Crucial Adrenaline 50GB Caching SSD Review

Crucial, the renowned European manufacturer of memory modules, was amongst first companies to have released a commercial SSD. The firm is a subsidiary company of Micron, the microchip developer and manufacturer. Both the company and the technology have come a long way since then, with Crucial now offering a full line-up of SSD drives for any kind of user. Today we are going to have a look at the Adrenaline, a 50GB caching SSD based on the popular Dataplex caching software.

Crucial, the renowned European manufacturer of memory modules, was amongst first companies to have released a commercial SSD. The firm is a subsidiary company of Micron, the microchip developer and manufacturer. Both the company and the technology have come a long way since then, with Crucial now offering a full line-up of SSD drives for any kind of user. Today we are going to have a look at the Adrenaline, a 50GB caching SSD based on the popular Dataplex caching software.

Crucial offers little to no information regarding the drive’s specifications and features in their website, except from the usual marketing page. Two PDFs are available, one with a simple installation guide and one explaining the terms of the 3 year long warranty. For users who still do not understand what a “Caching SSD” is and how it works, Crucial offers a short explanation:

How Crucial Adrenaline works.

A simple upgrade that allows you to keep your existing hard drive, Crucial Adrenaline comprises a 50GB Crucial m4 SSD, 3.5" adapter bracket, SATA cable, and Dataplex™ caching software**. The solution intelligently places, or "caches", the most frequently needed files (active data) on the SSD and leaves less frequently used files (inactive data) on the hard drive. The result? Faster application load times and increased boot speed.

An easy upgrade.

Because Crucial Adrenaline works with your existing hard drive, there’s no need to transfer files or programs. Simply connect the SSD to your motherboard with a standard SATA cable, start the computer, and then install the Dataplex caching software. Once the software is installed and the system has been rebooted, the software seamlessly integrates your existing hard drive and Crucial Adrenaline into a single storage system. Fully automated, the software then runs in the background and requires no user management.