Loriath wrote:thebs wrote:Why use a disk cache at all?]
Because the world is not filled with unlimited access. Metered internet is a thing in a lot of the world. Your thinking like an engineer an not like a user.
Er, um ... what? Engineers don't care about user experiences? What? I guess all that acceptance testing and account management with major customers I've had to do is just out-the-window.
Sigh ... I should know better than to post comments like this to a gaming forum.
Loriath wrote:Mobile data plans are not unlimited, Home internet is not unlimited, and caching is the most effective way to deal with it. Not only that, but there people that have a low tolerance for waiting.
Er, um ... disk caching, not all caching -- as in
memory caching is still there! In fact, most disk caches don't work very well, and end up getting re-verified and, often, re-downloaded ... actually resulting loss anyway.
Furthermore, if it is to save on metered ... why aren't people using proxy servers? They have multiple devices -- phones, tablets, PCs, etc... Heck, more Routers are coming with USB storage options, and several have this option nowdays. Click the option in the setup, and it's transparent.
Loriath wrote:Look at the face of the third person in a checkout line at the grocery store. They are NOT happy to have to wait ...
Ooookayyyyyy ...
You do know memory caching-only, whether disabled disk cache, or RAMdisk, is mega-faster, right? Typical DRAM is around 40ns from first return. Platter? Oh yeah, about 100x slower.
Having a memory-only cache is only an issue if MS IE continually crashes, and then you've got bigger problems. MS IE disk cache ("temporary files for off-line usage") is probably the most inconsistent load of crap, especially when apps don't "clean up" well. Of course, if you use a RAMdisk, it's still there ... until you reboot, even though MS IE crashes. That's a bonus going for a RAMdisk, and part of the reason I use tmpfs in POSIX systems too.
Obviously, we're not going anywhere. Because my experience running sites, with the browser aspect in full reality ... oh forget it. This is a gaming forum, not going to follow much of it any way.
Loriath wrote:If you are worried about the write life of your SSD, your in the 1%. The other 99% of us want it faster.
Er, um, er ... what part do you not understand that
not using disk cache
is faster. I.e., if you're committing dozens and hundreds of writes because the browser is screwed up, you
are running
slower.
The "savings" on a browser crash or pulling up a prior session with disk is usually not often a benefit, let alone has to be validated for consistency and concurrency. MS IE is one of the worst at this too ... hence why it has to be cleared ... a lot.

And that's why NAND drives fail at higher rates than platters, especially 2.5" platters. MS IE is a big culprit of both performance issues and wearing out NAND cells. Turning off the disk cache (or using a RAMdisk for it), and running with pure memory cache (or the RAMdisk), makes it much faster.
Chrome and Firefox, both far more easy to disable disk cache in, also benefit too.
You still sore about the UK Imperial != US Customary thing? I know that gets to a lot of people the first time they realize they've been arguing for 30+ years that the US is backwards, especially if they're British, as well as a lot of the Commonwealth that stuck with Imperial for so long (given the whole basis of wanting to spurn the French for 100 years, while the US differed and rebased to 'that French system' that now everyone uses -- there's some real irony to all that too, given a speaker's assertion while nationality lines up ... humorously with that history). Because ...
I could swear I was offering
universally sound advice that
anyone in IT who has tried it would agree with, but apparently, this is becoming the norm between you and I? Guess I just need to avoid you then?
Then again ... was I even responding to you? /me checks ... no. Guess I'm just a target now?

If you would like an apology for the Imperial-Customary thing, you now have it. I was a bit shrewd in my response, but understand as an American engineer, I get a lot of attitude from time-to-time. I over-reacted, tried to post most under Spoiler/Off-topic, but it was a bit over the top. So I am sorry if it offended you, and I could have started it much better than I did. Peace?