Hi again guys. Until recently I had been running a RAID 0 with 2 Samsung Spinpoint F1's and Vista as the OS. Naturally overclocking gave me a lot of trouble because the OS (Vista x64) wasn't Microsoft's best release and of course I must have been silly to try it anyway. I just found a wicked deal on the F1's and purchased 3 which takes my total HDD count to 5. Firsly, I am still dwelling on the idea of which RAID to go for (0,5 or 0+1). Because still wish to overclock and want to reduce OS based trouble to reach a higher overclock I have decided to have 2 OS's, one running Windows 7 x64 and one running XP x64 (for overclocking and performance). I am thinking of running a RAID 5 on Windows 7 (3 Spinpoint F1 1TB)and a RAID 0 on XP (2 Spinpoint F1 1TB). Now from what I have read it seems that although my mobo has an integrated RAID Controller (EX38-DS4), it won't be able to handle all the RAID calculations that will be taking place thus forcing the CPU and memory to take action. So to prevent the above, I need to get a separate RAID Controller to minimize CPU and Memory forced intervention. I would really appreciate some ideas on the type of RAID I should run and I would also greatly appreciate some ideas on some RAID Controllers (price+quality). Cheers guys.
onboard RAID controllers always use the CPU - it's not that too many drives are too much for them to handle, they literally have no CPU to handle the dataflow, the CPU has always been doing it. I hope those Samsung drives weren't second hand, when the F1 1TB first came out it was #1 on the most unreliable hard drives chart. That honour has now since passed to Seagate for the 7200.12. Long story short, you want RAID5, but a good RAID5 controller will set you back quite a substantial amount (more than your motherboard did, at least).
Many Thanks for your reply Sam. All of my current F1's were bought brand new. To be honest with you I have not yet thankfully experienced any trouble with them and I had been running a RAID 0 on Vista 64 for over 6 months. I actually got these latest 3 at 50 quid each delivered (NEW & SEALED as it should be). I'm sure even you will rate that purchase. (or not?) So I'm thinking of giving RAID 5 a go with 3 of them on Windows 7 since I would use that OS to work with and overclock on RAID 0 with XP 64 with some gaming involved also. (Any thoughts on that?) Also I hear that the max I can go with XP 64 is DirectX 10 which should be OK since I have 2 MSI 3870 X2's in Crossfire (I think they can handle DirectX 10.1. (any major difference on this aspect?) Current System: Q9450(C1 I think) Shinetsu Microsis Thermal Paste to be laid Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme with 2 Scythe SFF21G's EX38-DS4 with F6 AHCI BIOS OCZ Reaper PC2-8500 2x2 GB 2 x MSI 3870X2's in Crossfire Antec 1200 with 2 Scythe SFF21F's as optional fans Coolermaster Real Power Pro 1250W PSU 5 x Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB (3 on RAID 5 Win 7 X64 and 2 on RAID 0 Win XP X64)although having 3 drives in RAID 0 is VERY appealing Pioneer DVD RW About the RAID Controller, I will initially give the onboard a go because I have some decent hardware already but if I needed a controller for better performance, would there be anything decent on the 50 pound range? I Thank You in advance. Cheers.
There are no good controlers in the 50 pound range. Think about 180 pounds for a good deal on a quality 4 port card...Here are links to some of the lowest priced quality hardware RAID cards arround: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816131003 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816118106 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816118093 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816116042 With a good hardware RAID controller, RAID5 will actualy increase performance vs RAID-0. For your situation, but with a hardware raid card, I would use a single drive on the onboard controller as the Overclock/testing drive, and use a 4 drive RAID5 as the Windows 7 drive. If you have the extra finances, you could even get a 8, 12, 16, or 24 port RAID card, and more drives to add to it, each one giving you more space and speed than the one before. Then we come to the problem of your mainboard...it does not have any PCI-X slots, no PCIe x4 or x8 slots, and no free x16 slots (because of your crossfire setup). If you want to run an expensive RAID card, you will need a new mainboard, or a new single video card to replace your crossfire.
Many Thanks for your reply. My knowledge on RAID Controllers is non existent. You seem to have a few RAIDS on your system. Would this controller be any good if I could get it for 50 quid used? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816116065&Tpk=9690SA-4I But this used controller only comes with a low profile bracket and not a full height one (I don't even know what this means!) as it was removed from a server rack. I Thank You in advance.
This is an excelent controler (I use one). My only complaint is that it gets rather hot if you don't have a fan pointing at it (not a big problem). If you can get one used for 50 pounds, jump on it. If you can get more than one used for 50 pounds, send me a link so I can get another one. This controller does require a break-out cable, but it is still a good deal at list price, and an incredible deal anywhere under 100 pounds. I'm not sure about how you might get it used, but mine came with both brackets (low profile and regular). "Low Profile" just means that it is for those half-height slim cases.
As far as I know, the max with XP is DirectX9, including the 64-bit. There was a mod someone was working on to retrofit DX10, but I imagine I would have heard more about it if it were successful. I will leave Killerbug to the value RAID cards, as I have a rather all-or-nothing approach to them due to what I would want to do, and have no prior experience of the midrange ones.
Many Thanks for your contribution KillerBug. I will take your advice and go for it. The guy does have another one. Is there a way to private message you or something so that I can give you the link? Cheers
Many Thanks for your advice too Sam. Always helpful! So really, gaming on XP is out of the question? Cheers
I had a look at a comparison between pictures with DX9 and DX10 respectively and I have to say Sam, the difference is MASSIVE!
DX11 is even better than 10. Still, the main advantage to upgrading to win7 from winxp would be to use more than 3 GB of ram. floss313 - I sent you a private message with my email, look at the top of the page, under the tabs (Home, news, Guides, etc) there is a thin orange bar. Click the "Private messages" link. Thanks in advance.
Needs to be 5 lines of text max, or if with a picture, 3 lines of text max. Maximum picture size is, I believe, 500x200.
For what its worth I wouldnt waste my time on a dual boot. Boot 7 and be done with it. Its not perfect but its already sold over 200% better then Vista had at this stage and hasnt gotten even a percentage of the flac vista did/does. IBM has even called it possibly the best gaming OS ever. I dont for see there being any major bugs. Keep in mind for OCing, you need a quality bored. OCing is not my expertise but seems to rely far more on a solid motherboard then your OS as the settings come from with in the BIOS, not the OS.
