Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 16 of 17

Thread: Raid-0 it is worth it?

  1. #1
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Posts
    24
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Raid-0 it is worth it?

    im about to upgrade my windows drive and i was thinking of going Raid0

    ive already ordered 1x 640gb WD drive (WD6400AAKS) and will order another one if i decide to go raid

    my question is, is it really worth it? would i see noticeable speed increases? im only interested in speed increases and not fault tolerance.

    or should i just stick with the one drive?

  2. #2
    Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    141
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked
    6 times in 6 posts
    • Technogeek's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Foxconn MARS
      • CPU:
      • Q9550
      • Memory:
      • 4x1 GB OCZ platinum PC2 6400
      • Storage:
      • 250 GB x 2 on RAID 0
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Nvedia GTX 260 SSC
      • PSU:
      • OCZ 600 SxS
      • Case:
      • Gigabyte Black
      • Operating System:
      • Win XP Pro 64 bit / Win 7 HP 64 bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • Samgsung 22" 2ms
      • Internet:
      • Fibre Optic Broadband

    Smile Re: Raid-0 it is worth it?

    Well.. it is slightly faster at installing software, loading files and so on but it has the disadvantage of if one hard drive breaks down you loose it all.

    You also need a floppy drive to load the drivers for Raid.

    I have a Raid0 array and I'm very happy with it. on my XP 64 bit OS

  3. #3
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    20
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    1 time in 1 post

    Re: Raid-0 it is worth it?

    Hi, I currently have setup you're proposing (2 x 640 wds) in RAID 0. I noticed a big speed increase in certain specific tasks such as muxing/demuxing a video file, or copying etc. but typically on large files. There was a slight increase in speed loading certain games - again though this would be more obvious on games with bigger maps for example.

    For day-to-day tasks, though it's hard to justify (unless you do a lot of the above of course), RAID 0 can even be slower if working with a lot of small files, so on reflection I don't think it's worth the extra for the infrequent benefits I get from it, but I guess if you're keen to try it out then you'll do it anyway out of curiosity - like I did

    If you decide to go ahead, make sure you're prepared to do regular backups as you're effectively twice as likely to loose all your data through drive failure.

  4. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    NE-UK
    Posts
    533
    Thanks
    67
    Thanked
    22 times in 22 posts
    • s3ds's system
      • Motherboard:
      • PK5-WS
      • CPU:
      • E6850
      • Memory:
      • 4GB Kingston
      • Storage:
      • 15k Seagate SAS
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Nvidia Quadro
      • PSU:
      • 500W Enermax
      • Case:
      • Coolmaster Centurion
      • Operating System:
      • XP SP3 or Ubuntu
      • Monitor(s):
      • TWIN 22" NEOVO
      • Internet:
      • o2 LLU

    Re: Raid-0 it is worth it?

    As the posts above it depends on what you are doing with your PC personaly i only ever use raid 1 but it suits my useage
    A good link on raid
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID
    Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

  5. #5
    HEXUS.social member Agent's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Internet
    Posts
    19,185
    Thanks
    739
    Thanked
    1,614 times in 1,050 posts

    Re: Raid-0 it is worth it?

    It purely depends on your usage - home user, certainly not.

    I do use RAID0, but a lot of the work I do benefits from the increased IO from the disk.
    Quote Originally Posted by Saracen View Post
    And by trying to force me to like small pants, they've alienated me.

  6. #6
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Posts
    81
    Thanks
    10
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: Raid-0 it is worth it?

    On the flipside, I sadly used Raid0 in my system I built about 5 years ago. It died 4 weeks ago and I lost everything. I knew the risks, but I was one of those people who just said 'It won't happen to me' so I never backed anything up. Lost about 6 years worth of photos which made me pretty sad

  7. #7
    HEXUS.social member Agent's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Internet
    Posts
    19,185
    Thanks
    739
    Thanked
    1,614 times in 1,050 posts

    Re: Raid-0 it is worth it?

    The same could have happened with a single disk - without a backup procedure in place, it makes no difference if its one drive in a RAID0 array thats died, or a single one.

    I stick to two small drives, this way I can take a complete image of its contents with Acronis under well under 10 mins. Currently my RAID0 array is 320gig, with several 500GB drives for backup and other stuff
    Quote Originally Posted by Saracen View Post
    And by trying to force me to like small pants, they've alienated me.

  8. #8
    Folding Flunkie Webby's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Wiltshire
    Posts
    2,323
    Thanks
    12
    Thanked
    245 times in 229 posts
    • Webby's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte G33M-DS2R, Swiftech MCW30 Northbridge Cooler
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 @ 3.5GHz, Cooling D-Tek Fuzion V2
      • Memory:
      • 2GB OCZ Flex DDR2 PC2-9200 5-5-5-15 @ 1000MHz 4-4-4-12
      • Storage:
      • 2x 250GB WD SataII
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire HD4870 512MB, Cooling Swiftech MCW60
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX520w
      • Case:
      • Silverstone Tremjin TJ06 - Modded for Water Cooling Goodness
      • Operating System:
      • Windows XP Pro SP3
      • Monitor(s):
      • 22" Widescreen Cibox C2201 (with DVI input)
      • Internet:
      • 8Mb/s ADSL

    Re: Raid-0 it is worth it?

    Yeah but if the chances of a single disk failing is 10%, then the chances of a single disk in a 2 disk array failing is 20% so you have doubled your failure rate, of course the chance of both of them failing is only 1% (but that is where Raid 1 comes in).

    Of course you should still always back up, in fact having 2 backups makes a lot of sense.

    Oh and obviously my failure percentages are complete farce, I admit it I made them up

  9. #9
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Bedford/Leicester
    Posts
    535
    Thanks
    52
    Thanked
    45 times in 45 posts
    • Hawker1986's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Biostar Tpower X58A / Gigabyte X58A-UD5
      • CPU:
      • i7 950@4Ghz TRUE / i7 920@4Ghz H50-1
      • Memory:
      • 6GB Crucial Ballistix@1336mhz / 6GB Corsair XMS3@1528mhz
      • Storage:
      • 128GB G.Skill Falcon + 1.5TB + 2x400GB / Corsair Force 3 120GB SSD + 1.5TB + 500GB
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 5850@825/1150 / 5870@900/1300
      • PSU:
      • Enermax Liberty 620W / Corsair HX850
      • Case:
      • Antec P182 / Silverstone FT02B
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 x64 Ultimate / Windows 7 x64 Ultimate
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell E248WFP 24" / Benq G2420HDBL 24"
      • Internet:
      • 10mb Virgin Cable / 24mb Talk Talk ADSL

    Re: Raid-0 it is worth it?

    Well speaking from personal experience, ive got two computers with RAID 0 arrays and when I made the change I noticed a difference in boot and load times and also large file transfers, if your content with the risks then i would say go for it. Just make sure to keep a backup of important files, but then I would say that about just one drive too :S.

    Hawker

  10. #10
    Lovely chap dangel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Cambridge, UK
    Posts
    8,398
    Thanks
    412
    Thanked
    459 times in 334 posts
    • dangel's system
      • Motherboard:
      • See My Sig
      • CPU:
      • See My Sig
      • Memory:
      • See My Sig
      • Storage:
      • See My Sig
      • Graphics card(s):
      • See My Sig
      • PSU:
      • See My Sig
      • Case:
      • See My Sig
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • See My Sig
      • Internet:
      • 60mbit Sky LLU

    Re: Raid-0 it is worth it?

    I've used RAID 0 for years tbh and it's definitely useful to me. All I do is backup everything, incrementally, with Acronis TI to a third drive once a week (or so) for peace of mind (i just set it to turn off once done leave it to it). That way I can have a history of backups (TI compresses using all four cores very well) in case of software failure as well as hardware failure. Drive space is cheap, so why not?
    Crosshair VIII Hero (WIFI), 3900x, 32GB DDR4, Many SSDs, EVGA FTW3 3090, Ethoo 719


  11. #11
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    The Third Foundation
    Posts
    919
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked
    99 times in 91 posts

    Re: Raid-0 it is worth it?

    Quote Originally Posted by Webby View Post
    Yeah but if the chances of a single disk failing is 10%, then the chances of a single disk in a 2 disk array failing is 20% so you have doubled your failure rate, of course the chance of both of them failing is only 1% (but that is where Raid 1 comes in).

    Of course you should still always back up, in fact having 2 backups makes a lot of sense.

    Oh and obviously my failure percentages are complete farce, I admit it I made them up
    Compared with a single disk RAID 0 does have twice the chance of failing.

    Compared with two disks RAID 0 has exactly the same reliability, but you need to restore up to twice as much from backup when a disk does fail.

    Hard drives in general are very unreliable and you'll almost certainly have one fail on you within the next ten years so you should definitely make backups.


    I think RAID 0 is worth considering is cases where two half capacity disks are the same cost as a large capacity disk, e.g. 2x500GB instead of 1x1TB are worth looking at, but if you're happy with your current capacity I wouldn't spend more money unless you need the extra transfer speed.

  12. #12
    Lover & Fighter Blitzen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Between Your Mum & Sister
    Posts
    6,310
    Thanks
    539
    Thanked
    382 times in 300 posts
    • Blitzen's system
      • Motherboard:
      • ABIT iX38 QuadGT
      • CPU:
      • Intel Quad Q6600 @ 3.6Ghz : 30 Degrees Idle - 41-46 Degrees Load
      • Memory:
      • 4 x 1GB OCZ Platinum PC6400 @ 4-4-4-12
      • Storage:
      • 2 x 500GB Samsung Spinpoints - RAID 0
      • Graphics card(s):
      • GTX 285
      • PSU:
      • Enermax MODU 82+ 625W
      • Case:
      • Antec Nine Hundred
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • Viewsonic Q22wb 22" Widescreen - 5ms
      • Internet:
      • O2 premium @ 17mb

    Re: Raid-0 it is worth it?

    Quote Originally Posted by Technogeek View Post

    You also need a floppy drive to load the drivers for Raid.
    No you dont. It depends on what motherboard and OS you are using.

    I RAID 0 2 x 500GB Samsung Spinpoints and have a third drive to back up to once a month.
    Never had an issue and it is certainly nippier than when i used a single drive. (Especially loading games up)

  13. #13
    Lovely chap dangel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Cambridge, UK
    Posts
    8,398
    Thanks
    412
    Thanked
    459 times in 334 posts
    • dangel's system
      • Motherboard:
      • See My Sig
      • CPU:
      • See My Sig
      • Memory:
      • See My Sig
      • Storage:
      • See My Sig
      • Graphics card(s):
      • See My Sig
      • PSU:
      • See My Sig
      • Case:
      • See My Sig
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • See My Sig
      • Internet:
      • 60mbit Sky LLU

    Re: Raid-0 it is worth it?

    Quote Originally Posted by Blitzen View Post
    No you dont. It depends on what motherboard and OS you are using.
    Choices are (for Windows):

    XP:
    - too stupid understand CDs, hard drives or USB keys so..
    1. integrate the drivers into your XP CD with nlite
    2. use a floppy disk

    Vista:
    - use vlite, a usb key, a cd, a dvd or another partition to give it the drivers *IF* it doesn't already see your RAID.

    Just anothe reason to abandon XP
    Last edited by dangel; 17-11-2008 at 10:38 AM.
    Crosshair VIII Hero (WIFI), 3900x, 32GB DDR4, Many SSDs, EVGA FTW3 3090, Ethoo 719


  14. #14
    Folding Flunkie Webby's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Wiltshire
    Posts
    2,323
    Thanks
    12
    Thanked
    245 times in 229 posts
    • Webby's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte G33M-DS2R, Swiftech MCW30 Northbridge Cooler
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 @ 3.5GHz, Cooling D-Tek Fuzion V2
      • Memory:
      • 2GB OCZ Flex DDR2 PC2-9200 5-5-5-15 @ 1000MHz 4-4-4-12
      • Storage:
      • 2x 250GB WD SataII
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire HD4870 512MB, Cooling Swiftech MCW60
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX520w
      • Case:
      • Silverstone Tremjin TJ06 - Modded for Water Cooling Goodness
      • Operating System:
      • Windows XP Pro SP3
      • Monitor(s):
      • 22" Widescreen Cibox C2201 (with DVI input)
      • Internet:
      • 8Mb/s ADSL

    Re: Raid-0 it is worth it?

    Quote Originally Posted by EndlessWaves View Post
    Compared with a single disk RAID 0 does have twice the chance of failing.

    Compared with two disks RAID 0 has exactly the same reliability, but you need to restore up to twice as much from backup when a disk does fail.

    Hard drives in general are very unreliable and you'll almost certainly have one fail on you within the next ten years so you should definitely make backups.


    I think RAID 0 is worth considering is cases where two half capacity disks are the same cost as a large capacity disk, e.g. 2x500GB instead of 1x1TB are worth looking at, but if you're happy with your current capacity I wouldn't spend more money unless you need the extra transfer speed.
    Yes if you have 2 drives then the chances of one of them failing are the same as one drive in a raid 0 array failing, the problem is if 1 disk fails in a 2 single disk set up you loose the data on that single disk if one disk in a raid 0 fails you loose the data on both disks. So from a single disk verses raid 0 set up (which may as well be a single disk in terms of data lose) you are twice as likely to have the raid 0 fail as the single disk. With proper back ups this is not an issue, apart from the time required to sort it all out if it goes pear shaped.

  15. #15
    Anthropomorphic Personification shaithis's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    The Last Aerie
    Posts
    10,857
    Thanks
    645
    Thanked
    872 times in 736 posts
    • shaithis's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8Z77 WS
      • CPU:
      • i7 3770k @ 4.5GHz
      • Memory:
      • 32GB HyperX 1866
      • Storage:
      • Lots!
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire Fury X
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX850
      • Case:
      • Corsair 600T (White)
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • 2 x Dell 3007
      • Internet:
      • Zen 80Mb Fibre

    Re: Raid-0 it is worth it?

    Raid 0 is a lot more then double the risk of data loss IMO

    There are plenty of ways to recover data from a multitude of different types of drive failures, the chances any of those will work at all to your benefit when the drive is part of a raid, is slim to zero.
    Main PC: Asus Rampage IV Extreme / 3960X@4.5GHz / Antec H1200 Pro / 32GB DDR3-1866 Quad Channel / Sapphire Fury X / Areca 1680 / 850W EVGA SuperNOVA Gold 2 / Corsair 600T / 2x Dell 3007 / 4 x 250GB SSD + 2 x 80GB SSD / 4 x 1TB HDD (RAID 10) / Windows 10 Pro, Yosemite & Ubuntu
    HTPC: AsRock Z77 Pro 4 / 3770K@4.2GHz / 24GB / GTX 1080 / SST-LC20 / Antec TP-550 / Hisense 65k5510 4K TV / HTC Vive / 2 x 240GB SSD + 12TB HDD Space / Race Seat / Logitech G29 / Win 10 Pro
    HTPC2: Asus AM1I-A / 5150 / 4GB / Corsair Force 3 240GB / Silverstone SST-ML05B + ST30SF / Samsung UE60H6200 TV / Windows 10 Pro
    Spare/Loaner: Gigabyte EX58-UD5 / i950 / 12GB / HD7870 / Corsair 300R / Silverpower 700W modular
    NAS 1: HP N40L / 12GB ECC RAM / 2 x 3TB Arrays || NAS 2: Dell PowerEdge T110 II / 24GB ECC RAM / 2 x 3TB Hybrid arrays || Network:Buffalo WZR-1166DHP w/DD-WRT + HP ProCurve 1800-24G
    Laptop: Dell Precision 5510 Printer: HP CP1515n || Phone: Huawei P30 || Other: Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Pro 10.1 CM14 / Playstation 4 + G29 + 2TB Hybrid drive

  16. #16
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    819
    Thanks
    225
    Thanked
    15 times in 15 posts

    Re: Raid-0 it is worth it?

    Quote Originally Posted by dangel View Post
    Just anothe reason to abandon XP
    Wow, despite liking Vista, I also used to like XP, and have never heard of compelling reasons to "abondon" XP before reading your post.

    Oh, and I wouldn't call DX10 a "reason" to upgrade to Vista - it's more like a forcing of the hand. (I regret that it's not patched into XP.)

    Baius
    Tech: NAS | D2 | L1 | N1 | T2 | U1 | P3

    0iD@TWDJT: P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
    S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. abit Quad Gt problems AHCI RAID and J micron
    By easternfront in forum abit.care@HEXUS
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 12-10-2007, 12:25 PM
  2. Raid - is it worth it?
    By starbuck in forum PC Hardware and Components
    Replies: 51
    Last Post: 16-08-2007, 11:38 AM
  3. Standard 7200rpm vs Raptor - is it really worth it for RAID?
    By Robbie G in forum PC Hardware and Components
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 09-03-2007, 08:21 PM
  4. are raid hard drive worth the extra
    By RobTi in forum PC Hardware and Components
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 10-12-2006, 09:46 PM
  5. RAID worth it?
    By HoldenBurn1000 in forum PC Hardware and Components
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 21-11-2006, 03:46 PM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •