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Thread: RAID 0
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03-31-08, 12:46 PM #11
Re: RAID 0
Originally Posted by Consultant
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03-31-08, 12:53 PM #12
Re: RAID 0
Originally Posted by Consultant
It does pose a little threat to loosing all info once one HD craps out but most if not all that i have is on a disk somewhere.
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03-31-08, 01:00 PM #13
Re: RAID 0
Originally Posted by Hocus Pocus
and actually, it's not the "life of your harddrive" but moreso the probability of failure. A RAID-0 is 2 drives simulating 1 drive. If either drive has an issue, both disks are "crashed" in terms of you losing all the data. Since the chances of either drive failing are indepentent of the other drive.....you double the chances of failure.
but lifetime of the drive......like anyone uses the same HD for more than 5 years or so, if even that.
FYI, I just un-RAID-0'd my last setup, since I got tired of the hoops and headaches installing and reinstalling windows on a RAID creates.
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03-31-08, 01:02 PM #14
Re: RAID 0
I will testify, though, that my read time was nearly doubled (about a 95% increase) when I switched to RAID-0. My write time was unaffected.
Helped when you were loading windows, or opening big programs. But not enough to justify the hoops and headaches.
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03-31-08, 01:04 PM #15
Re: RAID 0
The way it generally works to set up a RAID array is thus:
1. Put drives in, connect power and both data cables, ensuring they end up on the same controller (should be easy if you only one controller).
1a: Find the drivers that are necessary for installation, and follow the instructions given (usually to copy onto a floppy disc).
2. Turn computer back on. You might have to enable the controller by going into BIOS and looking in the peripherals section.
3. When the RAID controller BIOS screen comes up (after POST), hit the button to enter the controller setup.
4. From here, there should be options to set up arrays. Set up a RAID 0, striping size (usually automatic), and then add both of the drives you want to use. Both drives will be initialized, which will erase them.
5. When doing a NEW Windows install:
When you enter setup, the status bar at the bottom will say "Press F6 if you need to add a third party controller driver" or very similar. Press button! The setup will continue loading itself, and then at the end, you'll be prompted to insert the disc you made in step 1a and install the drivers so that setup recognizes your controller, and thus your new array. Then continue installation as you normally would.
*** Notes of caution:
Windows is absolutely retarded when it comes to working with partitions and setting up mount volumes. If you have both IDE hard drives AND SATA drives, the IDE controller is recognized as device 0, and Windows absolutely, positively must format and install at least a ghost reference to the boot volume on the first drive on device 0, no exceptions. If you use an IDE hard drive for backup (like I used to), you have to disconnect it fully, disable it in the BIOS, follow the above procedure (so that the SATA controller ends up being device 0 at setup), then reconnect, and reenable it in BIOS. Then Windows will behave properly.
This is due to the way that Windows looks for the boot volume, and is yet another example of crap coding.
*** The Straight Skinny on RAID 0
RAID 0 should, technically speaking, double your access rate (either read or write). In practice, it does significantly speed up read performance, while write performance gains are fairly average. What it can also do is improve your burst reading by combining the cache on the two drives. Most access you do while gaming is read-related.
RAID 0 does not halve your drive life. From a statistical standpoint, a 2-drive RAID 0 array has twice as many opportunities to fail compared to a single drive, which should mean relatively twice the number of failures over a period of time. What it generally means in the real world is "backup your really important shit and stop worrying so damn much". Most drives nowadays have MTBF's of 100,000 hours anyway (or about 11.4 continuous years of service).
Draco
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04-03-08, 12:45 AM #16
Re: RAID 0
I am currently running a RAID 0 stripe and ran one on my last gaming rig.
There was a great increase in the speed with which maps changed, levels loaded, and programs launched. I really like being one of the first guys on the map!
As stated there is indeed the risk of losing your data. If you run a RAID 0 stripe, get a separate disk for keeping important documents on. I personally have only had one HDD fail on me within it's useful lifetime; but accidents happen. And losing everything would really suck.
Again, I use RAID 0 and love it. I recommend it for gamers who feel technically inclined enough to tinker with it; it is easier under Vista as the drivers are generally already on the install disk. I also recommend using a separate storage disk and putting your OS/applications on the RAID stack. If you are the kind of user who takes your computer to a shop to have work done, dont even mess with RAID.
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