RAID-0 - 4 disks in one machine (2 logical drives)

caff · 20 Oct 2006 at 15:21

Thinking of building a super fast PC - I do a lot of music work, so disk speed for my huge samples and instrument banks is really important.

I want a RAID-0 C: apps drive, and also a RAID-0 D: data drive - so that's 4 disks, right?

I use a single 74Gb raptor for my main disk at present, and its pretty good but I heard RAID-0 can provide more performance.

If this is at all possible, I guess I would I need a motherboard with two separate raid controllers on it? If so are there any good ones that are conroe ready?

thanks

33L · 20 Oct 2006 at 15:29

if im not mistaken i think you can create multiple arrays with one controller!

Dist · 20 Oct 2006 at 15:32

why not just use 2 hdds in raid 0, and split that into 2 partitions, C: and D: ?

smids · 20 Oct 2006 at 15:33

You can indeed create multiple arrays on one controller and yes, that is 4 drives required. You understand the risks of RAID0? Seriously think about using one as a data drive - as in important/personal data - I use RAID1 for storage.

caff · 20 Oct 2006 at 15:54

Good point - I always keep my applications on the main drive, windows, sound apps etc. on C:

And all my data / projects / samples on D:

So if I made my D: drive RAID-1, how does it compare performance wise? And does that mean I only get the space of one of the disks?

Currently I take regular backups to another standalone drive - I don't trust powerspikes, let alone the integrity of one disk! This is why I was thinking I could try a fully RAID-0 rig.

snowdog · 20 Oct 2006 at 18:00

I'd just do 4 hdd's in raid 0 and 2 partitions, way faster as just 2, raid 1 is a waste of money i think personally, i have 6 hdd's in my pc ( almost all brands) and 3 are older as 3yrs (one is even 5+ yrs) and still work ok, didnt have a dead hdd in last 7 years i think, i doubt hdd's die often these days, i'd just do one huge raid 0 array and one standalone 250 gig hdd to backup only the most important suff, if you're really worried do Raid0+1, but not 1 alone, just create one big raid array and make 2 partitions on it, it will be faster...