RAID 0 Questions

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Puressence

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Hey Everyone,
So I am thinking about setting up a RAID 0 array on my new system. I do have some questions though. Im wondering what size HDDs I should buy. I was thinking big....perhaps in the area of 500 gigs or so. Keeping in mind that HDDs are pretty cheap nowadays. I was talking to our IT guy at work about it and he said that RAID 0 could be set up through windows vista. I had read that it was better to set it up in the BIOS before the OS is installed. Recommendations?
Thanks,
-Pure
 
If you plan on installing an os on it you will need to set it up via bios and the raid bios utility. It is always better to set up raid via bios instead of using the os. A raid0 array does not need to be that large because it is only useful for OS and programs. You do not want to have critical data on it without very meticulous backup. If one drive fails all data is lost. I generally like a raid0 array coupled with a separate data hard drive.
 
Yea, I was planning on having a seperate data drive. As far as size goes, games today are taking up more and more space, which is why I was thinking of getting larger gb hdds. What would you recommend as far as gb size for hdd for the RAID setup?
 
It depends upon cost. I would think 2 x 250gb for 500gb would be plenty but if you can get larger drives for not much more why not.

I have 2 74gb raptors in raid0 and have not had too many issues with size. I do not keep every game I install on the hard drive at all times though.
 
It depends upon cost. I would think 2 x 250gb for 500gb would be plenty but if you can get larger drives for not much more why not.

I have 2 74gb raptors in raid0 and have not had too many issues with size. I do not keep every game I install on the hard drive at all times though.

I second that thought... I used to have 2 36GB WD raptors but w/ vista, COD 4 and 5 and my Steam games, I soon ran out of space. Switched to a pair of 320gb Seagate's in RAID 0 and now have plenty of room. With todays hardrive prices, there aint much cost difference between a 250gb and a 500gb, so dont let price determine. Look at the specs and go with higher cache and access speeds.

Now ive got my 640gb on C in split in two partitions; 1 for vista and another for Win 7.
 
Just remember, in RAID 0, if one drive has an issue or fails, you will loose ALL of your data stored in the array... So perform backups...
 
Thanks for the input guys. Waiting to hear on some final feedback on my build, and then I will go ahead and order the remaining components from the egg. Already have the case (HAF 932) the PSU (Corsair 850 Watt) and the processor (core i7 920) Either way, with what you guys told me and from other research, I think I will stick with the two 640 gig drives. They are only $80 a pop. And I will be backing up often both on my external drive, and on my internal storage drive. As someone already said, don't put anything on a RAID array that you arent prepared to lose. Good advice IMO.
Also, If I do RAID 0 to 640 gig drives, how much space will the OS recognize? (approximately) I am almost certain it doesnt double the space. Does it still show up as 640 (roughly) gigs, as the data is being split between the two drives? Im thinking its going to be a headache to setup, but once its good to go, I think I will be happy with it.
-Pure
 
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