Row cache loads whole row into ram on first access of single column. Updates and inserts of new columns update row cache – it can be seen as write through.
Assuming that I have enough ram to cache my row(s), can I be sure that read access will be always served from ram, independent of updates/inserts on cached rows?
Short answer: yes. Row cache will get you down into microseconds, not ms.
Longer answer: technically only after the first read, writes will not be added to the cache unless there is an existing entry for it. Cassandra does support periodically saving its caches so it can prewarm them on next restart.