Need some advice on a Hard Drive set up.

nib95

nib95

nib95

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Basically, I'm going to be installing a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate RC soon (I realise the real thing comes out soon, but with the RC I'm good up to June 2010 right?). And wanted a new drive set up after one of my others failed and left me with a huge data recovery bill. I already have two WD Black's (1TB) for Raid 1 set up, my lazy way of always having a back up there. But now I need something for my main Windows drive.

Essentially, I'm trying to decide between....


Set up 1.

1 single Samsung F3 1TB drive (for Windows, programmes and minor files)

2 x WD Black RAID 1 (main drive for all data, mirrored for safety)


Set up 2.

2x Samsung F3 1TB RAID0 (for Windows, programmes and minor files)

2 x WD Black RAID 1 (main drive for all data, mirrored for safety)


Set up 3.

1x Affordable SSD drive (for Windows, programmes and minor files)

2 x WD Black RAID 1 (main drive for all data, mirrored for safety)


First thing is, I'm trying not to break the bank here. How much of a performance improvement is RAID0 really going to give me over a single drive? And how much of a performance difference is there between a single drive vs RAID0 vs SSD? A Samsung F3 set up in RAID0 is essentially the same cost as a smaller SSD drive, so how would they compare? And aside from the obvious storage amount differences, are there any other advantages to getting RAID0 over SSD? I've hear concerns about SSD's losing performance over time?

My motherboard is an Asus P6T Deluxe if that makes a difference.


Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I essentially want to buy today.
 
Personally I wouldn't rely solely on a raid 1 for the data storage without further backup(s). Unless you have further external storage in mind, I would use one of your WD blacks as an external drive to do regular backups to... raid 1 only protects against individual disk failure, and doesn't help against finger trouble, file system corruption, power supply failure that takes out all disks, etc.
 
wonko said:
Personally I wouldn't rely solely on a raid 1 for the data storage without further backup(s). Unless you have further external storage in mind, I would use one of your WD blacks as an external drive to do regular backups to... raid 1 only protects against individual disk failure, and doesn't help against finger trouble, file system corruption, power supply failure that takes out all disks, etc.
Click to expand...

My PSU is one of the newest Corsair's, so hopefully that will stay in tact. never had a PSU fail on me yet. And along with the RAID1 back up set up, I also have an external Seagate Extreme 1TB (eSATA) drive. So the RAID1 won't be my only back up. The last failed drive stung me so hard I'm not taking risks again.

Now, on to the main Windows drive.

Looking at the prices of SSD, I figure 64GB is too little (in regards to storage) and 128GB is too expensive (cost wise at around £200). So I guess it boils down to single drive vs RAID0 for the Windows drive. What do you guys think? And which would offer me more speed, the 500GB F3 or the 1TB version?
 
Diff suggestion....

2x 320Gb Samsung F1s (or similar) in RAID0

2x 1TB (w/e) in RAID1

2 320s should be far cheaper than a SSD and still have V Nice performance.

I personally couldnt justify the cost of an SSD my current setup is...

2x320Gb RAID0
2x1TB RAID1
1x 320GB

Plenty storage, performance of the 320s is fine for windows.
 
nib95 said:
And how much of a performance difference is there between a single drive vs RAID0 vs SSD?
Click to expand...

A massive difference - I'd definitely recommend it. If you're thinking of buying drives for a RAID0 and having a RAID1 storage array, then I'd seriously consider holding back until you can afford to get an SSD instead of the RAID0.

You do realise RAID1 isn't a backup though? I know you have an external drive, but RAID1 protects you against drive failure, it doesn't protect your data if for example you get malware, or accidentally delete something - as to all extents and purposes what is written to one drive is immediately mirrored on the other drive in the array.
 
SSD + RAID1 storage is a good solution, That's what I built for a mate.
It's not a backup, but it protects against the most likely cause of data loss - mechanical failure.
 
ChileanLlama said:
A massive difference - I'd definitely recommend it. If you're thinking of buying drives for a RAID0 and having a RAID1 storage array, then I'd seriously consider holding back until you can afford to get an SSD instead of the RAID0.

You do realise RAID1 isn't a backup though? I know you have an external drive, but RAID1 protects you against drive failure, it doesn't protect your data if for example you get malware, or accidentally delete something - as to all extents and purposes what is written to one drive is immediately mirrored on the other drive in the array.
Click to expand...

I do indeed realise that. But to tell the truth, mechanical failure is the only thing I'm concerned about. I don't think I've had a virus in years. I like to keep my system secure and healthy.

Ok, so can anyone recommend me two hard drives for my system (Windows) RAID0 set up? Just the fastest regular drives possible, preferably under £100. I won't be using these drives for much if any storage beyond just install files, so speed is more important than size here. Though I'd prefer if they were at least 250GB just to be safe.

Which two drives for RAID0 would you guys recommend?
 
If you're going raid and have <1tb of data, two sammy F3s now in raid1 - partitioned for files and data. It won't be quite as fast but it's the cheapest way of doing it straight off.

Then when you can justify it, get an SSD for files and switch the F3s to storage only.

No wasteage, at the cost of it not being quite so fast now - but F3s are meant to be quick anyway.
 
Ok last bump...which should I go for.


1.) 1x1TB Samsung F3
2.) 2x320GB Samsung F1 (RAID0)
3.) 2x500/1TB Samsung F3 (RAID0)
4.) 1x150GB WD Velociraptor
5.) Another HDD(s)

I can't really afford a decent sized SSD yet, so I left that out.


What do you guys think?
 
Interesting. Ok, well, if the wallet allows it I'll buy tomorrow along with a 5870 (only if the price is right mind, <£300).
 
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