RAID 0 or 5 or something else?

I was given a Newegg gift card for Christmas and I'm considering a RAID array.

I have enough for two more drives like mine and would like maximum speed. Should I set up a RAID 5 array or should I do RAID 0 and put the third drive in and external enclosure for a stand-alone backup for my files? Or is there another option I'm not aware of?

Originally Posted by Rabid Badger

I was given a Newegg gift card for Christmas and I'm considering a RAID array.

I have enough for two more drives like mine and would like maximum speed. Should I set up a RAID 5 array or should I do RAID 0 and put the third drive in and external enclosure for a stand-alone backup for my files? Or is there another option I'm not aware of?

RAID 5 is nice but it has slow writes. It gives good redundancy.

It depends on what you want.

Originally Posted by doh

RAID 5 is nice but it has slow writes. It gives good redundancy.

It depends on what you want.

Thanks for the fast reply. I guess I will go with a RAID 0 array and then when I get some more money install a 0+1 for the best of both worlds.

I would recommend a separate backup disk if you have anything important to keep. Raid 0 doubles your chances of losing all your data due to disk failure.

Just get a WD74ADFD or WD1500ADFD if you're looking for more speed. Better seek times than any raid-0 array, without the increased risk of losing all your data.

raid for redundancy (not backup), raptors for speed.

raid 0 is only useful for capturing long sreams of buffered data. So unless you capture alot from your hi-def tuner card then id say buy a raptor and a monster storage drive to go with it.