Read Speed differences between Raid 1 and Raid 5?

[ninjapandaeagle]

I want to maximize the read speed.

Is there any read speed difference between raid 1 and 5?

Do I have to have three hard drive for raid 5?

 

[popatim]

a 3 drive raid5 would read about twice as fast as a single or raid1 drive/array.
Its the writes that would be very slow.

 

[JaredDM]

Yes, you must have 3 drives to do a RAID 5. You can't do a parity calculation with only two drives. (more about a parity here)

RAID 5 will be faster (even for writes) if you have an actual RAID controller, not just a Windows software RAID. However if you're not planning to do hardware RAID then I'd expect it'll be around the same speed as a single drive or RAID 1 (which is just two mirrored single drives).

Just keep in mind that RAID isn't backup, even if it's a RAID 1. Both drives can simultaneously be corrupted or even sabotaged by a virus. It only protects against downtime from a sudden drive failure.

 

[ninjapandaeagle]

Thanks for the responses guys. Much appreciated.

I am more concerned about the read speeds for this organization.

I have a raid controller.