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GeneO · 13 Nov 2014

gregrocker said:

Please let us know how this works because I'm still waiting to read a single good report on RAID and WIn7 here. It seems dated technology with SSD's, sync and imaging, and isn't even redundant (the first letter in its name) since users often lose data when it fails.

Well I just got back in the wee hours of this morning from a business trip to Silicon Valley (brrr, went from 70s to 24F) and my new 128GB Samsung Pro SSD was delivered. I configured the 2 in RAID 0 with a 64 KB stripe size and restored the system from backup without a hitch. System is snappier, game levels load much faster, and also by reboot time did not change (16 seconds). I posted AS SSD and reboot time results in the hardware forum here:

Show us your SSD performance 2

> 1GB/s sequential read

of course the single thread 4k read was not affected, but this is virtually the same for a single 256 GB and 128 GB Samsung pro anyhow.

I am quite pleased I could upgrade from 128 GB to 256 GB with an increase in performance well beyond what a single SATA 6 Gb/s or a single Samsung 256 GB Pro could do (all around).

whs · 13 Nov 2014

Thanks for the report. That's good to know. I have a friend on another forum who is a PC builder. He swears on SSD Raid configurations. I never attempted that because I was always happy with the single SSD performance. Besides, I don't want to risk to get whiplash, LOL.

GeneO · 13 Nov 2014

I don't think RAID0 is dead at all. It is a path to add performance with and incremental upgrade in capacity. You do increase the exposure to disk failure though. The probability is 2x that of a single drive, But SSD are much more reliable than hard disk now so the probability is pretty low. Plus now the Intel OPROM and drivers support TRIM for RAID0 on newer motherboards. Plus you get past the SATA 3 limitations. I think it is a good match now - SSD + RAID0.

it may not make economical sense unless you are adding capacity though. For example two 128 GB SSD cost more than 1 256GB. So to try and get back on topic here, if you already have an SSD and are looking for more capacity and performance, you may want to look into buying another of the same and putting them in RAID0 rather than getting a larger SSD. especially if it is on sale.

whs · 13 Nov 2014

if you already have an SSD and are looking for more capacity and performance,
you may want to look into buying another of the same and putting them in RAID0
rather than getting a larger SSD. especially if it is on sale.

I agree with that. But you also have to have the extra Sata port. On the other hand, I just bought a 256GB Crucial M500 for $89. There is really no need to skimp any more. That was quite different when I got my first 60GB OCZ in 2008 - that cost $260.

GeneO · 14 Nov 2014

You mean 240GB M500?

True, but there is a good deal of difference in performance and warranty between the M500 and an 840 or 850 PRO 256GB or even an 840 Pro 128GB - the enthusiast SSD still come at a price. There is just a new tier now; part of the reason a lot of SSD are becoming cheaper is they are sacrificing some performance for less costly manufacturing and less bleeding edge, which is a good thing. Most people would not notice the difference, but you will depending on the task in hand.

whs · 14 Nov 2014

Most people would not notice the difference

That is my point. The little bit of better performance is not worth the extra money.

And yes, the M500 is advertised at 240GB. But in reality it is a 256 disk with more reserved space set aside.