Should I setup Raid 0 or not?
Hey guys,
I'm setting up a new system soon, and originally I had planned to setup Raid 0 with two WD 250gb Sata 16mb cache drives. I've never setup raid before so I'm not sure how great it is, but I've known about it for a while. After doing some more research, I'm not really sure if striping will be worth the added risk, and work (Determining the best stripe size for my purposes seems like it might be a hassle).
I virtually never edit videos and I'm not running a server or anything like that. I am building this PC primarily for gaming and work (Excel, Outlook, Word, Powerpoint, maybe some Access, etc. --nothing demanding. My current PC handles all of these applications with ease.)
It seems like the benefits of Raid 0 do not really apply to games, except for load times (which I would really appreciate), and are more for file-intensive users, whatever that means.
So, is it worth setting up Raid 0 for a decrease in some load times that usually aren't that bad to begin with? At least, loading up Steam and CS:Source takes a while, but I can't play the newer games so I'm not sure how bad the load times have become. When I get my 8800GTS going I should be able to play just about anything. I ask this question when considering that if one drive fails, then all the data is lost (which would really suck), and I've read that the drives will be more prone to failure. I'm also not a huge fan of backing things up, in fact, I never do it. In the past I have always used two drives, one for the OS and programs integrated into the registry that would require a reinstallation if the OS was wiped, and the other for media, documents, paging file, some games, and some programs. I've always enjoyed this setup and the extra security that I feel it brings, so I've been thinking maybe I should just use this setup again.
If anyone has some experience with Raid 0 setups and their benefits, I'd be interested to hear what you think. I apologize for the long post, but I'm bored at work!
I'm setting up a new system soon, and originally I had planned to setup Raid 0 with two WD 250gb Sata 16mb cache drives. I've never setup raid before so I'm not sure how great it is, but I've known about it for a while. After doing some more research, I'm not really sure if striping will be worth the added risk, and work (Determining the best stripe size for my purposes seems like it might be a hassle).
I virtually never edit videos and I'm not running a server or anything like that. I am building this PC primarily for gaming and work (Excel, Outlook, Word, Powerpoint, maybe some Access, etc. --nothing demanding. My current PC handles all of these applications with ease.)
It seems like the benefits of Raid 0 do not really apply to games, except for load times (which I would really appreciate), and are more for file-intensive users, whatever that means.
So, is it worth setting up Raid 0 for a decrease in some load times that usually aren't that bad to begin with? At least, loading up Steam and CS:Source takes a while, but I can't play the newer games so I'm not sure how bad the load times have become. When I get my 8800GTS going I should be able to play just about anything. I ask this question when considering that if one drive fails, then all the data is lost (which would really suck), and I've read that the drives will be more prone to failure. I'm also not a huge fan of backing things up, in fact, I never do it. In the past I have always used two drives, one for the OS and programs integrated into the registry that would require a reinstallation if the OS was wiped, and the other for media, documents, paging file, some games, and some programs. I've always enjoyed this setup and the extra security that I feel it brings, so I've been thinking maybe I should just use this setup again.
If anyone has some experience with Raid 0 setups and their benefits, I'd be interested to hear what you think. I apologize for the long post, but I'm bored at work!
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Comments
Someone pointed out that many people that switch from a single drive to a raid 0 array often use newer drives that operate on newer platforms with a faster system, and they usually have a clean install of windows.
I can't post links yet, but for anyone else that has the same question I found a good article on anandtech that benchmarks a dual raptor raid 0 setup. For gaming, the raid 0 raptors loaded ut2k4 and farcry about 4 seconds faster than a single 7200rpm seagate (Total load time for each game was ~30, and ~40 seconds respectively. So, about 10% faster.)
In their final words, Anandtech was even so bold to say they saw no place for raid 0 on any desktop computer. Although, I'm not sure if I completely agree with that, but the point was taken. Some hardcore users that encode or edit large files may find worthwhile benefits.
Thanks for your opinion.
I use the same setup as you do (almost). I just have a drive in my main computer for my OS/games/installed programs and I use a server for all my files.
I have had them fail on me. At first it is neat to have the speed, but after loosing the array you will think twice.
Too bad I already ordered my drives and I'm eager to get the system going, maybe I would have sprung for a raptor/regular drive combo if I had thought more about it.
I guess I dont count
/cry
:-P
RAID-specific, time-limited error recovery (TLER) - A feature pioneered by WD, significantly reduces drive fallout caused by the extended hard drive error-recovery processes common to desktop drives.
Also, what does everyone think of the 7200.10 drive by seagate? Maybe I should have bought that instead.
I essentially agree with Anand's statement quoted above. In my opinion, after having used RAID 0 for years, RAID 0 is a toy, and not much more. Yes indeed - double your chances of data destruction with only a minor performance improvement in a limited number of destop applications.
If you must use RAID 0, please ensure you have a system/data backup regimen that you execute on a very routine basis. If you wish to play with RAID 0, have at it. It is fun - I won't argue that. But the real world benefits just aren't there.