Two Questions RAM & RAID

Cesar67

Cesar67

Cesar67

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I have (2X2GB) Corsair XMS2 6400 RAM, It runs 1:1 with my OC'ed E8400 @ 445MHz, I think that's its limit.

Would i see any difference going to 2X1GB modules of PC2 8500 ?

I dont think i have seen any game take advantage of the 4GB i have so would 2GB faster RAM be any better or just a waste of cash ?


I currently have a Samsung F1 320GB boot drive, Another is only £34.

Would i see much benefit in game with a RAID0 2 disk array ?

My main use for my machine is gaming and web browsing and some 1080P playback.
 
In response to the RAM, have you got a 32bit or 64bit OS? Downgrading to less RAM is in 9 / 10 cases not going to help, remember that the system uses some of those resources so you would be left with a lot less than with 4GB.
As for the RAID, no idea :)
 
bJN said:
In response to the RAM, have you got a 32bit or 64bit OS? Downgrading to less RAM is in 9 / 10 cases not going to help, remember that the system uses some of those resources so you would be left with a lot less than with 4GB.
As for the RAID, no idea :)
Click to expand...

X64 mate, The most i have seen used is Crysis with 1.8... I guess 4GB is a minimum these days huh ? I was just thinking faster RAM = Bigger OC.
 
I've tried Raid0 a few times over the years, I even have one right now, and sure its nice when doing video edits, and streaming large files, but the random read and random writes on raid 0 are rarely an improvement over a single drive, especially if the drive is a mechanical 7200rpm disk. Raided raptors (10000rpm with 4ms seek times) do better.

In terms of boot times, and game loading, honestly, I can not tell the difference between my raid0 (which currently is a pair of Seagate 7200.10 320gig disks) and my partners computer which has a single Seagate 7200.10 320gig disk. On my last computer I had a pair of Samsung 7200rpm disks and again there was no benifit with raid0 for gaming.

Its the same problem that early SSD's demonstrated so nicely, you can have massive sequential transfer speeds, but if the random 4k writes are poor the overall system speed can feel sluggish.

I leave my drives in raid0 for 2 reasons, 1) I am too lazy to break the raid and reinstall everything, and 2) I dont like partitions, because of the registry reinstalling windows from scratch generally means half your applications will need reinstalling, too many partitions leave you with stupid pieces of unusable space (drive too full for application).

For me a perfect option is 1 drive (phyiscal or ssd) for windows + all applications, should have enough space free so that future apps/games can be installed without running out of space, and a second drive with my media files on it, just some high capacity 7200rpm drive like a Sammy F3 etc.
 
Corasik said:
I've tried Raid0 a few times over the years, I even have one right now, and sure its nice when doing video edits, and streaming large files, but the random read and random writes on raid 0 are rarely an improvement over a single drive, especially if the drive is a mechanical 7200rpm disk. Raided raptors (10000rpm with 4ms seek times) do better.

In terms of boot times, and game loading, honestly, I can not tell the difference between my raid0 (which currently is a pair of Seagate 7200.10 320gig disks) and my partners computer which has a single Seagate 7200.10 320gig disk. On my last computer I had a pair of Samsung 7200rpm disks and again there was no benifit with raid0 for gaming.

Its the same problem that early SSD's demonstrated so nicely, you can have massive sequential transfer speeds, but if the random 4k writes are poor the overall system speed can feel sluggish.

I leave my drives in raid0 for 2 reasons, 1) I am too lazy to break the raid and reinstall everything, and 2) I dont like partitions, because of the registry reinstalling windows from scratch generally means half your applications will need reinstalling, too many partitions leave you with stupid pieces of unusable space (drive too full for application).

For me a perfect option is 1 drive (phyiscal or ssd) for windows + all applications, should have enough space free so that future apps/games can be installed without running out of space, and a second drive with my media files on it, just some high capacity 7200rpm drive like a Sammy F3 etc.
Click to expand...

Great advice mate, I will put the extra to it and get a 1TB drive for (Much needed) storage and leave my 320GB drive for OS/Apps.

Looking to go SSD when prices are reasonable.

Thanks.
 
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