Is one capable of RAID'ing a 74GB Raptor and a 36GB raptor?

[Sean Maxwell]

I have a 74 GB raptor, and I know I will never fill it up. However, I do want another drive for faster loads, etc.. Will a 36GB do the trick for me? or do I need to get another 74GB to match up my first drive?

Thanks,
Sean

 

[Continuity27]

No. You need identical (size) drives to have a striping array. (RAID 0)

EDIT: Keep reading below for better answers.

 

[Sean Maxwell]

OK, thanks

 

[biostud]

if not the same size the largest will be limited in size by the smallest, and speed limited by the slowest.

 

[H2Opolodude]

yes it will be linited by the slowest and the smallest.
quick question how do you like your speaers and soundcard? sry not trying to hijack

 

[Sean Maxwell]

H20, the speakers were bought on a budget, but I liked them so much, that I never bothered upgrading after I had the chance lol... highly recommend them

but back to the real question,

the speeds of a 74gb raptor a and a 36gb are almost identical.. how will they be limited?

 

[Sean Maxwell]

Originally posted by: biostud
if not the same size the largest will be limited in size by the smallest, and speed limited by the slowest.

sorry, didnt see that post

 

[Continuity27]

Originally posted by: Sean Maxwell
the speeds of a 74gb raptor a and a 36gb are almost identical.. how will they be limited?

Actually, the 74GB Raptor is quite a bit faster than the 36GB model. Many new 7,200 RPM disk drives outperform the 36GB Raptor now.

 

[Sean Maxwell]

So do you guys think upgrading to a dual 74gb raptor is worth it for video games and desktop "quickness?"

 

[Continuity27]

I haven't actually run into many RAID chips that allow you to RAID different drives (Not counting revisions) though. We're talking RAID 0/1 here.

I wouldn't get a WD360 to pair no matter what though.

 

[RaiderJ]

RAID is for the most part a waste. You can't do much better than a 74GB Raptor! Maybe that new i-drive from Gigabyte?

 

[Continuity27]

Originally posted by: Sean Maxwell
So do you guys think upgrading to a dual 74gb raptor is worth it for video games and desktop "quickness?"

If you want my opinion, I wouldn't. I personally have my 74GB Raptor as an OS/programs drive and 2 160GB 7,200 RPM drives for sending my video work (RAID 0). I get better speed doing it that way for video processing. (I keep data on yet another hard drive)

Do what you feel is best though, you'll likely notice SOME difference, but likely not enought to justify another expensive WD740.

 

[Sean Maxwell]

OK, i keep all my MP3, Videos, and other media files on a 120GB in my server. (BTW)

 

[6000SUX]

Originally posted by: Continuity27
No. You need identical (size) drives to have a striping array. (RAID 0)

Nope. Some controllers support striping across different drives, including the cheapo controllers built into motherboards these days and nForce4.

 

[Continuity27]

Originally posted by: 6000SUX

Originally posted by: Continuity27
No. You need identical (size) drives to have a striping array. (RAID 0)

Nope. Some controllers support striping across different drives, including the cheapo controllers built into motherboards these days and nForce4.

Good. Not that you'd want to do that though.

 

[6000SUX]

Originally posted by: Sean Maxwell
I have a 74 GB raptor, and I know I will never fill it up. However, I do want another drive for faster loads, etc.. Will a 36GB do the trick for me? or do I need to get another 74GB to match up my first drive?

Thanks,
Sean

You are asking a dumb question, brought about by faddishness. Your 74GB is plenty fast enough already. I'd use it for my OS and program drive, and the 36GB as a secondary program/data drive. For instance, if you can put some large data files for games on the 36GB and keep it defragmented, but keep some other game files on the 74GB, you may experience shorter load times that way than using cheapo software RAID 0. You can also increase system responsiveness somewhat if you operate near your RAM limit by putting your swap file on the 36GB, or having multiple swap files on the two drives.

One thing that dummies who post on this site don't realize is that by putting two 74GB Raptors in RAID 0, they basically greatly increase their seek time, which is the main quality of that drive you buy it for in the first place. Don't be like those people. The 74GB is made to be a cheap-but-good consumer-grade system drive, pure and simple.

 

[6000SUX]

Originally posted by: Continuity27

Originally posted by: 6000SUX

Originally posted by: Continuity27
No. You need identical (size) drives to have a striping array. (RAID 0)

Nope. Some controllers support striping across different drives, including the cheapo controllers built into motherboards these days and nForce4.

Good. Not that you'd want to do that though.

You're right. I'm just responding to your comment that you "need" two identical drives.

 

[biostud]

Originally posted by: 6000SUX

Originally posted by: Sean Maxwell
I have a 74 GB raptor, and I know I will never fill it up. However, I do want another drive for faster loads, etc.. Will a 36GB do the trick for me? or do I need to get another 74GB to match up my first drive?

Thanks,
Sean

You are asking a dumb question, brought about by faddishness. Your 74GB is plenty fast enough already. I'd use it for my OS and program drive, and the 36GB as a secondary program/data drive. For instance, if you can put some large data files for games on the 36GB and keep it defragmented, but keep some other game files on the 74GB, you may experience shorter load times that way than using cheapo software RAID 0. You can also increase system responsiveness somewhat if you operate near your RAM limit by putting your swap file on the 36GB, or having multiple swap files on the two drives.

One thing that dummies who post on this site don't realize is that by putting two 74GB Raptors in RAID 0, they basically greatly increase their seek time, which is the main quality of that drive you buy it for in the first place. Don't be like those people. The 74GB is made to be a cheap-but-good consumer-grade system drive, pure and simple.

.....It's not dumb to try to increase his knowledge.

 

[6000SUX]

Originally posted by: biostud
.....It's not dumb to try to increase his knowledge.

It's dumb to come here and rely on yokels for wisdom, instead of Googling and reading all of the high-quality information out there that would answer his questions much better.

 

[biostud]

Originally posted by: 6000SUX

Originally posted by: biostud
.....It's not dumb to try to increase his knowledge.

It's dumb to come here and rely on yokels for wisdom, instead of Googling and reading all of the high-quality information out there that would answer his questions much better.

Not if he wan't a fairly short answer and is not interested in knowing in details why it's not recommended. If we couldn't use the froums to advise people, they wouldn't exist.

 

[Continuity27]

I'm probably the yokel in question...

 

[Philippine Mango]

Originally posted by: H2Opolodude
yes it will be linited by the slowest and the smallest.
quick question how do you like your speaers and soundcard? sry not trying to hijack

yup, so if you raid an 80GB and a 2GB drive, your raid size will be a max of 4GB...

 

[Sean Maxwell]

learNED you are, biostud