To RAID or not to RAID?

[Trizzay]

I'm in the process of getting parts for my new build, and I ordered 2 of the SATA 500gb WD Caviars w/ 32mb of cache. Originally I had planned to use them in a RAID 0 config, and run regular backups of critical data to an external HD. But now I'm having second thoughts as the more I read it sounds like the performance gains offered by RAID 0 aren't really that significant. So now I'm wondering if I should run them in RAID 1, or just run them in a standard non-RAID configuration and just install everything to the first HD, and regularly backup to the 2nd drive. What do you guys recommend?

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

The last option you mentioned, no raid with regular backups to 2nd hd, sounds excellent. If you already had a backup schema in place, then RAID 0 might be a bit more feasible.

 

[RebateMonger]

Set up a backup system first. Backups onto a second hard drive or onto an external drive (or both) are great.

If you have an older PC and a spare $100, you could also consider buidling a Windows Home Server. That will backup all the PCs in your home/office (up to ten PCs). You could put the 500 GB drive there for now, along with any other spare drives you have. WHS will add all the drives together in one large drive pool for backups.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Trizzay
I'm in the process of getting parts for my new build, and I ordered 2 of the SATA 500gb WD Caviars w/ 32mb of cache. Originally I had planned to use them in a RAID 0 config, and run regular backups of critical data to an external HD. But now I'm having second thoughts as the more I read it sounds like the performance gains offered by RAID 0 aren't really that significant. So now I'm wondering if I should run them in RAID 1, or just run them in a standard non-RAID configuration and just install everything to the first HD, and regularly backup to the 2nd drive.
What do you guys recommend?

I'd recommend that you post what type of work this PC will be doing.
We have no idea how you'll be using it.

 

[Yellowbeard]

Originally posted by: Blain

Originally posted by: Trizzay
I'm in the process of getting parts for my new build, and I ordered 2 of the SATA 500gb WD Caviars w/ 32mb of cache. Originally I had planned to use them in a RAID 0 config, and run regular backups of critical data to an external HD. But now I'm having second thoughts as the more I read it sounds like the performance gains offered by RAID 0 aren't really that significant. So now I'm wondering if I should run them in RAID 1, or just run them in a standard non-RAID configuration and just install everything to the first HD, and regularly backup to the 2nd drive.
What do you guys recommend?

I'd recommend that you post what type of work this PC will be doing.
We have no idea how you'll be using it.

I agree. If the OP is doing video editing or heavy gaming etc , the RAID-0 may be beneficial.

 

[Trizzay]

Originally posted by: Blain

I'd recommend that you post what type of work this PC will be doing.
We have no idea how you'll be using it.

I'll be using the machine mostly for FPS gaming and general web surfing. Not much more than that.

 

[Yellowbeard]

It can't hurt to RAID-0 then as long as you do proper backups IMO. It's not going to net you any performance gains in gaming per se. However, if you play on busy servers, lots of RAM, RAID-0, and a fast internet connection are very good for faster map loading. In BF2 for example it helps get you in faster to have a better selection of planes, vehicles, choppers, etc etc.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,

If it's just gaming and surfing, you don't need a big backup scheme. Just email important data to yourself on Gmail. Free web-hosting-backup service. Gigs worth. So, go RAID0. Enjoy the speed bump for load times in games. An external backup is better than an internal backup (for the sake of backing up, that is) so a cheap USB/eSATA external drive would be a nice option. You can get 500g or more for like $60 or so. Just look on NewEgg.

Oh, and I'm serious about using Gmail. You can store gigs of data on there for free. Access it anywhere. It's off site, and it's uptime is .... well, google's uptime. Some people pay for service that good. You can use it.

Very best,

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Trizzay

Originally posted by: Blain

I'd recommend that you post what type of work this PC will be doing.
We have no idea how you'll be using it.

I'll be using the machine mostly for FPS gaming and general web surfing. Not much more than that.

Don't bother with RAID 0.
If you want, a RAID 1 array would help read times and wouldn't hurt you.