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Questions regarding RAMdisk and/or SSD for accelerating HDD Performance...

A

Archangel35757

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Joined
Dec 13, 2011
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8
Ok... so I just finished building my new workstation. My setup is:

Case: Corsair Carbide 500R
CPU: Intel i7-2700K (Cooled with Corsair H80)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD7-B3
Memory: Corsair Vengeance, 32GB (4x 8GB) 1600 MHz
Graphics Card: 2x EVGA GTX 580 3GB, 2-way SLI (soon to be 3-way SLI)
HDD: Western Digital 1TB, 7200rpm
OS: Windows XP Professional x64 Edition (64-bit)
Click to expand...

So I have all of the "system software" installed... none of my true applications. The main application I want to use on this workstation is my older version of Autodesk 3ds Max 8 (along with many plugins), Photoshop CS3, and some other modeling/animation programs I have.

3ds Max 8 is a 32-bit application... the reason I chose Win XP Pro x64 is because I understood from my research that it allows for 3D hardware acceleration in its WOW64, whereas Windows 7 does not (software only) and I wanted to take advantage of the graphics cards.

I'm also looking to speed up the application as much as possible... so I started to read about RAMdisks and then I came across Intel's Smart Response Technology (but learned that's only for Vista and Win7)... then I came across this software program VeloSSD 2012 that does a similar thing to Intel's SRT hardware solution by using software only to make an SSD drive to act as Cache instead of always having to access the HDD which functions similar to Intel's SRT "Maximized mode."

I'm new to RAMdisks and SSDs, and my head is spinning... :confused: I read in another thread here about using a RAMdisk for the OS page file and pointing all TEMP/TMP folders to a RAMdisk static page file by modifying environment variables to point to R:\temp.

What do you experts recommend for the best setup to accelerate 3ds Max performance as much as possible? (1) assuming I install it on the HDD or (2) I buy an SSD and install it on that. Only drawback to that is a lot of the 3rd Party plugins install a lot of crap to the C:\ drive under the "user" folder etc. and it'd be aggravating to have to move it and make it point to the R:\ (RAMdisk) drive.

Example under scenario (1)-- would getting an SSD and the VeloSSD 2012 software be best? Or using a RAMdisk for cache and paging file?

In Scenario (2) I guess my biggest fear is failure of the SSD... guess a RAID 1 or RAID 10 setup would belay that, no?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
Just built a new rig for an architect that I do work for.

He wasn't entirely sold on the SSD but I convinced him to spend the money and now he couldn't be happier, Windows 7 boots before the Windows logo is completely formed on the boot screen, Autocad loads much faster, and Outlook is like butter (huge PST file, the guy has tons of email). I don't see any reason to use a convoluted system like a RAM disk when you could use a simple SSD solution for OS and everything. Go RAID 1 if you are concerned about reliability. Use the WD drive for mass storage (my client uses a RAID5 NAS server through gigabit ethernet for mass storage).
 
Don't bother with a RAM disk. RAM disks are only useful if you have a small working dataset that fits entirely within a portion of RAM that you're willing to give up.

Your best bet is going to be:

1) Buy an SSD. Install OS, applications, and the files you're working on onto the SSD
2) Use your HDD for overflow storage and to back up the SSD nightly.

Don't spend your time messing around with caching, RAM disks, etc. when an SSD is going to get the job done in the most straightforward manner possible.
 
@ Ultima99: As I described in my write-up, I'm using Windows XP Professional x64 Edition-- not Windows 7. Not sure if that makes a difference though...

@AgentQ: I've already installed and activated the OS on the WD 1TB HDD... is it going to be an issue for re-installing/ re-activating it on an SSD? What about just adding an SSD for caching to accelerate performance with the HDD? Any experience SSD caching like this and knowledge of the VeloSSD 2012 software or similar software?

Thank you both for your replies.
 
Archangel35757 said:
@AgentQ: I've already installed and activated the OS on the WD 1TB HDD... is it going to be an issue for re-installing/ re-activating it on an SSD? What about just adding an SSD for caching to accelerate performance with the HDD? Any experience SSD caching like this and knowledge of the VeloSSD 2012 software or similar software?
Click to expand...

Re-activating is a non-issue. Don't worry about it.

Re-installing is up to you. You might be able to play some games and transfer your existing install to the SSD, but I would suggest just doing a clean install.

Depending on your workload, caching may or may not improve your experience much. It will certainly be sub-optimal relative to just running from an HDD. And that's assuming you can actually find a workable caching solution for your setup, which is questionable.

If you come up with a compromise solution like caching or a RAM disk, chances are good that it's going to be much more of a headache than just migrating to an SSD now and calling it good. Stick with a known and proven solution, especially if this is for professional work.
 
Ok... so if I buy 1 or more SSDs and do a clean install of my Windows XP Professional x64 Edition OS. What is the best RAID configuration? If I understand correctly:

RAID 0 will let you scale the total storage capacity (i.e., 4x 120GB SSDs in RAID 0 = 480GB... and I can always add more drives to the array if I get close to filling it up). Correct?

RAID 1 does mirroring whereas RAID 0 does not. RAID 1 requires a second drive for mirroring.

RAID 10 is the best of both worlds. But would require multiples of 4 SSDs (i.e., 2 drives and 2 for mirroring).

So would RAID 10 be the best setup and use my WD 1TB HDD as an extra backup? or just use RAID 0 to maximize GB and use the WD 1TB HDD as the backup/restore drive using backup software?

Or are there other RAID configurations I should consider? :confused:
 
You understand the RAID levels correctly, for the most part. However, there are more complexities to the actual implementation (e.g. software RAID vs. hardware RAID, booting from a RAID configuration, etc.) that you would need to understand first.

However, given your unfamiliarity with storage configurations as well as the nature of your work (it sounds like you use this machine for work purposes) I would strongly recommend not attempting any RAID setup as your primary storage.

Instead, keep it simple: Buy an SSD big enough to store everything you need and use that as your primary storage. Use Windows' built-in backup software to back up to your internal hard drive. This will give you the speed of an SSD along with a reasonable (albeit not off-site) backup solution with the fewest amount of headaches.

However, if you really want to RAID, always prefer redundancy first (RAID 1) and speed/space second (RAID 0) unless you can afford to lose all of your data and restore from a backup at a moment's notice. Also keep in mind that RAID 1 is redundancy, not backup. Backup involves actively backing up your files to, preferably, a separate location. RAID 10 is a good balance of both worlds, but it requires a lot of drives. For the cost of four SSDs for RAID 10, you can purchase a large single SSD as well as a solid backup solution. This is going to be your best bet.
 
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This is my home computer. I'll read up read up more on RAIDs as well as start reviewing/shopping for an SSD. Thanks.
 
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The OP could try a caching SSD/software combo. I believe NVelo's Dataplex works with XPx64. I wouldn't suggest it's anywhere near as good as using a real SSD only solution, but you get a lot of the benefit with no reinstallation necessary.

With regard to the apps the OP is using, couldn't they be run in Win7 in XP compatability mode?
 
ckryan said:
With regard to the apps the OP is using, couldn't they be run in Win7 in XP compatability mode?
Click to expand...

Compatibility mode is fine for very small programs, but larger ones like the OP has probably will run with decreased performance.
CM does not always work on every program, and can be flaky at times.

Also, did you not read that XP x64 has other functions for his software that Win 7 does not? (for that one program)
 
I wouldn't do any kind of RAID, just buy a right sized SSD and focus on backups. As for installing XP, create the partition first with gparted or on a vista/7 computer so it is aligned.
 
Aesma said:
I wouldn't do any kind of RAID, just buy a right sized SSD and focus on backups. As for installing XP, create the partition first with gparted or on a vista/7 computer so it is aligned.
Click to expand...

What are the cons in doing a RAID for the OS & apps? Who is the best brand/maker of SSDs in the 250 to 500 GB size?
 
Archangel35757 said:
What are the cons in doing a RAID for the OS & apps? Who is the best brand/maker of SSDs in the 250 to 500 GB size?
Click to expand...

Depends on the RAID level and the amount of disks.
Be more specific for which RAID level you are thinking of using.
 
Archangel35757 said:
What are the cons in doing a RAID for the OS & apps? Who is the best brand/maker of SSDs in the 250 to 500 GB size?
Click to expand...

Let me turn these questions around:

What do you think the pros of a RAID solution are for your application?

From your research, which SSDs do you think fit the bill for your application?
 
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