RAID Config Suggestions

[zenius]

So yesterday, I had my 160GB Raptor die on me and to my surprise it is covered under WD's own warranty. I had previously read somewhere that since it was a boutique drive it wasn't covered under WD.

Anyway!

since it died, I decided to play around with RAID on my mobo and I was wondering what kind of configuration you people would recommend.

The drives I have available are
160GB Raptor (when i get it RMA'd)
2X 320GB Seagate 7200.10 Barracuda's (all i can remember is that the firmware ends in AAK)

I was considering the following configuration:
The two 320s striped and then those two mirrored with the raptor. I'll make a matching sized partition on the striped pair of course.
I was wondering if this would hinder the performance of the raptor when mirrored. I'm hoping that striping the 320s would help negate any performance impact

I'm hoping someone has some insight on this configuration. If no one does, I'll test it myself once i get my raptor replaced. I'll probably try it anyway just to make sure.

thanks in advance

 

[Ockie]

That doesn't make much sense. You don't want to stripe and then mirror with a high performance drive.

I think your best bet would be to run the raptor as your system drive and the other two drives as your backup/storage drives.

 

[vsboxerboy]

First off, please read this: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=952998

no really go read it

If you are thinking of implementing a RAID array, what is your goal - I don't think you are going to accomplish much while generating unneeded complexity.

That RAID 1 your mentioning will only increase uptime of your rig - it is NOT a backup. A much better solution IMO would be to buy an external drive case and periodically backup your data to that drive. If you get a virus which deletes data, you accidentally delete something, your rig is stolen, catches fire, lightning strikes, etc. your RAID 1 is not going to help you.

If you want more speed, just use the raptor you have or buy any modern HDD such as the WD640AAKS which will smoke the raptor or RAID 0 array. I understand that you probably don't want to buy new hardware though, but you should not create an array that goes between a 10k drive and a pair of 7.2k drives. It just doesn't make any sense, sorry to be so rude.

Short story, use your raptor for your OS and games, etc. one of your 7200.10s for media storage and stuff, and keep the other one external for periodic backups.

edit: blarg ockie beat me to it while i was typing

 

[zenius]

thanks for the quick replies and that link. I'll be sure to read that. It should be stickied (if it isnt already)