System and method for operating a solid state memory containing a memory space. The present invention provides a computerized system that includes a solid state memory having a memory space; a controller adapted to use a first portion of the memory space as a cache; and a garbage collector adapted to use a second portion of the memory space to collect garbage in the solid state memory. The controller is adapted to change a size of at least one of the first portion and the second portion of the memory space during operation of the solid state memory.