I'm building a new system for my development work in my home office. This is not a server machine. I work in MS Access, VB.net, Delphi, MS SQL mostly and some work in Adobe products (Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver, Aftereffects). I also use this for some entertainment but not much. Mostly for my work. It's mostly together and I'm currently doing some testing. Here's the parts list.
Motherboard = GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD5 (BIOS v 5)
CPU = (1) Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366
RAM = (12GB total) CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) 7-7-7-20 Model TR3X6G1333C7 G
Cooler = Noctua/XION NH-U12P SE2 Universal CPU Cooler (2 fans)
Video = (1) EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+
Sound = HT | OMEGA CLARO Plus+
Case = LIAN LI PC-P80 or PC-A77F
PSU = CORSAIR CMPSU-HX1000
Storage = (2) Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2XXX 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) RAID 0 & (4) WD1001FALS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s RAID 10 (all on the Intel controller)
Optical = (2) LITE-ON DVD Writer - Bulk - Black SATA Model iHAS224-06
OS = Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
Anyway, I sent Western Digital a question about jumper pin settings on the hard drives. I was originally going to use the WD6402AAEX as the RAID 0 before I switched to the Intel SSDs. And I am using the WD1001FALS in the RAID 10 array. They answered my jumper question but also noted that the drives I was using are not intended to be used in RAID arrays and suggested I look at the enterprise drives (WD1002FBYS for example). Well, I've used non enterprise WD drives in RAID 1 arrays on my desktop work computer for years and never had any serious problems (that I know of). And there's nothing in the documentation on the WD site (that I could find) or in the retailer sites that say not to use the WD6402AAEX or the WD1001FALS in RAID configurations. I do understand from reading about the WD1002FBYS on the WD site that this drive is designed with RAID in mind but again, the other drives don't say not to. At this point I can't really afford to not use the $400 in WD1001FALS drives. I already replaced the over $200 I spent on the 3 WD6402AAEX drives so I can use the SSDs. I'd have to spend another $600 or so on the WD1002FBYS. Not going to happen.
I have these drives in a full tower with several fans and always make sure things are running nice and cool. I also perform regular backups in case of drive failures. In addition, I usually keep an extra drive or 2 on hand so that I don’t have to run out and buy one in case of failure.
Any feedback from anyone on whether or not this is a real problem or not?
Motherboard = GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD5 (BIOS v 5)
CPU = (1) Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366
RAM = (12GB total) CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) 7-7-7-20 Model TR3X6G1333C7 G
Cooler = Noctua/XION NH-U12P SE2 Universal CPU Cooler (2 fans)
Video = (1) EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+
Sound = HT | OMEGA CLARO Plus+
Case = LIAN LI PC-P80 or PC-A77F
PSU = CORSAIR CMPSU-HX1000
Storage = (2) Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2XXX 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) RAID 0 & (4) WD1001FALS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s RAID 10 (all on the Intel controller)
Optical = (2) LITE-ON DVD Writer - Bulk - Black SATA Model iHAS224-06
OS = Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
Anyway, I sent Western Digital a question about jumper pin settings on the hard drives. I was originally going to use the WD6402AAEX as the RAID 0 before I switched to the Intel SSDs. And I am using the WD1001FALS in the RAID 10 array. They answered my jumper question but also noted that the drives I was using are not intended to be used in RAID arrays and suggested I look at the enterprise drives (WD1002FBYS for example). Well, I've used non enterprise WD drives in RAID 1 arrays on my desktop work computer for years and never had any serious problems (that I know of). And there's nothing in the documentation on the WD site (that I could find) or in the retailer sites that say not to use the WD6402AAEX or the WD1001FALS in RAID configurations. I do understand from reading about the WD1002FBYS on the WD site that this drive is designed with RAID in mind but again, the other drives don't say not to. At this point I can't really afford to not use the $400 in WD1001FALS drives. I already replaced the over $200 I spent on the 3 WD6402AAEX drives so I can use the SSDs. I'd have to spend another $600 or so on the WD1002FBYS. Not going to happen.
I have these drives in a full tower with several fans and always make sure things are running nice and cool. I also perform regular backups in case of drive failures. In addition, I usually keep an extra drive or 2 on hand so that I don’t have to run out and buy one in case of failure.
Any feedback from anyone on whether or not this is a real problem or not?