SSD and two caviar blacks at Raid 0

[jon_z28]

I was wondering if I would be able to get a 32 or 64gb SSD and put Windows 7 on it. And then setup a Raid 0 with two Caviar blacks to install my programs on. Would this be an incorrect way of doing this for performance? Or am I better off just putting the OS on the Raid 0 too?

 

[WyomingKnott]

Similar questions come up a lot. The usual answer is to install your OS on the SSD, plus any programs that you want to load quickly. Programs on the SSD will load faster than programs on the RAIDed HDDs.

Our own Tecmo34 wrote the nearly-definitive guide to using an HDD: http://www.computing.net/howtos/show/solid-state-drive-ssd-tweaks-for-windows-7/552.html . And he pays me every time I post a link to it.

Discussions rage over whether swap files, temp directories, and browser cache should be on the SSD.

See this thread: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/266996-32-setting-harddrive.

Standard caveats: 1) Some people recommend installing Win7 with only the SSD attached, and then attach the HDDs, so that part of the Win7 installation doesn't end up on the HDDs. I've never tried the experiment.

2) RAID0 drives are more prone to data loss than single drives. If either drive fails, the RAID fails, or the moon is in the seventh house while Jupiter aligns with Mars, you will lose what's on those drives. Do backups.

 

[Snipergod87]

If either drive fails, the RAID fails, or the moon is in the seventh house while Jupiter aligns with Mars.

What lol? But he is right if a disk fails in a RAID 0 you will lose all the data on those disks., if your data is valuable do a RAID 1

 

[WyomingKnott]

What lol?

You know, like the Age of Aquarius. But Aquarius keeps their data in a RAID 1+0 setup, as seen here: http://my.aquariusstorage.com/knowledgebase/115/Advantages-of-RAID-10-Protected-Disk-Space-.html

I'm just feeling a little fanciful today, is all.

 

[Snipergod87]

You know, like the Age of Aquarius. But Aquarius keeps their data in a RAID 1+0 setup, as seen here: http://my.aquariusstorage.com/knowledgebase/115/Advantages-of-RAID-10-Protected-Disk-Space-.html

I'm just feeling a little fanciful today, is all.

Haha, well I dont think he would get the refrence either. But yes RAID 10 would give him the performance and the reliability, but the OP would need two more drives

 

[cadder]

I think 64Gb is the bare minimum for a good OS drive. You can load the OS, maybe a few apps, and still have some room leftover since you aren't supposed to completely fill an SSD. And remember that a 64Gb drive usually doesn't give you the full 64Gb anyway.

If your budget allows, maybe go 120GB for the OS drive so you can install programs on it, and then use a separate drive for data storage.