To RAID or not to RAID

[Torr]

This is a question for those of you who know a little about hard drives. I'm trying to make a decision on how to replace my drives. I could either get:



2 Western Digital Caviar SE16 SATA drives and put them in a RAID 0 (2X160 gb drives, 16 meg cache, 7200 RPM, seek 8.9, write 10.9... actually I'd probably get the RE models because they are more reliable in RAIDs). Price about 140 bucks.

OR

1 Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD SATA drive (150 gb, 16 meg cache, 10000 RPM, seek 4.6, write 5.2) Price about 225 bucks.



I'm really torn between the bigger size and throughput of the Caviar RAID, compared to the great seek times and reliability of the single Raptor. The Raptor is also pricier. SATA on my MB is 150... so the fact that the Caviars are SATA300 doesn't really make all that much of a difference to me. If anyone is a tech geek like I am, I'd appreciate any input. First hand information a plus!

[Darius]

raptor it may be pricier and 180gb smaller but are you truly gonna use more then 100gb if that? i have 160gb and i really use maybe 25% of it lol

[Torr]

I can definitely live with the smaller size... I don't like to keep my computer cluttered with files anyway. I guess it's more a question of throughput vs seek time. I am leaning towards the Raptor and the seek time, but I'm on the fence still.

[Darius]

Originally Posted by Torr

I can definitely live with the smaller size... I don't like to keep my computer cluttered with files anyway. I guess it's more a question of throughput vs seek time. I am leaning towards the Raptor and the seek time, but I'm on the fence still.

*puses Torr on the side of western*
j/k id never push you

but seriously speed is better when size does not matter

its better to go for the raptor unless you truly wanna save money

[Ard Ri]

Get two smaller Raptors. The 36gb ones. Raid them two.

Then get a SATA or even IDE large storage disk for data.

[Fosh]

get the raptor, 100gb is really all you need unless your a file junky like me, i keep everything lol.

[Sorsha]

aah that's actually a tough choice. if it wasn't a raptor, i would easily say RAID. i think the Raptor will still be faster. Raptor's are amazing and will give you a very noticeable improvement in your load times and system speed. the obvious pinnacle would be to get 2 raptors and set up a raid, but barring that, i might go for a single raptor.

edit: also, i purchased a 250 GB external HD for my "bulk storage" needs, mainly DLed movies and TV shows. works great and i don't have to clutter my system drive.

[Torr]

Actually you guys gave me an idea I hadn't considered, and I should have. A fast OS/boot drive and a bigger drive for files. Looking over my system, I'm using about 54 gigs of my drive, and there's alot of thing I could get rid of I don't rip movies or CDs really. Single drives have some stability too.

Plus, I'm now considering that I may replace my power supply (because I'm thinking that may be the reason I've lost 2 drives in 2 years) and I may buy an external backup drive. So laying out the financials of the whole thing, I may buy a single 74 gig raptor for my OS, keep the one drive in my IDE array that is working and use it to store all of my files, and buy a backup drive. That will give me a fast raptor SATA drive for my OS and games, a 100 gig IDE drive to hold files, a new power supply and an external drive. That way I can always later on buy a second raptor 74 gig and raid them (I have a SATA raid chip on my motherboard), or buy a bigger drive for files (though I honestly think 100 should be enough).

Thanks for the advice, I'm starting to come up with a plan now!

[Altair]

Ya get the 2 hardrives. What it does is split everything evenly between the 2 which speeds up the process extremely fast. The only down fall is that if your 1 harddrive goes dead, you loose all your files. What a shame

[Torr]

Originally Posted by Toyo

Ya get the 2 hardrives. What it does is split everything evenly between the 2 which speeds up the process extremely fast. The only down fall is that if your 1 harddrive goes dead, you loose all your files. What a shame

Yeah... I actually have a striping RAID right now, but one of my hard drives is going. I've been using RAID 0 for years. It's a matter of throughput vs seek time... those Raptors are blazing fast, and by buying one rather than buying two slower drives in a RAID, it gives me the opportunity of buying another one at a later time and then striping two Raptors, which would be the best of both worlds (maybe... some people say striping RAIDS are still dependant upon seek time, and can't help that part. Throughput is great for large files, but seek time is great for anything else).