RAID performance

  • Thread starter Thread starter Gareth Tuckwell
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Gareth Tuckwell

Has anyone moved from a normal single drive system to a RAID setup (by
adding a duplicate hard disk)? I'm interested in how much faster RAID
technology actually is in real use - loading games, windows applications
etc. I could search the web for reviews, statistics and numbers, but in the
real world - what experience do you all have?

How much faster is a RAID array over a 'normal' single drive setup?

I currently have a Samsung Spinpoint 160GB EIDE drive. This machine is used
for work and play. Work involves compiling several hundred C++ files
repeatedly. The drive is fine, but loading games takes a while, so I wonder
if other things (like my work) are also taking longer than necessary. Would
I actually notice an improvement in speed if I added another drive and set
them up as a RAID?
 
Gareth Tuckwell:
Has anyone moved from a normal single drive system to a RAID setup
(by adding a duplicate hard disk)? I'm interested in how much faster
RAID technology actually is in real use - loading games, windows
applications etc. I could search the web for reviews, statistics and
numbers, but in the real world - what experience do you all have?
Click to expand...

There were some benchmarks done a while back, I searched for them but
couldn't find them, that showed no perceptible increase in speed for
desktop users. However, some magazines and websites still recommend raid
for home users citing an increase in speed. I have never seen any
benchmarks that would lead me to believe this is true, not saying there
aren't any, but I haven't seen them. Hopefully someone bookmarked the
benchmarks and can provide a link.
 
Gareth Tuckwell's log on stardate 04 stu 2004
Has anyone moved from a normal single drive system to a RAID setup
(by adding a duplicate hard disk)? I'm interested in how much faster
RAID technology actually is in real use - loading games, windows
applications etc. I could search the web for reviews, statistics and
numbers, but in the real world - what experience do you all have?
Click to expand...

For home user, RAID is unnecessary.
How much faster is a RAID array over a 'normal' single drive setup?
Click to expand...

What RAID? If you are referring to AID (aka RAID 0), than it is faster
in both writing and reading. If you think about RAID 1, than you have
redundancy and faster reading. However, with today's fast drives in
general, improvement in overall system performance is questionable.
Also, the higher number of drives, the higher number of potential
malfunctions you are facing, and in AID, when you loose one drive, data
are usually irreversibly gone.

Yes, it is undoubted that RAID is great thing for those who need it. I
personally use RAID 1, since I cannot afford waiting so long to
reinstall my complete system with all programs and configuration files.
Nevertheless, be advised that redundancy != backup.
I currently have a Samsung Spinpoint 160GB EIDE drive. This machine
is used for work and play. Work involves compiling several hundred
C++ files repeatedly. The drive is fine, but loading games takes a
while, so I wonder if other things (like my work) are also taking
longer than necessary. Would I actually notice an improvement in
speed if I added another drive and set them up as a RAID?
Click to expand...

If drives capacity is enough for you and you don't have any other
computer needs (e.g. more RAM), for price of another drive buy your
girlfriend some flowers, go to the cinema, buy a new CD...
 
Hhhhhmmmmm... Maybe I should consider changing my drive configuration
from 2 x 200GB Barracuda's and a 74GB Raptor, over to something like 2 x
74GB Raptors and a 300GB Maxtor with NCQ (Native Command Queuing,
right?)
Click to expand...

No.
 
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