How can I test throughput on my RAID 0 array?

nazareneisrael

Distinguished
Apr 21, 2009
165
0
18,680
I am getting into some serious HD video editing, and have a lag in my machine. I need to know if my bottleneck is in the CPU or in the RAID 0 array. My existing machine is:

Dell Precision Workstation T3400 (BTX) w/525W PSU and four internal drive bays.
CoreDuo Quad Q9650 @3.0GHz
8GB fast RAM on Vista Ultimate x64
BFG GTX260 OC Edition
C:\ is two 250GB WD 7200 RPM spin, with backups external.
D:\ is two 1TB Seagate 7200 RPM spin, with backups external.

Right now, with editing AVCHD video converted to Cineform .avi intermediaries, the preview window is somewhat laggy. Is there some way I can test to see whether the bottleneck is in the CPU, or in the D:\ Data array?

Specifically, is there some way to know if I would be better off with:
C:\ as a standalone drive, and
D:\ as three 7200 RPM spins in RAID 0?

Thanks.
 
Solution
If you're using Windows 7 (or Vista, I believe) then click Start, type "Resource Monitor" into the search box, and hit <Enter>. Click on the Disk tab.

Also monitor CPU usage by opening Task Manager (Shift + Ctrl + Esc) and selecting the "Performance" tab.

Watch the Resource Monitor disk "queue length" graph(s) and the Task Manager CPU graphs as you're doing an editing task which seems laggy. If the CPU is solidly at 100% then you have a CPU bottleneck. If one or more disk graphs show a solid queue length of 1 or more then you have a disk bottleneck.

nazareneisrael

Distinguished
Apr 21, 2009
165
0
18,680
I just ran a preview of a project, and monitored the CPU levels in Speedfan. Usage on the four cores ranged in between maybe 77 and 98%, but they averaged about 85-90%, jumping up to 98% frequently.

So would that indicate that it is the CPU that is the bottleneck, rather than the D:\ data array?
 
If you're using Windows 7 (or Vista, I believe) then click Start, type "Resource Monitor" into the search box, and hit <Enter>. Click on the Disk tab.

Also monitor CPU usage by opening Task Manager (Shift + Ctrl + Esc) and selecting the "Performance" tab.

Watch the Resource Monitor disk "queue length" graph(s) and the Task Manager CPU graphs as you're doing an editing task which seems laggy. If the CPU is solidly at 100% then you have a CPU bottleneck. If one or more disk graphs show a solid queue length of 1 or more then you have a disk bottleneck.
 
Solution