Super discs - what to choose?

[rasczak]

Superdiscs - is it any point in investing in them?
Couple weeks ago I ordered an SAS controler and a 70GB 15k disc. This order was cancelled because there was a fault in their database, and wouldn't get any

hardware in a month. This gave me som time to "breathe" and think over things - do I need SAS discs?
I¨ve got the cash, but I don't know if I got the need. Moslty I use my comp for gaming, but also alot of multitasking with two screens. Wathcing DvD's off

the harddisk on my secondary screen, while playing and surfing. Maybe even burnining out some data dvds while I'm at it. This runs pretty smooth - atleast I

can't pinpoint any bottlenecks etc. I know that buying superdisks with significally lower MS will give you more room, and grants you the power to do a lot of

things at the same time. I just don't know if it's THAT much of an improvement that I'm willing to put $900 in an a SAS system. Also, the storage isn't

exactly great - you're limited to only use it for system files and programs only.

So to break it down - SAS or raptors?
I've realized that SAS discs are abit over the edge for the average consumer. But how about raptors? Are they really any better than the stanard discs?
If I don't go SAS, I will consider raptors, but does the old version do the job?
And what is better - one large disc, or two smaller in raid?

My hardware:
Core 2 duo E6700
GeForce 8800GTX
2GB PC2-6400 RAM from Corsair
Asus P5W DH Deluxe mobo
4x 500GB discs from samsung - soon to be put in raid5

Thanks for advice

 

[Dante_Jose_Cuervo]

Well, this all depends. SAS disks... are meant for like mission-critical applications, which you don't seem to be doing. I'd say just stick with the Raptors, they're fast, not as fast as a SAS drive, but then again, SAS drives are meant for RAID and for long term reliability.

If you want BLEEDING edge speed then I'd say go ahead, get the SAS drives, put them in a RAID array, and have fun with that. If you don't really need BLEEDING edge speed, and since gaming mainly comes off of your RAM, I'd say just stick with the raptors.

 

[jt001]

For the type of stuff you're doing, you wouldn't really benefit from that type of setup. Here's what I would do, grab a nice SATA RAID controller, get a pair of raptors and RAID 0 them, then RAID 5 those other disks you mentioned.

 

[Dante_Jose_Cuervo]

For the type of stuff you're doing, you wouldn't really benefit from that type of setup. Here's what I would do, grab a nice SATA RAID controller, get a pair of raptors and RAID 0 them, then RAID 5 those other disks you mentioned.

I second that, only... I have nothing against the SAS setup... just kind of overkill unless he's doing a lot of large file transfers.

 

[dropadrop]

SAS discs really rock on servers, though their biggest advantages start to emerge when you have alot of them in RAID. I was not impressed by the Raptor, but I might not be that much of a performance freak at home. I think that generally you will find a way that the money put into the Raptor will improve your performance even more elsewhere (at least this was my conclusion with the 150GB model just when it came out).

 

[Dante_Jose_Cuervo]

This is true... which is why I recommended the raptors. I figure it's really not worth it to go SAS on a desktop.

 

[rasczak]

Thanks for the response, guys
I realize that SAS is just way overkill..
My question now is: Two 40 gig raptors in RAID1, or one 80gig raptor non-raid?
Also, is there any particular functions I should look after when buying a controller for RAID5?