48,280 forget to subscribe.