raid the way to go?

[SooTyLaD]

hi peeps,

just specced my new system with a 150gb raptor but someone pointed out that i'd get more bang for buck by going for 2 seagates in raid 0...

now i'm very much a "it just works" kinda guy and like simplicity, reliability and speed... as far as i can see:

- the raptor is the simplest solution, fast as hell, all in one, no messin

- the raided pair will be a similar speed but requires some wierd setup requiring a floppy drive (i havn't specced a floppy drive in a setup for about 6 years) - also will not be as simple when i start playing with acronis true image and things like that

... thirdly i love reliability... i love fast as hell but want to trust it (prefer to be doing 120MPH in a nice comfy bmw than maxed out in an old fiesta with tyres on their last legs) - the computer will be used for work and as such i need this setup to "just work"...

so please advice, if it really is a very very simple affair and well worth it to go for raid, please say, but if raid is a lot of unneccesary hassel compared to the raptor i know which way i'm going...

enter the hdd gurus...

 

[semi-pro waster]

Raid is very simple to set up now (in fact it has been for years), you need to build the Raid array in the Raid 'bios' then once done start off the Windows installation process, you will need to press F6 when prompted to install SATA/Raid drivers. From that point on Windows sees your hard drive as one logical hard drive and it is no different to any other install of Windows ever.

The Raptor is undoubtedly fast but for normal use it isn't hugely faster than a Seagate 7200.10 or Western Digital AAKS drive on their own.

I can't disagree that Raid isn't as simple as a single hard drive but then I wouldn't be buying a Raptor as the single drive either.

The chances of your Raid array falling over are pretty small when you use a identical pair of hard drives but it is still there and greater than the chances of a single drive failing since you require both to keep working together to form one logical drive.

 

[SooTyLaD]

oh ok, thanks... three questions:

- can it be done without a floppy drive? feels like a step back to the dark ages...

- which is better out of the 7200.10 and AAKS you mentioned?

- where do you get these drivers that need to go on the (al murray style "grrrrr") floppy disk?

 

[semi-pro waster]

It may be possible to use a USB memory stick but that would depend on your motherboard and Windows supporting it, the other option you can try is 'slipstreaming' the drivers onto a Windows CD using something like nLite.

AAKS is a bit newer and supposedly a little bit faster for average transfers, it may also be a bit quieter but my 7200.10 is inaudible.

The drivers you need will be at your motherboard manufacturers website.