Most folks used to get the best all around results with 16 stripe/16 cluster. With the advent of newer controllers and different HD's there has been some experimenting to what works best in someones particular system. I myself found that both of my arrays with WD SE drives prefer to be run with a stripe size of 32. My array with 2 WD1000JB HD's in RAID-0 on a HPT 1520 controller like a cluster size of 8 so it is 32/8. My array with 2 WD 60JB HD's in RAID-0 on the onboard Silicon Image controller like a cluster size of 16 so it is 32/16. I have another computer with 2 Maxtor HD's in RAID-0 on an onboard HPT 372 controller that just loves 16/16 and coughs at most other configs. I recomend experimenting with all the different combinations you can. I like to start at 16/16 and try all the different clusters on thae 16 stripe; ie 16/16, 16/8, 16/4. Then I go with 32/32, 32/16, 32/8, 32/4. Then try 64/64, 64/32, 64/16, 64/8. The larger the cluster size the more disk space you will use and won't be as space efficient. I didn't mention using less that 16 stripe as it uses more processor useage so as not to be as high of performance. I also never use a cluster more than 1/4th my stripe size as it won't do any good. It is important to do a full format when changing sizes. DO NOT USE THE "QUICK FORMAT" OPTION. When running ATTO I like to average the results of at least 5 runs and make sure you have nothing else open.

The next thing after you find a stripe/cluster with the best level of performance is to adjust the PCI Latency of your controller. For this I use A tool called Powerstrip. Once you have it installed you will need to open it, which puts an icon in your toolbar. Right click the icon go to: Options>Adapter Information.


Next you need to:

1. Scroll through the device list till you find your controller.

2. Uncheck the box marked "Read Only".

3. Adjust your latency. Try eferything between 32 and 248.






Here is an array prior to latency tweeking:



Here is the same after: