Windows Software RAID and Storage Space with Two ST4000DM004 HDDs

[Philip G]

So, with a great Boxing Day sale on Seagate 4TB Barracuda drives (105 CAD, ST4000DM004), I finally made the plunge to have some redundant storage by buying two. I did google "research" on ways to get it done and figured there were two good ways: Windows software RAID 1 and Microsoft Storage Space with two way mirroring.

It took a fair amount of effort to figure out how to get it done, but I wanted to share some of the benchmarks I did just so anyone else with a similar idea can make a more educated decision.

So first of, raw drive performance:

So I tested 4 configurations: Software RAID 0, Software RAID 1, Storage Space Simple, and Storage Space Two Way Mirroring. I was really only considering RAID 1 or Two Way Mirroring, but why not try everything I had the disks for.

Here are the results of those from Crystal Disk Mark for striping and simple storage:

And the redundant storage I planned on using:

In the end I went with Storage Spaces. It was just a seemingly better interface that fit what I wanted ever so slightly better.

Hope this helps anyone who is considering doing the same. Constructive criticism appreciated.

Other Details: NTFS formatting on all, Z87 platform, i7-4770k, Sandisk Extreme II Boot Drive

 

[aigomorla]

there is nothing wrong with seagates and speed.
Whats terribly wrong with seagates is reliability, especially the baracuda series.
Also whats terribly wrong with seagates is the warranty policy on them.
Warranty date on seagates starts from the manufacturer date, and not purchase date.

Yes you read that correctly, the date the drive was made is the day the warrenty period starts, and not the date on your receipt.
So you should always check on seagates website when that warranty period ends by putting in the serial number.