2x Seagate 320GB 7200.10 SATA2 in RAID

[cytoSiN]

Anyone know if two of the seagates (Seagate 320GB 7200.10 SATA2) in RAID0 will boot windows XP pro and/or load large files (maps, videos, etc) much faster than a single Raptor?

Thanks.

 

[keeleysam]

One drive is pretty damn close to a Raptor, so two will be faster. However, you should not be storing things suck as videos on a RAID 0 setup, do them from RAID 1, which is still very fast (for reading), but redundant.

 

[cytoSiN]

Ok....assume whatever RAID is best 🙂

I just see people going nuts over tiny Raptors and the Seagate 7200 Perp is way cheaper for way more space (320 = 95 bucks for seagate, 150 = 200 bucks AR for raptor), so I figured I might as well consider using two in RAID...

 

[keeleysam]

Use two in RAID 1, you'll have more than double the space at $20 less and no rebates.

 

[Bobthelost]

RAID is best for big files (tens of MB +) a raptor is better for little files. The advantages of RAID0 for games is minimal, the advantages of Raptors for games is almost as small. Perpendicular recording is neither here nor there, refering to it as if it were anything special is a bad idea. RAID 1 doesn't boost read or write performance in most tests with 2 drive arrays and onboard controllers, do it for redundancy not for performance.

You don't need either, just get a single 320GB and remember to defrag it regulary.

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost

You don't need either, just get a single 320GB and remember to defrag it regulary.

Heresy! 😛

If you've got the moolah and/or care aboot yer data then at least get two drives so one can be a removeable clone which is safer than RAID1 who's only advantage, apart from minor read performance, is uptime -as in continuing to run while replacing a failed drive, which is irrelevent when you don't mind being "down" for five minutes during replacement.

 

[networkman]

Because of the RAID0 config, the two Seagates give you twice the likilhood of a failure occuring, as opposed to a single Raptor. 😉

 

[cytoSiN]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
RAID is best for big files (tens of MB +) a raptor is better for little files. The advantages of RAID0 for games is minimal, the advantages of Raptors for games is almost as small. Perpendicular recording is neither here nor there, refering to it as if it were anything special is a bad idea. RAID 1 doesn't boost read or write performance in most tests with 2 drive arrays and onboard controllers, do it for redundancy not for performance.

You don't need either, just get a single 320GB and remember to defrag it regulary.

Ok, thanks for the advice...your conclusion leads me to believe that the 320 Seagate is faster or as fast as the Raptor, since speed is the premise of this thread...is that accurate?

And more to the point, why do people cream themselves over tiny (read: 74gb, e.g.), expensive Raptors when bigger drives are out there that seem to be as fast? Am I missing something. If windows takes 45 seconds to load with the Seagate, will the 150gb Raptor load noticeably faster? I've seen some comparisons on various websites, but it's so much easier to just listen to what you all have to say from experience 🙂

 

[ROcHE]

A 320GB seagate is NOT as fast as a raptor.

 

[savvy]

It's not as fast, but some people can't notice the difference unless they pay attention.

 

[tjcinnamon]

What about a RAID 5 Seagate 320GB vs. A Raptor X 150gb??

Also would there me much of a difference (beyond the price and space) of a RAID 5 Seagate 320gb vs. RAID 5 Raptor X 150GB?

 

[jose]

If you want fast random access then use a fast drive, if you want sustained sequential access then you can use 7200rpm raid 0 ..

Using hdtach3 I get:

15k 36g scsi : burst 116MB/s, access 5.6ms
10k 74g scsi : burst 114MB/s, access 7.24ms

My friend w/ a e6600 conroe gets:

raid 0 (2 - 250 wd raid ed.) : burst 229MB/s , access 13.5ms Asus p5w dh mobo.

My new 150g Raptor does: burst 135MB/s , acess time 8.0ms

Regards,
Jose

 

[RaiderJ]

I think for video related stuff, you'd notice the RAID 0 improvement, and two 320GB would definitely be helpful spacewise, as video files can get big.

RAID 1 is good for reducing downtime, but silly to use for performance reasons. Plus RAID 1 != backups. Buy an extra HD for that.