2nd X25-M for RAID0 or a 128gb C300?

Zarf · 27 Nov 2010 at 18:38

wolvers69 said:
Thanks for the detailed info, it's been a big help.

Having a load of trouble with Acronis at the mo though.

Restoring an image onto a RAID array? If so I had that problem too, figure the Acronis restore cd doesn't include Intel raid drivers or something. Fortunately I'd anticipated something would go wrong and taken a Norton Ghost Image which I could restore fine from My "BARTS PE disk" (though I did need to re-align the partition).

Nowadays I just do a reinstall from scratch, backup my Steam folder to my NAS, my documents and media are already kept there, then reinstall - only takes 15 minutes to put Win7 back on, and then set Ninite going to put all my apps on whilst I watch some TV.

Zarf · 27 Nov 2010 at 18:43

wolvers69 said:
Thanks for the detailed info, it's been a big help.

Having a load of trouble with Acronis at the mo though.

Restoring an image onto a RAID array? If so I had that problem too. Fortunately I'd anticipated something would go wrong and taken a Norton Ghost Image which I could restore fine (though I did need to re-align the partition).

Shame as I'd love to be able to use Acronis properly, the incremental / differential backup system in windows is great.

Nowadays I just do a reinstall from scratch, backup my Steam folder to my NAS, my documents and media are already there, then reinstall - only takes 15 minutes to put Win7 back on, and then set Ninite going to put all my apps on whilst I watch some TV.

wolvers · 27 Nov 2010 at 20:49

Yep, Acronis has totally let me down. Fresh install it is then. Like you I have everything except apps on the NAS.

Worthwhile though me thinks.

reygjabla · 28 Nov 2010 at 03:58

What stripe did you use on this array m8?

wolvers · 28 Nov 2010 at 10:18

Oh yeah, sorry I forgot to mention. I went for the 16kb that Intel recommends.

Actually it's improved again since I enabled write caching;

reygjabla · 28 Nov 2010 at 11:01

That's a nice figure m8. That's so much better than a single large drive.

wolvers · 28 Nov 2010 at 11:15

Yeah, I'm pleased with it. It'll be interesting to see how much it degrades without TRIM though.

steve258 · 28 Nov 2010 at 11:27

With regards to the strip size I read that 16kb is supposed to be better too, so I reinstalled windows just for that and only to find that the performance is a lot more inconsistent than 128kb for my 2x Intel 40gb SSD setup.

While the write speed improves in 16kb strip the read speed is all over the place, plus the cpu usage is a lot higher. In 128kb mode the write speed isn't as impressive but the read speed is much more consistent. I figured read speed is more imoportant so stuck with the 128kb strip. Windows 7 installation in 128kb mode is faster by about a minute too for some reason (yes I timed it, from the start of the automated installation until the username screen). Let me see if I still have the screenies.

128kb after fresh install

16kb after fresh install

reygjabla · 28 Nov 2010 at 11:56

Post 14 & 15 indicated the reasons why Intel recommends 16KB. It's purposely intended to even the Wear Levelling of both drives in raid O because of lack of TRIM and not to maximize read/write speed. If you need faster read/write speed go for 128KB at the risk of degrading one drive faster than the other.

When you re-installed W7, dis you secure erase the drive?

steve258 · 28 Nov 2010 at 12:19

No, no I did not. Not for both 16 and 128kb. I found out about secure erase after I re-installed it. You think it'll make a difference?

wolvers · 28 Nov 2010 at 12:24

Reads look pretty consistent here.

reygjabla · 28 Nov 2010 at 12:32

steve258 said:
No, no I did not. Not for both 16 and 128kb. I found out about secure erase after I re-installed it. You think it'll make a difference?

It does make a whole lot of difference. Try and you'll see what I meant.

wolvers · 2 Dec 2010 at 19:46

339 seconds to mux an 18gb mkv..............

steve258 · 4 Dec 2010 at 02:28

ok done the 16kb + hdderase this time and it's definately an improvement, but the figures are still not as impressive as the 128kb stripe. Didn't do a fresh install though and the drive is pretty much full.

This look normal to you?

cammy5477 · 4 Dec 2010 at 15:10

ive had a pair of x25m raided for a year with no issues at all.....there as fast today as they were when i first raided them

wolvers · 4 Dec 2010 at 15:17

steve258 said:
This look normal to you?

I honestly don't know with those drives. The write does look a little low, do you have write cache enabled as that made a fair difference to mine?

cammy5477 said:
ive had a pair of x25m raided for a year with no issues at all.....there as fast today as they were when i first raided them

That's encouraging to hear, thanks bud.

rush_syndrome · 4 Dec 2010 at 17:21

Zarf said:
Restoring an image onto a RAID array? If so I had that problem too, figure the Acronis restore cd doesn't include Intel raid drivers or something. Fortunately I'd anticipated something would go wrong and taken a Norton Ghost Image which I could restore fine from My "BARTS PE disk" (though I did need to re-align the partition).

Nowadays I just do a reinstall from scratch, backup my Steam folder to my NAS, my documents and media are already kept there, then reinstall - only takes 15 minutes to put Win7 back on, and then set Ninite going to put all my apps on whilst I watch some TV.

Cheers for the Nanite link Zarf thats an excellent app!