Want to RAID0 but don't know which drives to

[eBoy0]

I'm in a split right now, i have a Samsung 120gig 7200rpm, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152017
and a 36gig raptor which i got as a gift so i don't know exact model until i pull it out of the PC. I've got some spare cash coming in on my bday and was wondering which i should raid, 2 samsungs or 2 raptors?
- run 2 samsungs in raid and 1 raptor as an OS drive
- run 2 raptors as daily drives, and run the samsung as an OS drive(seems pointless though to waste 120gig on XP)

Help me out guys?

[nn_step]

well if you want the best benchmarks, get a second Raptor, Put them in raid 0 and back everything up on the Samsung, or if you Value your work greatly. Get a second Samsung and Put them in Raid 1 to keep everything backed up including the operating system and all your settings..

[eBoy0]

I don't really ever back-up anything, but if i were to go w/ otpion #2 wat should i do w/ the raptor? Just use it as a regular drive?

[nn_step]

no back up==option1
and the answer to your question is yes

[Fresh Daemon]

What do you want RAID for anyway? For desktop/gaming use the performance impact is negligible and it would be a smarter bet to put the cash into more RAM or a faster GPU or CPU.

[eBoy0]

What do you want RAID for anyway? For desktop/gaming use the performance impact is negligible and it would be a smarter bet to put the cash into more RAM or a faster GPU or CPU.

I've got a 4400 x2, a gtx and 2x1 ballistix :)

[Serra]

Well if you have some money to throw at this small performance gain, bBuy an Intel (or Adaptec or Promise) PCI (or PCI-X, depending on how much $ you're getting) RAID adapter card and a second of whichever hard drive is cheaper. Software RAID is teh 5uX0r j0.
As an added bonus, hardware RAID adapter cards come with their own on-board caches of upwards from 64MB.

Option 2: Buy a SCSI PCI-X adapter and enjoy speeds and reliability far beyond anything your rators could ever hope to do.

Of course, there is the ever-existant RAMdrive option. I know Gigabyte for example makes one... it's basically 4 empty RAM slots on a PCI card with a SATA connector that works like a hard drive. Sure, it only has a 4GB max capacity (though you could surely find some that will hold more)... but the speed is impressive. Being RAM of course, the data on there (which would pretty much just be your current game and/or bench programs) will be lost once the computer is turned off. Gigabyte threw a 10-hr Li-Ion battery onto theirs though, so if you keep your computer on at least 14 hours a day, you're set. Sure, this route is pretty well agreed to be a bit of a waste of money, but if the alternative is soft-RAIDing 2x 36GB raptors... well, this is better.

~ Serra

[eBoy0]

Jeez, those SCSI PCI-X adapter cost so much.. i think i'll just get 2 samsungs. and run XP off raptor.

[Fresh Daemon]

I've got a 4400 x2, a gtx and 2x1 ballistix

So get another GTX! :)

I just happen to think you're wasting your money on RAID. There are so many other things. Get a Logitech G5 and a really nice keyboard and spend the change on some games. Get a second monitor. Get an LCD. Get a bigger LCD. You know? Just my advice.