Disclosed in some examples are memory devices which feature intelligent adjustments to SLC cache configurations that balances memory cell lifetime with performance. The size of the SLC cache can be adjusted during usage of the memory device based upon a write amplification (WA) metric of the memory device. In some examples, the size of the SLC cache can be adjusted during usage of the memory device based upon a write amplification (WA) metric of the memory device and a memory device logical saturation metric (percentage of valid user data written in the device of the total user size).