# Worth going RAID-0?



## LiveOrDie (Dec 14, 2011)

Im thinking about picking up a 2nd ssd and going RAID-0 would it worth it i've never used RAID in my life


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## HossHuge (Dec 14, 2011)

The only problem I see is that you will lose TRIM.  However, some say that Garbage Collection is still enabled.

Just like all things SSD,  some say this and some say that....


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Dec 14, 2011)

what i know is that presently trim wouldnt work, you need to download intel Rapid Storage Tool ,its a driver for ahci and raid plus some management software this provides proper raid functionality on intel boards its on ver 10.8 and intel have leaked that they will be enabling trim behind raid with that software at ver 11.8 or 5 i think, still, then id still raid 0 and do a system image now n again then when the update comes out your safe to update without fear of data loss and raid 0 is worth it for sure


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## Arctucas (Dec 14, 2011)

theoneandonlymrk said:


> what i know is that presently trim wouldnt work, you need to download intel Rapid Storage Tool ,its a driver for ahci and raid plus some management software this provides proper raid functionality on intel boards its on ver 10.8 and intel have leaked that they will be enabling trim behind raid with that software at ver 11.8 or 5 i think, still, then id still raid 0 and do a system image now n again then when the update comes out your safe to update without fear of data loss and raid 0 is worth it for sure



+1 

But, I believe a BIOS update to Intel RAID ROM 11.5.x.xxxx may also be required?

I am trying to get confirmation on this, if anyone knows...


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 14, 2011)

Ok thanks ill wait for that update before going to RAID.


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 15, 2011)

So is there any new on a date for the TRIM support for RAID-O ?


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## Completely Bonkers (Dec 15, 2011)

Live OR Die said:


> So is there any new on a date for the TRIM support for RAID-O ?


Yep, it doesnt happen that fast!


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## JATownes (Dec 15, 2011)

I have had a pair of Patriot Inferno 60GB in RAID-0 for the past 10 months.  The have Sandforce Controllers and I can tell you definitively that Garbage Collection on Sandforce Controllers work.  I have not lost any speed or health on the drives over the past 10 months, and as they are my system drive, they get pretty heavy use.

I say go for it.  A pair of SSDs in RAID-0 are pretty damn fast.


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 15, 2011)

So i shouldn't worry about TRIM and go buy a 2nd SSD now?


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## Super XP (Dec 15, 2011)

JATownes said:


> I have had a pair of Patriot Inferno 60GB in RAID-0 for the past 10 months.  The have Sandforce Controllers and I can tell you definitively that Garbage Collection on Sandforce Controllers work.  I have not lost any speed or health on the drives over the past 10 months, and as they are my system drive, they get pretty heavy use.
> 
> I say go for it.  A pair of SSDs in RAID-0 are pretty damn fast.


Wow you are lucky because my Patriot 32GB SSD x2 drives in RAID 0 messed up in a matter of months. Anyhow got a refund for them.

LOve the Avatar


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## JATownes (Dec 15, 2011)

Here is a bench I ran after having the drives for about a month:







Here is a bench I ran just a few minutes ago:






As you can see, I have had no performance degradation at all.  The drives are actually a little faster now on my new motherboard.  I might be the exception to the rule, but everything I read about the Sandforce Controllers say that Garbage Collection is the same function as TRIM.  It is just at the controller level instead of at the OS level.

Here is a good quote:



> All this is common for all SSDs. An SSD with a SandForce controller has one other factor related to this GC and TRIM story. Due to their data compression techniques most data will be reduced when written to the drive. This results in a larger OP, with the same user capacity. In contrast if the OS did the compression you would fit more data on the drive, but the OP would be the same. This larger OP results in faster performance during GC. The RevoDrive cannot use TRIM because of the RAID controller onboard. *This is true of all RAID controllers that I know of today, so it is not OCZ's fault it does not pass through. However, since OCZ chose the SandForce controller they have the advantage of automatically having more OP with most data and that results in higher performance normally only seen with the TRIM command.*



Source


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 15, 2011)

umm but looks like im getting faster speeds from just my single ssd than yours in raid 0?


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## JATownes (Dec 15, 2011)

Correct.  I am running SATAII SSDs.  You are running a SATAIII SSD.  So you will be running faster.  But a pair of SATAIII SSDs in RAID-0 will max out your controller and be f#$%ing screaming fast!!!  I say do it!!! And post screenshots so I can drool over it, and convince myself that I need to trade my drives for SATAIII drives.


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 15, 2011)

ill need to do a clean install im guessing ?


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## JATownes (Dec 15, 2011)

Yes.  Technically you could make an image of your drive, and then load it onto the array, but I would just recommend a fresh clean install of Win7.


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 15, 2011)

Ok thanks ill see if i can pick up a 2nd ssd on the way to work later today.

PS whos tites are those?


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## JATownes (Dec 15, 2011)

My wife's.  Now all I have to do is find her and marry her.


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 15, 2011)

JATownes said:


> My wife's.  Now all I have to do is find her and marry her.



HAHA i just went and picked some think up


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## JATownes (Dec 15, 2011)

Hell yea, now just RAID those babies & show me some benchies!  Congrats!  That will be a sick little setup!


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## musek (Dec 15, 2011)

lol, good comment about this future wife of yours, *JATownes*.  
I'd like to see a bench or two as well. Go for it, *Live OR Die*!


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 15, 2011)

Ok just reinstalled a fresh copy of windows 7 here a bench i just ran


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## musek (Dec 15, 2011)

That is just sick! 

Now what I would do: 
- Buy myself some nice pimpin' 64GB RAM set
- Create 50GB RAM disk
- Put most needed software and games on it
- Enjoy totally lag-free environment

With ~800MB\s read\write it would take ~1-2 minutes for some RAM disk software to backup\restore this partition during system startup\shutdown.

Yeah, I know, I'm crazy 

But seriously, performance is *tremendous*!


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 15, 2011)

64GB RAM set haha when there like $600 then sure


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## Completely Bonkers (Dec 15, 2011)

Those SSDs are screaming as loud as that disco-booty you got there! Lovely combination


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 16, 2011)

Ok here a bench after installing all my programs and games ?


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## CrackerJack (Dec 16, 2011)

Well I know which SSD drives i'm getting now


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## caleb (Dec 16, 2011)

omfg wtf! :O


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## n0tiert (Dec 16, 2011)

my results on CHV Raid 0 with 2 Corsair Force GT´s 120GB 







i love it 

Speed also depends on controller / drivers

there is also a newer Firmware out for corsair ssd´s
http://forum.corsair.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100162


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 16, 2011)

n0tiert said:


> my results on CHV Raid 0 with 2 Corsair Force GT´s 120GB
> 
> 
> i love it
> ...



Yep already updated both drives before installing windows the newer drive had Ver 1.3.2 but both are on Ver 1.3.3 now


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## JATownes (Dec 16, 2011)

I knew you would be stoked with it, and the Garbage Collection of the Sandforce Controller should keep them nice and healthy.  It is amazing to see read & write speeds flirting with 1000MB/Sec.  Congratulation on a sick ass setup!!!


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## JrRacinFan (Dec 16, 2011)

n0tiert said:


> my results on CHV Raid 0 with 2 Corsair Force GT´s 120GB
> 
> http://img.techpowerup.org/111205/raid0853.jpg





I must resist temptations...... 

How many bones those drives cost yah?

@JATownes

I like the new avatar, not neccessarily more than the old one though.


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## Grnfinger (Dec 22, 2011)

2x60GB Vertex II Raid0


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## brandonwh64 (Dec 22, 2011)

This makes me want to pickup two cheap 60GB's and raid-0 them!


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## Grnfinger (Dec 22, 2011)

its worth it, just let the pc sit idle a few hours a week and garbage collection does its job.

I've ben running these vertex II for almost a year now, that bench was done last night


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