80GB SSD worthy upgrade?

Amraam

Amraam

Amraam

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5 Jan 2009
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I currently have 2x 320GB 7200 drives strapped together for RAID0. I'm only using onboard RAID controller (which is pap). TBH I only ever did RAID0 as it was something to play with and not something I'd done before - I can check that off now. I never really noticed any noticable boost.

So for £80 quid, is an 80GB SSD a worthy upgrade to store Windows 7 and page file, leaving my 1TB drive for my documents and the current 320GB drives for games?

Cheers! :)
 
Hmm, you may have just cost me £80. I misread the link however, it's 60GB not 80GB. So do you think my plan of keeping the SSD solely for OS, 320x2 in RAID0 for games and 1TB for data would work well? Or should I just ditch RAID0 and the older of the 2 320 drives? I won't need 640 GB for games basically.
 
+1

60GB is plenty for the windows install, your main applications, documents/photos/music (depending how big you collection is) and maybe a few games. Plus the peformance increase you will feel in everyday use will be HUGE.

That said, I would suggest spending the extra £15 and going for this much faster, newer generation SSD.

As for which HDDs for games, what are the make and model number of the 320GB and 1TB drives?
 
Amraam said:
So for £80 quid, is an 80GB SSD a worthy upgrade to store Windows 7 and page file, leaving my 1TB drive for my documents and the current 320GB drives for games?

Cheers! :)
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Yes worth getting a SSD for your OS.

philtorrens said:
Very much so... One of the best upgrades you'll ever do in fact :)
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I have to agree, had my SDD for 18 months now and I still think it's the best upgrade I have ever done.
 
cmndr_andi said:
+1

60GB is plenty for the windows install, your main applications, documents/photos/music (depending how big you collection is) and maybe a few games. Plus the peformance increase you will feel in everyday use will be HUGE.

That said, I would suggest spending the extra £15 and going for this much faster, newer generation SSD.

As for which HDDs for games, what are the make and model number of the 320GB and 1TB drives?
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Coming to my rescue again mate, thanks! :D

Erm I believe the 320s are 3200AAKS IIRC, I'll check when I get back from work. The 1TB is a Hitachi Deskstar (not the typical deathstars, highly reviewed model). I'm just using the 680i's onboard RAID controller which is rubbish. Sometimes my RAID array is actually slower than a standalone HDD.

My music collection is like 80GB so wouldn't fit on the SSD on it's own lol. I might actually replace the RAID0 array with RAID1 and put my music on there, along with the games.

Cheers w00dy85 :)
 
Ah, in that case I would suggest putting your games on the Hitachi (so long as it is a 7200rpm model).

A big +1 from me on the RAID1 idea with the Caviar Blues - should help to keep your data safe.
 
cmndr_andi said:
Ah, in that case I would suggest putting your games on the Hitachi (so long as it is a 7200rpm model).

A big +1 from me on the RAID1 idea with the Caviar Blues - should help to keep your data safe.
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No can do unfortunately. It's my document drive and is full to the brim with HD movies lol. Can I RAID1 it without formatting it?

Slightly OT, but is my PSU (Corsair HX620W modular) gonna have enough grunt? I'll eventually be running my E8400 at 4Ghz, 3 or 4 HDDs, 1 SSD, 2x GTX260, Soundcard, and an H60 water cooler?
 
Amraam said:
No can do unfortunately. It's my document drive and is full to the brim with HD movies lol. Can I RAID1 it without formatting it?
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The 2x 320GB? Unfortunately if you want to change from RAID0 to RAID1 you need to break the array (which loses all the data unless you back it up on another drive).

Amraam said:
Slightly OT, but is my PSU (Corsair HX620W modular) gonna have enough grunt? I'll eventually be running my E8400 at 4Ghz, 3 or 4 HDDs, 1 SSD, 2x GTX260, Soundcard, and an H60 water cooler?
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Yea, it will be fine. An SSD at peak power usage uses around 4 watts.
 
cmndr_andi said:
The 2x 320GB? Unfortunately if you want to change from RAID0 to RAID1 you need to break the array (which loses all the data unless you back it up on another drive).



Yea, it will be fine. An SSD at peak power usage uses around 4 watts.
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Great thanks. Sorry I meant the 1TB Hitachi which is not currently in an array. It basically has everything data wise on it with no current backup plan lol (!).

Will a 680i onboard RAID handle RAID1 OK? Obviously here speed is not an issue compared to system files. I don't want it to be slow, but it doesn't need to be blisteringly fast. I have got so many hard drives now I don't know what to do with them all haha.
 
Supposedly the 680i RAID isn't great compared to the intel equivalents in terms of speed, but it is still able to be relatively fast and RAID 1 is certainly supported by the 680i. This review compares it to the intel RAID.
 
You're correct, it certainly isn't anything to write home about. I think I'm just gonna ditch RAID0 entirely, and maybe set up two RAID1 arrays: 320GB drive for music and games, and 1TB for my movies etc.

Does RAID1 actually slow down HDD performance? O r does it simply just write the file to each HDD simultaneously?
 
I believe RAID1 improves read speeds and slightly reduces write speeds. However, if these drives are mainly for storage then this difference will most likely feel pretty minimal.
 
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