Upgrade Advice: SSD vs Redundancy

[Visivicous]

I'm on a budget and considering several options as storage upgrades. What I hope to accomplish is an increase in performance, and some data redundancy. I am currently considering three options, but am open to more ideas. My case is designed for mini-itx, and can fit: 2 x 2.5 drives plus 2 x 2.5/3.5 drives.

(Currently I have a single 1TB Seagate 'Hybrid' drive.)
Also, I use this system for entertainment, mostly playing games purchased through Steam.

1. One 480GB SSD (these can be had for a bargain now) as O/S drive, and two 2TB hard drives setup in raid 1 (mirrored) as the data drive. In this scenario the SDD would have Windows and Steam games installed on it. Non critical programs could be installed on the data drive if space becomes an issue. I would use the Steam client's backup feature to backup my Steam games to the data drive (save download time in case I need to reinstall Windows). The problem with Steam game backups is that they do not always work. Many of the games just download anyway, instead of restoring from the backup. I'd also have my iTunes movies and such stored on the data drive, and not the SSD.

2. Two 2TB (or higher) hard drives setup in raid 1. I'd partition the drive between O/S and data. Instead of using Steam backup, I would just use the feature that allows for installing the games to a separate drive library on the data partition. This way, when I need to reinstall Windows, I would not have to download or even reinstall any of the Steam games. It seems like this option would be the cheapest to get going, and would reduce downtime in case I need to reinstall Windows. But it also seems like I would be taking a performance hit compared to what I currently use, to say nothing of comparing performance to a system with an SSD.

3. One small SSD (in the 128GB range) setup as the O/S drive, and two 2TB hard drives setup in raid 1 (mirrored) as the data drive. This would sort of combine aspects of the first two options. I would have room for Windows on the SSD, and perhaps the one or two games that I play most often (GTA 5 takes up over 60GB!). The data drive would have the rest of the Steam library installed onto it, thus avoiding the finicky Steam game backup method. It seems like this option should offer some performance increase, and would also save me from re-downloading and reinstalling my Steam games.

Pricing option 1 (the most expensive option I've considered) on NewEgg came out to about $350 total. Amazon was about $320 total.

 

[Cerb]

The problem with Steam game backups is that they do not always work.

Or, they work too well! Nothing like have a local save corrupt after 40+ hours in a game, then Steam backs up the corrupt copy to the cloud, so you have to start all over. Some might think versioned save game backups are crazy, but I know better.

Go with a sizable SSD, and HDDs, but get a backup program for data redundancy, and set it to perform scheduled backups to the other HDD, instead of doing RAID.

If it's just gaming, the 850 Evo, MX200, and SSD PLUS have all had really low prices as of late, for ~250GB and ~500GB models.

 

[Visivicous]

By Steam game backup, I meant backing up the game install files, not user generated save files. Restoring the game backup is supposed to eliminate the need to re-download the entire game, but I have had bad luck with this. Trying to restore a game installation for Killing Floor, Rainbow Six Vegas 2, Grand Theft Auto 4, and a few others has always resulted in the game being downloaded again (for me, anyway).

 

[Cerb]

If that's the case, it'll do the same if you have to re-install the OS, as it would restoring the Steam library backup folder, and you'll just need to have patience (I'd have the same experience w/ Skyrim - mods make it get the whole thing all over again, which then has to be re-replaced with the modded version afterwards).

 

[mvbighead]

I'd consider a 250GB SSD. You really don't need a 500 GB SSD unless you plan to load a LOT on there. Most 250s can be grabbed for $80ish. 3tb appears to be the most cost effective in terms of spinning disk.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/z3GqTW
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/z3GqTW/by_merchant/

Storage: Crucial BX200 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Toshiba 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Toshiba 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $243.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-11 07:59 EST-0500

 

[JimmiG]

You'd be surprised by how quickly a 250 GB SSD gets filled. Games today can take up anywhere from 10 GB to over 50 GB in some cases. Then there's the Windows folder that keeps growinng endlessly. It's certainly better than 120 GB, but you will have to install lots of games and applications on the HDD.

Personally I don't see the point of RAID 1 in a personal system. It protects against a drive failing outright, but not against much else. Since there's no versioning, corrupted or deleted data gets replicated to both drives instantly. I prefer to use a backup program that supports incremental backups and consolidation.

 

[pauldun170]

I'm on a budget and considering several options as storage upgrades. What I hope to accomplish is an increase in performance, and some data redundancy. I am currently considering three options, but am open to more ideas. My case is designed for mini-itx, and can fit: 2 x 2.5 drives plus 2 x 2.5/3.5 drives.

(Currently I have a single 1TB Seagate 'Hybrid' drive.)
Also, I use this system for entertainment, mostly playing games purchased through Steam.

1. One 480GB SSD (these can be had for a bargain now) as O/S drive, and two 2TB hard drives setup in raid 1 (mirrored) as the data drive. In this scenario the SDD would have Windows and Steam games installed on it. Non critical programs could be installed on the data drive if space becomes an issue. I would use the Steam client's backup feature to backup my Steam games to the data drive (save download time in case I need to reinstall Windows). The problem with Steam game backups is that they do not always work. Many of the games just download anyway, instead of restoring from the backup. I'd also have my iTunes movies and such stored on the data drive, and not the SSD.

2. Two 2TB (or higher) hard drives setup in raid 1. I'd partition the drive between O/S and data. Instead of using Steam backup, I would just use the feature that allows for installing the games to a separate drive library on the data partition. This way, when I need to reinstall Windows, I would not have to download or even reinstall any of the Steam games. It seems like this option would be the cheapest to get going, and would reduce downtime in case I need to reinstall Windows. But it also seems like I would be taking a performance hit compared to what I currently use, to say nothing of comparing performance to a system with an SSD.

3. One small SSD (in the 128GB range) setup as the O/S drive, and two 2TB hard drives setup in raid 1 (mirrored) as the data drive. This would sort of combine aspects of the first two options. I would have room for Windows on the SSD, and perhaps the one or two games that I play most often (GTA 5 takes up over 60GB!). The data drive would have the rest of the Steam library installed onto it, thus avoiding the finicky Steam game backup method. It seems like this option should offer some performance increase, and would also save me from re-downloading and reinstalling my Steam games.

Pricing option 1 (the most expensive option I've considered) on NewEgg came out to about $350 total. Amazon was about $320 total.

Add me to the list of people who do not see the point of RAID on this system

OS - 240GB+ Samsung EVO 250 ($80)(or equivalent drive that doesn't have that nonsense where it slows down at 1/2 capacity).

Steam install drive - 480GB+ Crucial BX200 ($130)

Storage - WD Blue 4TB - $130.

$340

You can drop the size of the HDD and bring cost to under 300


Steam is already backed up.

I understand that some people have ISP issues where downloading games takes forever so that like to keep local copies of everything including games they don't play that often.
The games you play can be run off the SSD. The games you rarely play can be moved to the HDD. Save games that you want to hold on to (to pass on to your grandchildren????) can be saved to HDD and incorporated to whatever backup solution you have in place.

 

[Charlie98]

Personally I don't see the point of RAID 1 in a personal system.

That's kind of what I think...

Personally, I'd take the 500GB SSD for OS and games, a single HDD in whatever size makes sense for you, and an external USB portable HDD to make backup images on (that you can remove for safekeeping.) Make a backup image once a week, and stash the drive somewhere safe.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

You'd be surprised by how quickly a 250 GB SSD gets filled. Games today can take up anywhere from 10 GB to over 50 GB in some cases. Then there's the Windows folder that keeps growinng endlessly. It's certainly better than 120 GB, but you will have to install lots of games and applications on the HDD.

DISM is your friend there.

Personally I don't see the point of RAID 1 in a personal system. It protects against a drive failing outright, but not against much else. Since there's no versioning, corrupted or deleted data gets replicated to both drives instantly. I prefer to use a backup program that supports incremental backups and consolidation.

That's the whole point of RAID1. To protect against drive failure. Its not meant to safeguard important data. That's what backups are for.

 

[Cerb]

Steam is already backed up.

Steam saves are synced, and game files may be backed up. Game files are only 100% backed up for you if you got everything from Steam and the Workshop.

If the whole library is backed up, and then restored, Steam won't know anything changed. If Steam gets re-installed, having a backup won't prevent it from checking the files, and sometimes re-downloading a whole game, unnecessarily. An OS re-install is going to incur downtime, and there's no easy way around that. Neither backups nor RAID 1 will help, for those games it gets really picky about.

 

[MrTeal]

The systems seems unnecessarily complex to me. Depending on how much storage you need for game downloads, I would just get a big SSD and a backup drive. You can pick up the pretty decently reviewed Muskin Reactor 1TB for $260 from Newegg right now. Buy one of them, buy a 3TB HDD for under $100, and do a weekly full backup plus a nightly incremental backup of the whole SSD. You're still running a system where no single drive failure can wipe you out, and if needed you can always keep your 1TB around as a non-important storage drive and spare drive to restore your backup on in case the SSD fails and you need to RMA it.