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If you build a new PC, make sure you get 2 HDs: One fast and one big
f0dder:
RAID with Parity would be RAID-5, and I wouldn't touch it... still only guards you against a single failing drive, and rebuilds when a drive dies are expensive (and might generate enough stress that an additional drive dies, *poof*).
RAID-MIRROR might seem wasteful in that you "lose" one full drive's capacity, don't get enhanced write speed etc., but it's really the only way to go. People do tend to weep when their 1.5TB RAID-5 arrays die completely.
And btw... mouser: damn you Amerikans for having such cheap electronics prices! A 74gig raptor drive will set me back ~$195, and the 150gig edition ~$270. Those drives are spendy.
vegas:
RAID with Parity would be RAID-5, and I wouldn't touch it... still only guards you against a single failing drive, and rebuilds when a drive dies are expensive (and might generate enough stress that an additional drive dies, *poof*).
RAID-MIRROR might seem wasteful in that you "lose" one full drive's capacity, don't get enhanced write speed etc., but it's really the only way to go. People do tend to weep when their 1.5TB RAID-5 arrays die completely.
And btw... mouser: damn you Amerikans for having such cheap electronics prices! A 74gig raptor drive will set me back ~$195, and the 150gig edition ~$270. Those drives are spendy.
-f0dder (December 05, 2007, 02:21 AM)
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Thanks for the tip fodder. In all the builds I've done in the past, I've never messed with RAID, but someone was telling me about (musta been RAID 5) why I should. So if I schedule backup daily of all important files & folders, there really no sense in even running RAID-MIRROR? I also read (I believe on wikipedia) that you have an equal chance of both drives failing as you do just 1, when you are using RAID 5. Sounded strange, but I suppose I shall stay away.
tomos:
So if I schedule backup daily of all important files & folders, there really no sense in even running RAID-MIRROR?
-vegas (December 05, 2007, 02:58 AM)
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am i correct in thinking the advantage of raid-mirror is that if your main drive goes you can work away with the other (do you have to physically swap the drives/connectors?)
Re drives:
having gone with 2 x 320GB drives
I wouldnt mind having three, :) a relatively small one for OS+programmes and two more
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dont really understand the atttraction of fast drives if they need more fans/get very hot but then I've never used one.
(I mean I'd prefer quieter machine to shaving seconds...)
am considering something like a hotswap bay in the future (I only have the option to add one more drive i think..)
f0dder:
The advantage of the "safe" RAID levels (ie., not JBOD and STRIPE, but MIRROR and the various PARITY types) is that you can indeed keep on working, you don't lose data, and you can plug in a healthy drive and repair the array (very nice feature if your hardware is hotplug-able).
Problem with RAID-5 rebuilding is that it's more intensive than the simple copy done with RAID-MIRROR. Also, because RAID-5 can still only tolerate one failing disk, the more disks you add to the array, the higher risk of failure you have.
If you buy two identical harddrives from the same batch, statistically the drives will fail within a relatively short timeframe (couple of months or something like that) - and in case you don't have a proper intake fan to cool the drives, you run a much higher risk of more than one drive saying bye-bye.
So if I schedule backup daily of all important files & folders, there really no sense in even running RAID-MIRROR?
-vegas (December 05, 2007, 02:58 AM)
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Yes, because drives always fail one hour before you do your backup :)
dont really understand the atttraction of fast drives if they need more fans/get very hot but then I've never used one.
-tomos (December 05, 2007, 05:14 AM)
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My raptor don't seem to get much hotter than other drives I've used, even though it's 10,000rpm. But I'll never again build a system that doesn't have a 80mm or 120mm intake fan in front of harddrives, it's plain folly. Just buy a quality fan and you won't notice it's there. The advantage of 80mm and 120mm fans are that they're pretty quiet, and the noise they make is "deep", compared to the "whiny" (and highly annoying!) fans on graphics cards, for instance.
(I mean I'd prefer quieter machine to shaving seconds...)
am considering something like a hotswap bay in the future (I only have the option to add one more drive i think..)
-tomos (December 05, 2007, 05:14 AM)
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Be careful which one you get - you'll want one that keeps the drive cool. The fans in the (non-enterprise class :)) hotswap bays I've seen have been very tiny and high-pitched and annoying.
Ralf Maximus:
Be careful which one you get - you'll want one that keeps the drive cool. The fans in the (non-enterprise class :)) hotswap bays I've seen have been very tiny and high-pitched and annoying.
-f0dder (December 05, 2007, 08:17 AM)
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Instead of an internal bay, you might consider one of the many external 2-drive enclosures. I think I paid $199 USD for mine, and its fans are utterly silent. SATA cables slip right into the PC and plug in as if the drives are mounted internally.
Takes a load off the main power supply too: some of those 10K RPM drives suck up a lot of power. If you've got a kick-ass video card, you may already be pushing the limits of your power supply. That's what happened to me. I experienced random BSOD crashes until I moved the Raptors outside the main case. Ever since: rock solid.
Plus, when the time comes that you upgrade your main PC, moving the external array is simple. Literally plug it into the new computer and let Windows see them. All done!
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