Background

• This issue is happening on my custom-built desktop. Relevant specs:
  • Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO
  • Utilizing Intel RST technology (application that uses unused SSD as cache)
  • Processor: Intel core i7-2600k (not overclocked)
  • HDDs: RAID1 of 2x Seagate Barracuda 1TB (ST31000524AS) (RAID performed via z68 chipset)

Machine has run fine for ~1 year with no issues, and has been well-maintained (dust, etc.)

What Happened

• Random Freezing issues -- intermittent
• Looked at the RST application screen to see that the acceleration cache was listed as "unavailable" -- recommended that I power down and reconnect the drive.
• Reconnected the drive to no avail.
• Attempted to move the drive to another SATA port. Acceleration option disappeared from RST software.

Now, the freeze happens whenever loading something particularly data-driven (a video, a game, etc.)

Steps Attempted

• Reconnected the drive to no avail.
• Updated Intel RST software to v. 11.6.0.1030 to see if that made a difference.
• Attempted to move the drive to another SATA port. Acceleration option disappeared from RST software.
• Connected the drive as its own volume. Formatted it, ran disk check errors -- all seems fine.
• Reconnected the drive and selected it again as the cache drive.

Now, what happens when there is a freeze:

• Machine freezes
• I am unable to perform any command
• Screen then goes black
• I hit the reset button
• During boot, all drives show as "Disabled" and I am told no volume can be found
• I then hit the reset button (or power off/on) again.
• Either the next time (or sometimes after repeating this once more), the metadata cache is reconstructed and the system boots fine, showing the SSD as a cache.

Question

I believe this is an issue with the SSD itself, but how can I be sure since connecting it separately appeared to show no problems? I want to make sure it's not an issue with the motherboard, SATA ports, etc.