Best RAID0 setup?

[megawhompertoo]

Hiya's folks,

I'm getting a new 250gb hd and I'm planning on striping my twin samsung 160gb's in a RAID0 array.

My plan is to put my documents, music, videos, my classic pr0n (not really, just wanted to get that out of the way early in the thread) the OSes (XP/Ubuntu) on the 250, and put my games and my windows swap file on the array.

This should result in an ideal setup--putting the programs that need constant/semi-constant fetching on the array and leaving the OS and stuff I don't want to lose on the more reliable, new, and non-raided 250?

Thoughts?

One thing that bothers me: fitness/performance according to SMART on one drive is rated at 99/100%, the other is rated 90/90%. They're both about two years old; one did "pass" an unscheduled drop check during install...

Not exactly sure what that means in terms of "your hd will make poopie in the bed in _______ hours", my understanding is that these ratings are sort of a nebulous value and not necessarily a predictor of hd failure... (?)

[=98=]

Re: Best RAID0 setup?

If i were you, i would save the money on that 250gb drive and get either the 320gb or 500gb Samsung Spinpoint F1. Due to their high aerial density platters, they are extremely fast and not expensive.

I would use that as the primary OS/apps disk as it's fast and will have a lower failure rate and then RAID0 the two 160gb disks for less critical data.

I just came from a RAID0 setup with 2 x 160GB Seagate Barracuda's. Whilst it was fast, i got pretty much the same speeds from my new 500GB Samsung F1 with much less hassle.

Finally, if you're running XP, be prepared to bring out the floppy disk laden with XP RAID drivers. XP and RAID is one experience i never, ever want to go through again! Vista on the other hand has all drivers built in as standard so it flies through automatically!

[megawhompertoo]

Re: Best RAID0 setup?

Finally, if you're running XP, be prepared to bring out the floppy disk laden with XP RAID drivers. XP and RAID is one experience i never, ever want to go through again! Vista on the other hand has all drivers built in as standard so it flies through automatically!

Thanks, I'll check out the F1's in lieu of the 250gb seagate I was pondering.

Hmm...I started my raid adventures post XP SP2 with asus boards bearing ICH8R and ICH9R chipsets (both jmicro if I dismember correctly). I was orgininally runing them in RAID0 with a 160gb EIDE. I never needed a floppity--at least in my case, the drives were accessible to my slipstreamed copy of XP sp2.

Hmm...then again I may have slipstreamed the raid/sata drivers onto my disc...

...have to poke around a bit to figure that out.

[=98=]

Re: Best RAID0 setup?

ICH9R is the Intel chipset with built in RAID whereas JMicron was Asus's own RAID chip. I could never get the Jmicron RAID chip working, so i always went for Intel's.

When i was RAIDing on XP, i was using a P5B Deluxe with a ICH8R chipset (iirc) and it was a pain to setup (although it may have just been me). I since had it running on a ICH10R chip which is much the same. Just make sure with the motherboard, you have the RAID version which is denoted with an R at the end of the Southbridge chipset (ICH9R as opposed to ICH9)

Tell us how you get on :)

[Xodus]

Re: Best RAID0 setup?

I read the title as RADIO, so I came in thinking I could help with car audio :/ haha

[megawhompertoo]

Re: Best RAID0 setup?

I read the title as RADIO, so I came in thinking I could help with car audio :/ haha

lol, what a HAM

[megawhompertoo]

Re: Best RAID0 setup?

been looking for a single platter hd for the last week.

those samsung 320gb's are in short supply, and the seagates are obfuscated because they kept the same model number between 2x 160gb platters and 1x 320 gb.

i'm a tad old school, and for storing my personal data (and also quiet, cool, simple, less prone to failure) i'm in the hunt for a single platter 320gb.

if anyone has any links to a guaranteed 320 gb single-platter seagate or a samsung f1 320gb single platter, i'd appreciate it. i understand western digital also has a single-platter model out.

thanks!

[=98=]

Re: Best RAID0 setup?

Would a 500GB Samsung F1 not suffice? They are widely available.

[megawhompertoo]

Re: Best RAID0 setup?

it would certainly suffice, but i'm looking for a single platter.

call me religious if you will--the fewer moving parts (especially at 17 thousand bajillion rpm), the better :)