Revodrive X2 vs. 2x Vertex 2

[Jephph]

Hey guys. I'm looking to buy an SSD and spend no more than $450. Would I be better off getting the Revodrive X2 100GB, or a couple of Vertex 2 60GB in RAID0? The Revodrive costs $430 right now, and 2 Vertex 2 60GB would run $240.

Obviously, the Vertex 2s are the cheaper option, but then you have to have a RAID controller... plus I want a lot of speed. How would 2 Vertex 2s in RAID0 compare to the Revodrive X2 speedwise?

Can I RAID0 3 drives?

What would be a good RAID controller to be able to run a setup with 2-3 Vertex 2 SSDs?

 

[Yuriman]

I run 2x 80gb Intel G2's in RAID. I don't regret my purchase, but I doubt you'll see a real-world difference by doubling your drives. SSDs are not really a bottleneck, the entry level SSDs "feel" about the same as the top end ones anymore.

Everyone has a RAID controller, so that's not even part of the equation.

I see it this way: if 2x 60gb cost the same as a 120gb, there's little reason not to buy the 60's and RAID them, since you're not paying a premium for more speed. But, you're not likely to notice the difference, either.

 

[pjkenned]

I run 2x 80gb Intel G2's in RAID. I don't regret my purchase, but I doubt you'll see a real-world difference by doubling your drives. SSDs are not really a bottleneck, the entry level SSDs "feel" about the same as the top end ones anymore.

Everyone has a RAID controller, so that's not even part of the equation.

I see it this way: if 2x 60gb cost the same as a 120gb, there's little reason not to buy the 60's and RAID them, since you're not paying a premium for more speed. But, you're not likely to notice the difference, either.

The everyone having a RAID controller is not exactly accurate, people with H55 based boards, for example do not.

On the OP's Revodrive x2 v. Single drives:
2 drive configs you can run off of an ICH9R or ICH10R and be fine.
4 Drive configs you will get better performance from a LSI SAS 2008 based card plus four 60GB Sandforce drives, and will save $100+.

Downside, of course, is that you have cables and drive mounting to "deal" with (can always velcro 2.5" SSDs without issue) if you do not go with a PCIe card. Upside is you can get equal or better performance at a lower price.

 

[Spikesoldier]

the second drive should be a linear gain even on an onboard raid solution. the diminishing returns begin at three and beyond that, thats when you need the dedicated raid controller as a solution.

 

[jimhsu]

For some reason though, larger SSDs are MORE expensive per GB - that I could never figure out. There are sales of 60GB SSDs for little over $70, and the 120GB Intel SSD for $169 some time back ... but I have never seen SSDs in the 160-180GB range ever below $290 (and that's after rebates, free shipping promos, coupon codes, etc). In fact, the Intel 160GB is priced in the $380 range on almost every online store, so in fact RAIDing 2 120GBs actually costs around the same as a single 160GB drive.

I really do want TRIM though (frequently move programs to/from the SSD and an internal hard drive) so RAID is not an optimal solution. Oh well, let me know when something in the 160GB+ range goes on sale.

 

[Burner27]

Oh well, let me know when something in the 160GB+ range goes on sale.

I think you can do this part yourself. No?

 

[Jephph]

The everyone having a RAID controller is not exactly accurate, people with H55 based boards, for example do not.

On the OP's Revodrive x2 v. Single drives:
2 drive configs you can run off of an ICH9R or ICH10R and be fine.
4 Drive configs you will get better performance from a LSI SAS 2008 based card plus four 60GB Sandforce drives, and will save $100+.

Downside, of course, is that you have cables and drive mounting to "deal" with (can always velcro 2.5" SSDs without issue) if you do not go with a PCIe card. Upside is you can get equal or better performance at a lower price.

I understand. But 4x 60GB Drives would put me over my budget. And if I got 3x drives, I would still need the LSI SAS card right? That would bring me to ~ $480 ($120 each drive, plus $120 for the SAS card. I would then have 180GB of space, which is nice, but would it be as fast as the Revodrive X2?

 

[Campy]

For regular use two Vertex 2 in RAID or a normal revodrive is more than good enough.

Revodrive has two sandforce controllers, and a revodrive x2 has four sandforce controllers.

 

[Old Hippie]

Revodrive X2 vs. 2x Vertex 2

Any expansion card SSD has less of a market than single components.

When you go to upgrade this will make a difference.

Buy the drives of your choice and use the ICH10 on your MB or buy a decent SATA6 Gbs expansion card like the LSI 9211-4i or 9240-4i.

 

[deimos3428]

Hey guys. I'm looking to buy an SSD and spend no more than $450. Would I be better off getting the Revodrive X2 100GB, or a couple of Vertex 2 60GB in RAID0? The Revodrive costs $430 right now, and 2 Vertex 2 60GB would run $240.

Obviously, the Vertex 2s are the cheaper option, but then you have to have a RAID controller... plus I want a lot of speed. How would 2 Vertex 2s in RAID0 compare to the Revodrive X2 speedwise?

Can I RAID0 3 drives?

What would be a good RAID controller to be able to run a setup with 2-3 Vertex 2 SSDs?

Note: the Revodrive X2 100GB version is actually four 25GB drives. The Revodrive 120GB (non-X2) is much closer price-wise to two 60GB Vertex 2's...because it is 2x60GB, plus a dedicated controller and PCIe interface.

If you can't actually utilize the level of performance that a RAID0 SSD provides and you're not looking for RAID1 or RAID5 a much simpler, more reliable, and somewhat cheaper solution would be a single large SSD.

 

[Bolas]

Single large SSD is probably the way to go. You get TRIM support and the latest generation controller rather than garbage collection and previous generation controller. You get faster boot times due to not having to initialize the RAID hardware.

In other words, get a single 240GB Vertex 3 or a single Intel 300GB SSD. These two drives should both be available for purchase in April 2011, I would think.

RAID plus SSD = not as good as bigger SSD, in general.

 

[Dark Shroud]

A large Intel SSD is probably the best investment. The 300GB 320 series drive will be around $500.

 

[Morg.]

Alright now these last few comments .. omG.

1. revodrive X2 >>> raid0 on your chipset, because it's straight pcie, no limitations, better latency.
2. Large SSD much slower than a revodrive or a raid0
3. I hate intel it costs too much for what it is
4. Raid 0 is NOT your friend, if you lose one drive you lose everything (that is true for the revodrive of course)
5. A decent Raid card will enable you to do much more than just Raid0
6. You may not notice the difference between a chipset driven 2x decent SSD raid0 and a revodrive if you don't run benchmarks all day long
7. The sata 6G card is at least good until vertex4, the revodrive pcb you will trash with the drives. In addition, any failure in the components of the revodrive = RMA and you got no SSD, while any failure in the components of the "manual" setup = 1 RMA and you still got most of your shit.

 

[groberts101]

I would have to go with most of Morg's points. here's the ICH10R running 3 and 4 x 50GB/V2.



latency is excellent and regardless of the points made about raids not showing differences? well.. maybe just surfing around the OS/apps GUI but certainly not in usage. Raid 0 on a good chip like the ICH10R on the OP's board is faster in just about everything but the bios detection process. Going from 6 drives to 1 on occassion reminds me of HDD like performance. SSD snap is still there but beyond that, it's slooowwweerrr at everything.