RAID 0 - partitions, swap files, stripe sizes, BIOS SCREEN

[Participant]

Hi all.

I installed 2x320Gb WD AAKS drives in RAID 0 in my new system last night and so far have them set up as one large ~600Gb partition with Vista x64 being the only thing installed so far. I have two questions;

- I am using a 120Gb WD IDE drive as backup for important data. It's a 8Mb cache 7200rpm Caviar - would it be quicker to hold the Windows swap file on the RAID array or on this separate drive?

- When I was installing Vista I couldn't see any partition options so I went ahead thinking I'd be able to sort the partition from within Vista. Is there a way to do this or do I need to reinstall the OS and partition somewhere within the OS installation setup?

- How do I stop the RAID BIOS displaying on bootup? (P35C-DS3R) It adds to the boot time and I don't need it checked each time. While we're on that point I don't need to see the GPU's BIOS information either!

- I set the RAID 0 stripe size to 32Kb - is this ok for an all-rounder machine?

Many thanks. Would be interested to hear the debates on optimal partitioning, swap file location, and stripe size. My usage of this machine is fairly all-round - viewing videos, listening to music, emails internet games etc, so I'll be loading large maps as well as shifting lots of smaller files around. I don't do video editing but I do use photoshop, though not with massive hi-res files, mainly jpg work.

 

[helmutcheese]

Yes going by reviews 16-32 seems normal for most uses, my Sil default to 16 so i left it there, but the Nvidia ones is high at 256 but when i set up my raid i will change it to 16 and ingore the hints they give you in bios, 256 IMO would be for massive AV work like Video Editing, and if you made it 4, you would need to defrag the HDD daily (not quiet but often)

 

[Bobmunkhouse]

Hi all.

I installed 2x320Gb WD AAKS drives in RAID 0 in my new system last night and so far have them set up as one large ~600Gb partition with Vista x64 being the only thing installed so far. I have two questions;

- I am using a 120Gb WD IDE drive as backup for important data. It's a 8Mb cache 7200rpm Caviar - would it be quicker to hold the Windows swap file on the RAID array or on this separate drive?

- When I was installing Vista I couldn't see any partition options so I went ahead thinking I'd be able to sort the partition from within Vista. Is there a way to do this or do I need to reinstall the OS and partition somewhere within the OS installation setup?

- How do I stop the RAID BIOS displaying on bootup? (P35C-DS3R) It adds to the boot time and I don't need it checked each time. While we're on that point I don't need to see the GPU's BIOS information either!

- I set the RAID 0 stripe size to 32Kb - is this ok for an all-rounder machine?

Many thanks. Would be interested to hear the debates on optimal partitioning, swap file location, and stripe size. My usage of this machine is fairly all-round - viewing videos, listening to music, emails internet games etc, so I'll be loading large maps as well as shifting lots of smaller files around. I don't do video editing but I do use photoshop, though not with massive hi-res files, mainly jpg work.

Im also interested in the answers to all these questions please let us know.....

 

[rpstewart]

- I am using a 120Gb WD IDE drive as backup for important data. It's a 8Mb cache 7200rpm Caviar - would it be quicker to hold the Windows swap file on the RAID array or on this separate drive?

Maybe, it depends how busy the RAID array is. The array should be far faster than the IDE drive but if the array is busy then swap file access will be affected. I'd try both and see how you get on.

When I was installing Vista I couldn't see any partition options so I went ahead thinking I'd be able to sort the partition from within Vista. Is there a way to do this or do I need to reinstall the OS and partition somewhere within the OS installation setup?

The point at which you specified the full 600Gb to be used should have allowed you to specify the size of the partition.

Partition Magic should be able to resize the current partition assuming it works under Vista.

How do I stop the RAID BIOS displaying on bootup? (P35C-DS3R) It adds to the boot time and I don't need it checked each time. While we're on that point I don't need to see the GPU's BIOS information either!

The BIOSes need to be loaded to provide the RAID and Graphics functionality. There's nothing you can do unless you don't want any disks or video.

I set the RAID 0 stripe size to 32Kb - is this ok for an all-rounder machine?

Yeah, 32K will be fine.

 

[fobose]

- How do I stop the RAID BIOS displaying on bootup? (P35C-DS3R) It adds to the boot time and I don't need it checked each time. While we're on that point I don't need to see the GPU's BIOS information either!

Dont reboot I have 2 RAID Bioses show on mine, Intel ICH5R and Promise 378 so boot time is slow, I just never reboot unless I have to for updates