SCSI RAID worth it for speed?

S

sram

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jul 30, 2007
Messages
1,699
Well, one of my friends wants to build a new rig and he wants to make it as fast and as snappy as possible. He is willing to spend around 3000 $. It is ganna be based on a quad core I think with a p35 overclocking mobo. Will have at least 4GB of Ram(don't know if more is even logical). Probably the 8800 GTX for a video card.


The question is: Will going SCSI RAID make that big of a difference ??

Alternatives:

He can use the fastest SCSI drive available for his OS

OR use two raptors in RAID 0

Maybe something else.............Solid state drives??!@&%$^$?


OOOOOOh, what does he use his machine for???
Hmmm, it is not about what he uses it for...It is like a speed contest!!! He is an enthuthiastic.......crazy one might say!!
 
SCSI raid is for a business environment where you have many users banging on the drive constantly. It's not going to make a big difference in a home environment. I'd just tell the guy to stick with a Raptor, which I think would get you about the best performance you can hope for in a typical home environment.
 
A few problems with the question posed:

1) One SCSI vs two Raptors is apples to oranges.
2) It does matter what he is doing to decide which would excel, unless synthetic benchmarks are your only motivating factor.
 
If going with SCSI you have to keep in mind that you will not only be buying the drive(s) but also a adapter card which most decent ones are over $100.

I moved from 2 x 36.7 GB seagate cheetah 15k drives (RAID 0) to 1 x 75 GB Fujitsu MAS3735NP to 1 x 150 GB WD Raptor.

I can say that the 2 cheetahs in raid 0 were the fastest combo then the fujitsu drive was second in speed followed by the Raptor.

Ups and downs of both:

1. SCSI faster. But it is not a ton faster. I went from always being 1st to load a BF2 map to being 3rd at the worst when I got the raptor.
2. SCSI is a bit louder but then again teh Raptor is not completely silent either.
3. SCSI is more expensive, usually quite a bit more expensive.
4. SCSI drives seem to be better drives from a stability standpoint. How many SCSI drives do you see die compaired to normal drives. I never lost a SCSI drive but I lost quite a few other drives.
5. It makes your e-penis larger if you have a SCSI drive.
 
1) One SCSI vs two Raptors is apples to oranges.
Click to expand...

Why is that?

If you want your OS to be in a fast drive, putting it in a fast 15k drive is one way.

One Raptor is another way..........two raptors in RAID 0 is a third way....

What am I missing?


Somthing else, what if somebody runs a ftp server where he shares many large files with people........will SCSI RAID be benefitial
 
I used to have a 36gb cheetah (which I still regret selling) and recently set up 2x74gb Raptor ADFD's in raid-0. The Cheetah was my favorite setup. I actually split up my raptor's since then, one for boot and one for gaming. I have my page file on the gaming drive. The raptors in raid-0 was plenty fast but after a while it just wasn't running right started having issues with windows so I decided to split it up. The only down side to the cheetah was the noise but after a while it didn't bother me at all... but I wouldn't suggest leaving it on overnight next to your bed or anything.

If he has the money to spend, I would suggest going with a smaller 15k scsi drive for windows (I highly recommend the cheetah) and then keep the excess files off it by adding a large drive for storage. I'm picking up a few of these I have the 320gb version and I love it.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148136&Tpk=ST3500630AS

SCSI raid is really kind of rediculous for a gaming computer (I'm guessing he'll be using it for gaming from your description)... I'm right there with him I'm an overclocking enthusiast but I would draw the line at one extremely fast SCSI... unless he's planning on curing cancer or something. It's also not worth the risk of running raid-0 IMO...
 
I've got three 73.4 GB 15000 RPM Cheetahs in RAID 0. It's fast, but if I had to build a whole new machine I would stick with Raptors. The added performance isn't worth the insane cost.
 
SCSI is awesome for os/games.... if your trying to rar a 30gb file though, it isn't a huge difference...



i love mine, however, it's LOOOOOUUUUUUUD!!!!!!!!!!
 
15K RPM Ultra 320 SCSI FTW !! Does cost a bundle though... Plus on top of the epenis you will flat out get an eboner when you have it up and running.
 
Why not just get a decent SAS controller and a couple 2.5" drives? the 74GB 2.5s are under 300 now, and you can probably pick up a good controller for 500-600 bucks. If I had the money to spend, that's what I would do.......................
 
i <3 my scsi raid, wouldent trade it for anything...

my setup is a pair of Fujitsu 73gb MAX series drives hooked to an HP SmartArray 642... thing flies :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top