Looking to boost load times. RAID?

[Texun]

Currently running an NF7, XP2400, 1g DDR, 9800NP and a Seagate 120g / 7200RPM with the 8 meg cache. I am looking to add some snap to the load times and was thinking about adding a RAID card and another HD. I've read about hardware and software RAID and it looks like HW would be the best route, but before I jump off into something I know zip about I thought I would see if I could get the answer I am looking for. Will adding another IDE drive with a RAID card do it, or would IDE be a dead end route? I've never used or even touched SATA. I would like to stay under $200 to ease any guilt I may have about tearing apart a perfectly working system again.

Thanks,

Yes... I searched for RAID. Came up with tons on the striping and configs but little on real world experience with speed.

 

[beatle]

No, buy a Raptor or go SCSI for faster load times. I ran RAID 0 about 2 1/2 years ago with 2 of the fastest ide drives available (60GXPs) on a KT7a-RAID. A month later I lost a drive (and all my data) and I went back to 1 drive for the time being. I noticed no perceptable difference in performance, so I sold the replacement drive and I haven't looked back since. Benchmarks are RAID 0's strength.

 

[Texun]

Originally posted by: beatle
No, buy a Raptor or go SCSI for faster load times. I ran RAID 0 about 2 1/2 years ago with 2 of the fastest ide drives available (60GXPs) on a KT7a-RAID. A month later I lost a drive (and all my data) and I went back to 1 drive for the time being. I noticed no perceptable difference in performance, so I sold the replacement drive and I haven't looked back since. Benchmarks are RAID 0's strength.

Good info. I guess this is a dumb question but I suppose I would need to swap boards to go with the Raptor?

 

[mechBgon]

You could also use the Raptor with a PCI SerialATA card if you like. The 74GB "new" Raptor is the one with the higher transfer rates and quicker seeks, compared to the 36GB "original" model. If you would like to try SCSI then the Fujitsu MAS-series 15000rpm drives are probably the top overall drive, followed by the Maxtor Atlas 15k and Cheetah 15k.3. The Fujitsu MAS and the Cheetah 15k.3 are both fluid-bearing models. SCSI cards start around $40 and you need an LVD cable & terminator too (about another $25 or so).

If by "load times" you mean Windows bootup times, then neither is a good solution because the PCI card adds a good 10-15 seconds of initialization time while it sees what's hooked up to it. Solution: don't shut down.

 

[ucdbiendog]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
You could also use the Raptor with a PCI SerialATA card if you like. The 74GB "new" Raptor is the one with the higher transfer rates and quicker seeks, compared to the 36GB "original" model. If you would like to try SCSI then the Fujitsu MAS-series 15000rpm drives are probably the top overall drive, followed by the Maxtor Atlas 15k and Cheetah 15k.3. The Fujitsu MAS and the Cheetah 15k.3 are both fluid-bearing models. SCSI cards start around $40 and you need an LVD cable & terminator too (about another $25 or so).

If by "load times" you mean Windows bootup times, then neither is a good solution because the PCI card adds a good 10-15 seconds of initialization time while it sees what's hooked up to it. Solution: don't shut down.

yes but that will be true for any RAID solution, onboard or PCI. I have a couple raptors in RAID0 and after post, windows starts up in less than three swipes of the bar. But ya, get a SATA RAID PCI card and a couple 36gig raptors and you would be set.

 

[Texun]

Got it. Thanks guys! You stopped me from making a huge mistake. :beer: :beer:

 

[sharkeeper]

You know I really don't see the advantages in load time (of games) depending that heavily on the storage subsystem. It could be the heavy dependence on windows large system cache and copious amounts of free physical memory.

I can tell you comparing two nearly identical systems with top notch storage systems in different price points have indiscernible load times with latest games such as UT2004, Painkiller, Far Cry, etc.

I'm sure if I limited the amount of system RAM to 512MB by editing the boot.ini file this would change and may be warranted if I have the chance. I'm sure the SCSI system would [insert vulgar term for unintentional intercourse] the SATA system to death.

Cheers!

 

[Texun]

Thanks Shuttleteam - What I was (am) looking for may not exist in my world. I want disc intensive apps to load faster. Windows, Photoshop, games, etc. To get what I want would probably requier the fastest SCSI drives and a high end SCSI card. A PCI to SATA card would be an improvement, but in the end it may still not be what I am looking for. I thought about swapping the 2400 for a Barton 2800 or 3000 but I doubt that my cpu is a major issue.

 

[sharkeeper]

No the cpu won't help with that. Upon relaunching of the application it will.

Photoshop CS loads in under three seconds on a very high end system featuring multiple 15k disks, lots of cache with delay writes over 10 seconds and the fastest 64bit XOR engines available. Speed comes at a pretty penny, however.

Cheers!

 

[Texun]

Originally posted by: shuttleteam
No the cpu won't help with that. Upon relaunching of the application it will.
Photoshop CS loads in under three seconds on a very high end system featuring multiple 15k disks, lots of cache with delay writes over 10 seconds and the fastest 64bit XOR engines available. Speed comes at a pretty penny, however.
Cheers!

I should stop complaining. On a fresh reboot in Win2K PS-6 loads in 12 seconds, 3 if I close and reopen right away. I guess my desire comes from upgrading until I hit the wall, then I want to start over again. It seems really dumb if I think about it too much. I can't remember the last upgrade that was REALLY necessary. :disgust: