I'm sure this topic has many opposing views, but I'm still hovering over this choice. I've never run a system in any RAID mode before, so I'm new to this.
This will be a higher end gaming rig, with an OC'd Q6600 (hoping to get to about 3.6ghz if my cooler will allow that).
I've been reading that higher speed drives and RAID setups really don't increase the actual game speeds, just load times. Is this true? From my experience, when rounding a corner in a game, say bf 2142, when the new images begin to load into memory, this is where it gets choppy. By the time things smooth out, I'm dead... again.
My original plan was to go with 2x150gb raptors with RAID 0 set up for speed. I know the downfalls (one drive fails, you're SOL). I was also going to go with a WD 750gb 7200rpm drive for pure storage. I was going to run the OS and the games from the raptors. The downside to this is that I was nearing $450 - $500 just on hard drives. While this IS in my budget, that money could go elsewhere. Now I just can't decide. Apparently knowing more about a part doesn't make it easier to decide
1) Have you used RAID 0?
2) it really worth it?
If not, is it better to put the OS on its own drive, or just partition it for the OS? Should I just go with another 7200rpm 150-200gb drive for the OS and games?
What I really need to know here is, what's the best drive setup for a gaming rig in your opinion?
I do need to store some music, videos, and images, so I'm fine with getting a 'storage' drive, but I'm just stumped on the OS / gaming drive.
Thanks a bunch!
This will be a higher end gaming rig, with an OC'd Q6600 (hoping to get to about 3.6ghz if my cooler will allow that).
I've been reading that higher speed drives and RAID setups really don't increase the actual game speeds, just load times. Is this true? From my experience, when rounding a corner in a game, say bf 2142, when the new images begin to load into memory, this is where it gets choppy. By the time things smooth out, I'm dead... again.
My original plan was to go with 2x150gb raptors with RAID 0 set up for speed. I know the downfalls (one drive fails, you're SOL). I was also going to go with a WD 750gb 7200rpm drive for pure storage. I was going to run the OS and the games from the raptors. The downside to this is that I was nearing $450 - $500 just on hard drives. While this IS in my budget, that money could go elsewhere. Now I just can't decide. Apparently knowing more about a part doesn't make it easier to decide
1) Have you used RAID 0?
2) it really worth it?
If not, is it better to put the OS on its own drive, or just partition it for the OS? Should I just go with another 7200rpm 150-200gb drive for the OS and games?
What I really need to know here is, what's the best drive setup for a gaming rig in your opinion?
I do need to store some music, videos, and images, so I'm fine with getting a 'storage' drive, but I'm just stumped on the OS / gaming drive.
Thanks a bunch!