How to make best use of my pile of HDDs??

[b0ned0me]

So due to series of 'events' I ended up giving my mum's PC the guts of first my spare PC, and then my gaming rig
This forced me (much against my will) to rush-order myself a Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R, an i7 920, 6Gb of Crucial PC2-6400 (plus Mass Effect 2 & Bioshock 2 in order to thoroughly test the new parts).

However, I am now trying to figure out what's the best HDD config. Currently my PC is booting off my trusty old 150Gb Raptor (WD1500ADFD-00NLR0, apparently) which has approx 88 Gb of stuff on (Steamapps + Mass Effect 2 are about 57Gb).

Rattling about I have:
Pair of Samsung T166 HD501LJ 500Gb
Pair of Samsung F1 HD103UJ 1Tb
Single Samsung F3 HD153WI 1.5Tb
There's also a couple of dodgy old PATA drives and two or three laptop drives of assorted sizes.

What's the best choice for my machine's main drive?

1. The old Raptor?
2. The nice new 1.5Tb Samsung?
3. The 500Gb samsungs in RAID?
4. The 1Tb Samsungs in RAID?
5. The 40Gb PATA IBM Deathstar?

What's the best option? I'm guessing the 1.5Tb?

Or should I just build a wall out of all these old hard drives and hide behind it until SSDs become cheap enough for an impulse buy?

[jim]

I don't think the 1.5TB is a good idea, IIRC that's a 5900rpm drive.

I'd go with the 103UJs... in RAID if you want to, but it won't make much difference at all to the performance.

[dave87]

SSD or Raptor for OS + RAID0 500gbs Samsung (programs) + RAID 1 Samsung 1tb (Data), + 1.5gb in an external enclosure for backups.


Sorted.

[Domestic_Ginger]

Just reading the title I was going to suggest something like out of the guiness advert.

[scaryjim]

SSD or Raptor for OS + RAID0 500gbs Samsung (programs) + RAID 1 Samsung 1tb (Data), + 1.5gb in an external enclosure for backups.

Seconded. You're a lucky so'n'so to have all those lovely hard drives available so stop complaining

[b0ned0me]

SSD or Raptor for OS + RAID0 500gbs Samsung (programs) + RAID 1 Samsung 1tb (Data), + 1.5gb in an external enclosure for backups.


Sorted.

Well, I don't currently have an SSD and I'm trying to demonstrate some kind of financial self-control, at least for a while. Are you offering to donate one?

As for backups and stuff - I'm currently testing out windows home server. If I can get on with it, then a load of the surplus HDDs are going to get plugged into that to sort out backups etc.

[dave87]

If I'm honest then - Raptor + RAID0 500gb Samsungs.

Then sell the 1tb Samsungs and get another 1.5tb to stick in the WHS.

[jim]

Well, I don't currently have an SSD and I'm trying to demonstrate some kind of financial self-control, at least for a while. Are you offering to donate one?

As for backups and stuff - I'm currently testing out windows home server. If I can get on with it, then a load of the surplus HDDs are going to get plugged into that to sort out backups etc.

In that case, put the Raptor in the PC. 150GB should be adequate for OS+Applications+Games, if you're frugal.

Then put all the others into the WHS. Done.

[b0ned0me]

In that case, put the Raptor in the PC. 150GB should be adequate for OS+Applications+Games, if you're frugal.

Then put all the others into the WHS. Done.

I can leave it as-is and spend the bank holiday playing games instead of swearing at cables?? Yay!

I have to say, that Raptor has been one of the best buys I ever made. Ordered from Scan on 26/02/2006 for £199.73 on one of their daily deals, now servicing its third mobo/CPU combo, and still holding its own.