M.2 Raid is it worth it?

[netdps]

So I have a 970 pro nvme and I am looking to increase my nvme storage on a new build by adding a second drive,

So my question..

Has anyone done NVME / m.2 raid and is it even worth it / noticable in day to day use? or would I be better off just adding a second drive and using it as seperate storage?

 

[TheVoice]

Depends what your day-to-day use is, but most probably not.

 

[netdps]

in all honesty mainly gaming and browsing / watching netflix/youtube etc at same time , vid /photo editing, etc i do less frequently.

 

[andy_mk3]

Not worth it day to day. Only worth it if you were pulling huge files off all the time like working with 4/8k video for example.

 

[Minstadave]

No. You’ll just double your risk of data loss.

 

[netdps]

Data loss isnt an issue is something I should add all my important data is held on a NAS and replicated where important enough, the data usage will be OS, games library and temporary storage for vid files etc as working on them but this is not a daily workload.

It seems like there is no one who feels there is a compelling reason to raid though

 

[Jamin280672]

So I have a 970 pro nvme and I am looking to increase my nvme storage on a new build by adding a second drive,

So my question..

Has anyone done NVME / m.2 raid and is it even worth it / noticable in day to day use? or would I be better off just adding a second drive and using it as seperate storage?

I had the same dilemma, I have 2 x 500gb 970 evo's, and 1 x 4TB mechanical drive that I used for back-up's, one of my 970's was used for OS and programs and the other used for games, I recently read they are wasted on games and they provide no benefit over a regular drive for loading times etc, so I RAID0'd the 2 970's together, in synthetic benchmarks, the read speeds are still 3500, but write speeds are near doubled, around 2500 now, however, everyday use I don't see any difference, I now have the games on the 4TB mechanical drive and don't notice any difference between having them on the mechanical vs the nvme, and have a new 8TB external drive for my backup's.

 

[netdps]

I had the same dilemma, I have 2 x 500gb 970 evo's, and 1 x 4TB mechanical drive that I used for back-up's, one of my 970's was used for OS and programs and the other used for games, I recently read they are wasted on games and they provide no benefit over a regular drive for loading times etc, so I RAID0'd the 2 970's together, in synthetic benchmarks, the read speeds are still 3500, but write speeds are near doubled, around 2500 now, however, everyday use I don't see any difference, I now have the games on the 4TB mechanical drive and don't notice any difference between having them on the mechanical vs the nvme, and have a new 8TB external drive for my backup's.

I'm suprised game loading times are not noticable quicker vs a mechanical drive!

 

[mattyfez]

Loading a game up will be much quicker as will loading the next scene/level in a game assuming you're playing a graphically intensive/ triple A game .. Won't make any noticeable difference for older games or indie games that don't need to load gigabytes of data before they start..

Hence I install small/old/indie games on my data drive (spin drive) but any relatively meaty game I'll install on the SSD /OS drive.

Once the game is loaded it won't make much if any difference assuming you have a good amount of RAM but it will when first starting or loading a new level it will make a difference

 

[vintage-x]

I would say theres no point in raid an m.2 ssd. Especially considering it will increase boot times while it initiates the raid

 

[netdps]

I would say theres no point in raid an m.2 ssd. Especially considering it will increase boot times while it initiates the raid

Sounds like no one has a compelling reason to raid! Think I'll just build on a single m.2 and add a second later when I need more storage..

 

[8 Pack]

I would say theres no point in raid an m.2 ssd. Especially considering it will increase boot times while it initiates the raid

Really this is ridiculous who cares about boot times when your storage is twice as fast once your in windows lol.. Come on....

For the OPs uses I guess no need, although big maps to load in triple A titles are much faster in RAID. My question is if you are buying a second drive that is the same as the one you already have why not run raid.. Double your perf for free!!! makes total sense...

 

[vintage-x]

Really this is ridiculous who cares about boot times when your storage is twice as fast once your in windows lol.. Come on....

Probably just my setup but it does add around a minute to boot times with my raid SSDs which is why im going to ditch one and change to a M.2 when funds allow

 

[ToTheMax]

Really this is ridiculous who cares about boot times when your storage is twice as fast once your in windows lol.. Come on....

For the OPs uses I guess no need, although big maps to load in triple A titles are much faster in RAID. My question is if you are buying a second drive that is the same as the one you already have why not run raid.. Double your perf for free!!! makes total sense...

Or you are an enthusiast and want to play around with it for the hell of it

 

[netdps]

My question is if you are buying a second drive that is the same as the one you already have why not run raid..

This is what I was thinking when I posted initially,

Seems like the Pros and Cons so far are

Pros

One volume presented and total space combined
Increased sequential performance
Bragging Rights


Cons

Increased risk of data loss as any device failure will result in full data loss
slightly slower read access times?

Current unknown is - is there likely to be a real life use benefit?

Maybe I will just have to try for myself...

 

[Shocky-FM]

The risk is low, I've been running two pairs of SSD drives in Raid 0 for a few years now and I've never had any issues, I've always done the same with HDD's previously as well.

If you have matching drives just do it, the gains are worth it, if you're really worried about losing data buy an external drive to dumb your larger files on, NAS storage is usually a good idea so long as your router supports it.

 

[netdps]

Data loss is not an issue everything is backed to my NAS and anything I'm paranoid about losing is then replicated elsewhere too so have upto 3 copies of important family photos / videos documents, etc.

If I have budget left once I've bought my new mobo & cpu I may jsut go a head and give it a go and post my feedback here (few months away from that though waiting for 9000 series release)

 

[8 Pack]

It makes absolute sense to raid two nvme drives of the same type. Free performance....

Yes you do notice with big data loading or shifting... Get in the map first.... Smash!!

 

[netdps]

Thanks think that's what I was hoping to hear to justify me doing it think i will give it a go

 

[Jamin280672]

I think nvme RAID0 has its benefits: (this is with a 64kb allocation size on a Gigabyte X470 Gaming 7, tried 128kb and 256kb which are the only 3 available options, but 128 and 256 were a lot slower on the write speeds)