RAID 0 for good system performance

I'm thinking about my next computer. My usage is fairly basic: Internet browsing (fairly intensive, 5-20 Firefox tabs) and some design using Dreamweaver and the Gimp, so I think I don't need a powerful system (I'd maybe go for an AMD Athlon64 X2 5600+ or so). But I'm thinking about using a RAID 0 hard drive setup to reduce system and program startup times and result in a smoother computing experience. In addition, I notice that when a computer gets old, booting and starting programs can take really long, even in a well defragmented hard disk. So I think it's good to get a fast hard disk setup from the beginning.

What do you think? Is RAID 0 a good approach? Or I'd benefit more from using a faster processor? Any other suggestions for a smooth experience? I'd like to keep the cost of the system fairly low, so I discard WD Velociraptor and SSDs.

Thanks in advance.

Just get a raptor 150. You can always add a storage drive later. RAID 0 does add performance but it also increases unreliability. I have always just ran a single raptor because I need a reliable hard drive, and its fast enough. I would agree if your running Vista you would be served well to use 4GB of ram, even with the 32bit version it will have a noticeable improvement.

For an average system, RAID 0 is waste of money.
Very little benefit for money spent.
You will get far better return for your money as others have mentioned with a single fast drive, and more memory. You also increase cost and maintenence by having to use a good backup system. RAID 0 can leave you starting from scratch all over again and loss of important data if you don't have and use a reliable backup.

RAID 0 won't always help. Alot of the time older computers take longer to start because of bloated / unused drivers and half uninstalled programs (not your fault) bloating windows. Faster drives will not always help with that. Besides RAID 0 might outstrip your CPU (HDD performance vs HDD performance that the CPU can utilitize).

Thanks for the info, I was not aware of these other possible hazards. I currently perform daily backups of my documents to a Lacie home NAS (from 2 computers), but maybe some kind of full disk image would be better.

I found some hot discussions in the forum about RAID 0 being worthy or not; I thought the performance benefit was clear, but it seems it's not, specially when dealing with small files. I'd keep thinking on it.

As for Ramdisk, I notice it's only for server versions of Windows, and at about the same price that 2 good hard drives (from 175 $).

I'm also unsure about using Windows 32- or 64-bit, but I've open a new thread about that.

Realistically, unless you game or work with large vid or pic files, the only real gain from RAID will be faster Windows boot times. Although I personally would find that worth it, some people dont.