to raid or not to raid?

[67gt500]

if you have onboard raid would you rather pair up 2 40 gigs and do a raid 0 or just get a 60 gig and save yourself the trouble?

 

[shathal]

If you do regular backups, there's nothing to be said against RAID-0.

However, if you DON'T make regular backups, then do be aware that ALL your data will be irretrievably lost if a single HD fails.

Your decision in the end.

In most cases, I wouldn't bother with the RAID-0 (for a start, because it isn't "real" RAID), but that is just me & my paranoia .

 

[SpideyCU]

Well, I for one don't understand how that's any more risky than simply running a single hard drive. I mean, heck, I do tape backups almost weekly anyway, but is a hard drive more prone to a failure if running in RAID-0 with another drive than not? I wouldn't think so, but hey, this wouldn't be the first time...

 

[FordLorider]

you have to make the decision with cost verse what raid setup you are planning on using and performance. Read Anand's Article about Raid, that might help you out.

 

[Burn]

Check out MichealD's thread and success: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=27&threadid=474027

 

[MichaelD]

Hey Burn, thanks buddy! I read this thread and was about to link to my thread, but you beat me to it! Cool.

EDIT.
I did lots of research before I did RAID. Do I need it? No. But it does offer some real-world gains. Faster is better. I backup regularly. If something goes wrong, it won't be the end of the world. Good luck!

 

[Shooters]

Personally I would just stick with the one drive unless you'll be doing things that will actually benefit from RAID.

 

[NelsonMuntz]

<< Well, I for one don't understand how that's any more risky than simply running a single hard drive. I mean, heck, I do tape backups almost weekly anyway, but is a hard drive more prone to a failure if running in RAID-0 with another drive than not? I wouldn't think so, but hey, this wouldn't be the first time... >>


Actually the reason it's riskier is because you now have to rely on the stability of two hard drives instead of one and so you run twice the risk of having one fail because there are two involved.
Any way, I wouldn't necessarily suggest that money be invested in RAID if you can do without the speed. The comparison you are making is between two 40 Gb (80 Gb total) and a 60 Gb drive. Do you need the extra 20 Gb and are you willing to pay the extra money for that extra space and speed, along with a little higher chance of failure? Of course get some hard drives that you know you can trust and that isn't as big an issue.