Anyone using a PCI RAID card on an NForce2 mobo?

[MichaelD]

Hello,

I run an Epox 8RDA+ in my gaming/main rig. Overclocking like a mofo. Stable, awesome, etc. However...

Hard drive load times suck @ss. Slow. IMO, it takes too long to load up games/levels.

Not even 1/2 as fast as my former RAID0 setups using "inferior HDs". (I am using a WD SE drive in this rig, FYI)

So, I'm strongly considering getting a Highpoint ATA133 Raid card and another WD SE 80GB drive and striping them...or maybe going all the way and getting a 3Ware7000 hardware solution card.

Just curious to see if anyone else is doing this and if you're happy w/the results.

This is the only AMD mobo I've owned w/o onboard RAID. I miss the speed and the expansion possibilities.

ps
Yes, the IDE controller is set to UDMA and the scores still suck.

 

[MichaelD]

Bumpage.

 

[John]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
Yes, the IDE controller is set to UDMA and the scores still suck.

If you run XP/2K, did you read my thread?

 

[MichaelD]

Hi John; thanks for the reply.

I'm not sure what to say about my probs vs. your thread....I'm confused. I do run W2K SP3.

My BOOT time is as short as it gets. Really. The BIOS flashes by and the "Windows progres bar" at the bottom of the screen literally BLINKS by. A byproduct of a 200MHz FSB, I'm sure.

I can't run HDTach 2.61 b/c NT is only supported in the registered version....

My PCMark2002 HD score of 989 is pretty sad, considering:
a. I'm running a WD SE drive
b. Others are scoring in the 1200's for single-drive setups.

I am running the latest NVidia unified driver pack (2.03) and I don't get prompted to load "this or that one" it just loads everything. Then I load the NVidia videocard driver and I'm done.

Am I missing something here?

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
Hi John; thanks for the reply.

I'm not sure what to say about my probs vs. your thread....I'm confused. I do run W2K SP3.

My BOOT time is as short as it gets. Really. The BIOS flashes by and the "Windows progres bar" at the bottom of the screen literally BLINKS by. A byproduct of a 200MHz FSB, I'm sure.

I can't run HDTach 2.61 b/c NT is only supported in the registered version....

My PCMark2002 HD score of 989 is pretty sad, considering:
a. I'm running a WD SE drive
b. Others are scoring in the 1200's for single-drive setups.

I am running the latest NVidia unified driver pack (2.03) and I don't get prompted to load "this or that one" it just loads everything. Then I load the NVidia videocard driver and I'm done.

Am I missing something here?

That is pretty sad

Have you made sure there are no conflicts Hardware wise?

Friend had a problem where he had IRQ problems which were cutting off the IDE channels periodically to his hard drives, and therefore putting delays on everything

 

[HendrixFan]

I have the ASUS Nforce2 board, and I run 3 WD 120GB 8MB drives with my Adaptec 2400A card. It runs very fast, though for loading games I saw a bigger boost by going from 512MB to 1GB of RAM. My drives really show their speed when Im doing my video or audio editting.

 

[MichaelD]

Hi Dan, thanks for the suggestion. I have no conflicts at all. No forced hardware, etc.

The only thing I can think of is the fact that my HD is on the same IDE channel as my DVD Rom. HD is master of course. I have my burner as Master by itself on the Secondary IDE channel.

Everything works perfectly...just slow when reading/writing to the HD. My CPU/Memory/Video benchmarks are fantastic...HD sucks.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: HendrixFan
I have the ASUS Nforce2 board, and I run 3 WD 120GB 8MB drives with my Adaptec 2400A card. It runs very fast, though for loading games I saw a bigger boost by going from 512MB to 1GB of RAM. My drives really show their speed when Im doing my video or audio editting.

The more I read, the more I believe that going to a RAID solution is the key...looking at a 3Ware 7000.

 

[BentValve]

I simply changed out my Wester Digital 80gb SE drive with a Maxtor 80gb 8mb drive and went from 900 points
to over 1300 points. My system is sooooooooo much faster with the Maxtor.

I use an Nforce 2 board and an OCed 2100+.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: BentValve
I simply changed out my Wester Digital 80gb SE drive with a Maxtor 80gb 8mb drive and went from 900 points
to over 1300 points. My system is sooooooooo much faster with the Maxtor.

I use an Nforce 2 board and an OCed 2100+.

Interesting. We have the same setup. I don't see how going from one HD manufacturer to another would make that big a diff. I mean, an 8mb cache is an 8mb cache...there are no drivers involved either, like there would be w/videocards, for example.

 

[BentValve]

spin up , spin down , access times...your right the 8mb cashe is nothing but a gimic...the Maxtor's raw speed however is real.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: BentValve
spin up , spin down , access times...your right the 8mb cashe is nothing but a gimic...the Maxtor's raw speed however is real.

I'm sorry, but I'm confused. Isn't the Maxtor in question a 7200rpm drive? What makes an 8mb cache Maxtor faster than a n 8mb cache WD? I haven't kept up on the HD scene for awhile...

 

[BentValve]

?? do you think everything is created equal based on specs? Can you judge an automobile by its specifications alone?...The anwer is no you cannot.

Perhaps somebody else knows why Maxtors are faster, I for one do not.

 

[HendrixFan]

According to storagereview.com's recent comparisons, the Maxtor 8MB drives dont have anything on the WD drives. THe Maxtor wins a few, the WD wins a few more, but neither are particularly far ahead of the other in any test.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: BentValve
?? do you think everything is created equal based on specs? Can you judge an automobile by its specifications alone?...The anwer is no you cannot.

Perhaps somebody else knows why Maxtors are faster, I for one do not.

Actually, in the PC World, specs are EVERYTHING! Faster is faster and numbers don't lie. Thanks though.

 

[BentValve]

Originally posted by: MichaelD

Originally posted by: BentValve
?? do you think everything is created equal based on specs? Can you judge an automobile by its specifications alone?...The anwer is no you cannot.

Perhaps somebody else knows why Maxtors are faster, I for one do not.

Actually, in the PC World, specs are EVERYTHING! Faster is faster and numbers don't lie. Thanks though.

Specs are not benchmarks. Good luck with it , I was only giving you my experience.

 

[wtfiwwm]

Originally posted by: BentValve
I simply changed out my Wester Digital 80gb SE drive with a Maxtor 80gb 8mb drive and went from 900 points
to over 1300 points. My system is sooooooooo much faster with the Maxtor.

I use an Nforce 2 board and an OCed 2100+.

one of the biggest onlinestores in sweden states that most WD disks does not work satisfactory with nforce2 chipsets. I dont know if thats really true but considering your result it may be some truth to it .

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: wtfiwwm

Originally posted by: BentValve
I simply changed out my Wester Digital 80gb SE drive with a Maxtor 80gb 8mb drive and went from 900 points
to over 1300 points. My system is sooooooooo much faster with the Maxtor.

I use an Nforce 2 board and an OCed 2100+.

one of the biggest onlinestores in sweden states that most WD disks does not work satisfactory with nforce2 chipsets. I dont know if thats really true but considering your result it may be some truth to it .

Not really having anything to go by, I'll take a shot in the dark here.

Possiblily, for whatever reason, that may true. I have heard from more than one person that putting a couple of WD drives on a RAID card will make them fly. I.E. different controller. *shrug* Who knows? Can somebody shed some light on this whole "NForce2 chipset and WD drives thing?"

 

[MrChad]

To answer your original question, I have a HighPoint RocketRAID 133 on an Asus A7N8X Deluxe and it works great (Windows XP SP1).

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: MrChad
To answer your original question, I have a HighPoint RocketRAID 133 on an Asus A7N8X Deluxe and it works great (Windows XP SP1).

Thank you, MrChad.

 

[AtomicAlien]

It is perhaps because the nForce2 IDE have an insane CPU usage percentage? I might consider a 3Ware 7000-2 paired with two Maxtors on RAID0 when I upgrade to an Athlon 64 mobo.