OS drive SSDx2 in raid0. Is it worth it? am I crazy? Need opinions.

bms85

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Nov 16, 2007
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So I built a PC with two SSDs in a raid 0. I've since had two drive failures that took me out for week each time ( see post here: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/375950-31-need-troubleshooting-failing-hardware-components#t2842166). Data loss isn't a huge deal because I back up religiously and rarely lose more than a file or two. (unfortunately this last time it was my dad's eulogy video the day before his funeral)

I've just received replacement drives. I'm contemplating whether I want to risk another raid 0 failure or if I should go with a raid 1. Are my applications even making use of 1gb/sec read/write? I do edit video frequently as well as very large photos 16,000px+. I'm not sure if it's some of my other components, but this PC is ridiculous fast. I don't want to change that if the raid 0 Is making a big difference.

I guess I just need some opinions from others that know the mechanics better than I.
 

RealBeast

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I would not use RAID 0, I would do what I do -- use the first drive as an OS/program drive and use the second SSD as a scratch drive for Photoshop and Premier, or whatever programs you are using. This will give you excellent results without the hassle.
 

cball1311

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Dec 15, 2012
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Not to contradict, but RAID0 was a big improvement on my SSDs. I know that I lose TRIM but as long as garbage collection can take place about once a week or two.

Non RAID
ATTOSSD2_zps0efcf3cc.jpg


RAID0
SSDRAID0_zps53996660.jpg
 

RealBeast

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Benchmarks don't convince me that the actual usage is faster, I've raided dozens of SSDs and gotten great benchmarks, but that is just a benchmark, not real life, never actually saw any significant difference..

I have a stack of 6 extra SSDs in my way on my desk, and trust me, if it actually made a difference I would raid them.

Don't get me wrong. I love RAID. I have an 8 x 3Tb RAID 6 array to stream Blu-ray iso images to my HTPCs, but those are HDDs and there is a purpose, a big storage array. I used to do 4 raptors in RAID 0 before SSDs, but with SSDs it just does not really improve the experience since seek times are close to zero and all my large sequential writes for video editing go to scratch SSDs.
 
^On top of that, the only things RAID0 helps with in a major way are the things that SSDs already are good at. Faster seek times (So it's half a blink instead of a whole one), and quicker sustained reads, which do help, but not nearly as much as going from an SSD to a hard drive - in my eyes, it's not worth the chances at data loss.
 

jemm

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You know the risks of Raid 0, but there is certainly some benefits in performance -- benchmarks prove it true, even if one can not see the differences.

SSD RAID 0 TRIM Confirmed - Dreams Do Come True http://www.rwlabs.com/article.php?id=672

Intel and OCZ offer TRIM for some of their series.

TRIM & RAID-0 SSD Arrays Work With Intel 6-Series Motherboards Too http://www.anandtech.com/show/6477/trim-raid0-ssd-arrays-work-with-intel-6series-motherboards-too

Intel Brings TRIM to RAID-0 SSD Arrays on 7-Series Motherboards, We Test It http://www.anandtech.com/show/6161/intel-brings-trim-to-raid0-ssd-arrays-on-7series-motherboards-we-test-it

OCZ Vertex SSD Raid 0 - TRIM Enabled http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5kcTUoS0PQ

 

bms85

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Hmm, I wish I would have waited to read this before I built the raid anyways. I had work that needed to be done so I couldn't afford to wait.

I purchased new larger drives. I am getting 1GB read/write. The new drives are getting significantly better benchmarks. How do I check to see if trim is enabled for the raid?