Any benefit to using 2 Vertex 2 60gb SSD (Non-RAID) instead of 120gb

[floridascientist]

I was thinking it might be beneficial to run 2 x 60gb Vertex 2 SSD, but NOT RAID them, as opposed to 1 x 120gb. My thinking is that you could spread your applications across the 2 drives, and access them in such a way that you're using BOTH drives simultaneously, although independently of one another, effectively increasing your IOPS?

Please give me your feedback. I want to buy them very soon, and I can't decide which configuration to choose. From what I understand, performance is the same for all sizes of Vertex 2 drives, so as long as price is not an issue, would I benefit from the 2 x 60gb setup?

I don't want to RAID them b/c I don't want to lose TRIM or other AHCI benefits.

Thanks in advance to all who chime in. By the way, I've never owned a SSD before so this is all theoretical to me.

 

[foscooter]

I have heard of "Software RAID," but also that is it slow(er than hardware RAID).

Unless you have alot of added programs, I think you will be okay with just one 60GB SSD. Just dont get it past 90-95% full, TRIM should be supported, and OCZ has it's own utilities (like Gargage Collection).

My OS drive only have 21+GB of use (Windows 7 Home 64bit, Office 2007, Quicken, Norton 360, iTunes (app. only)), out of my 64GB SSD (RAID 0 array). Then I have all my data/media on a HDD (RAID 0 array) with "My Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, Downloads." (iTunes still loads MUCH faster than it did before the SSD!)

However, I do see the benefit of installing added programs to a second drive. But since you are going SSD, I don't think you'll notice the load difference. And, I might just get too confusing of where what programs are installed (to you).

There have beed studies that Games don't really benefit from a SSD (except WoW). There are other threads in here addressing this.

But if you have the cash, go for it. Let us know.

 

[adampower]

imho there would be no noticeably difference between 2 x 60gb or 1 x 120gb. Besides, they are soooo much faster than any spinning disk you will be pleasantly surprised. Maybe in 10 years there will be applications which notice the difference in a configuration such as you suggest.

even the RAID 0 would likely not be a noticeable upgrade. Ask fos or sub but I wonder the difference between one sweet vertex or 80gb intel m and two 40s in raid 0.

 

[outlw6669]

Actually, a single 120GB SSD will be quite a bit faster than a pair of non-RAIDed similarly designed 60GB SSD's.
This is because the flash chips inside the SSD are connected in parallel to the controller chip, somewhat like an internal RAID setup.
The more flash chips or, in this case, the higher the capacity, the higher the performance.

I would highly recommend getting the single 120GB SSD.

 

[floridascientist]

Thanks outlw, that's exactly what I was looking for.

An OCZ person said in a forum message that there would only be around 1-2% difference in speed between the 60gb and 120gb versions. I've also seen other people writing similar things - that it has to do with the new controller the Vertex 2 has.

But your reasoning is sound, I wonder what the reality is.

Another benefit for using 2 60gb over 1 120gb would be that I could keep my OS drive separate from everything else. That way that drive wouldn't lose its performance over time since I'm rarely writing to it. Then I could use the other drive for programs that I might periodically replace. This way I'd keep my OS just as fast as it was with a new drive.

Ahhh....I just can't decide! Anyone have any experience with the Vertex 2's?

 

[jobz000]

If you say difference in speed is negligible, then your decision is down to how much space you need. If you install a lot of apps & games, buy 120gb, otherwise 60gb.

Done!

 

[Newf]

I think you have done all the SSD research you need to.
Yes, 2 60s IN RAID 0 will make a big speed difference but you lose Trim support.
Given that you choose Trim (as I do), then 2 SSDs make no sense to me.
I have a 120GB SSD with Win7, Firefox, MSSE and a couple other programs on it.
It currently uses 32GB/120GB. All other programs, libraries, downloads and other software is on a 640GB WD Black Drive. This setup works well and feels quite fast.