M500 240GB in RAID0

[Wingfan]

was wondering if this score is 'ok' for 2 of these in RAID0

 

Anything i could do to improve it?

 

Thanks for any replies

_edit_

 

[Enderman]

You really shouldn't use raid. It causes way too many issues that are not worth the speed boost. If you need that speed just get a PCIe SSD, or wait for sata express.

But honestly, a single SSD is already plenty fast.

[Wingfan]

You really shouldn't use raid. It causes way too many issues that are not worth the speed boost. If you need that speed just get a PCIe SSD, or wait for sata express.

But honestly, a single SSD is already plenty fast.

Been using RAID0 for many years, have never had any problems

[MoonSpot]

Anything i could do to improve it?

 

 

 

Add more drives to the array

[Wingfan]

You really shouldn't use raid. It causes way too many issues that are not worth the speed boost. If you need that speed just get a PCIe SSD, or wait for sata express.

But honestly, a single SSD is already plenty fast.

Sorry, but i dont know how this answers my question.

[SkilledRebuilds]

was wondering if this score is 'ok' for 2 of these in RAID0

 

Anything i could do to improve it?

 

Thanks for any replies

_edit_

 

Doubt it can go much better, it is what it is.

 

Maybe performance optimization (Forced TRIM) may make it a tad faster, but overall, that speed is what its gunna be at.

 

If its close to double, can't expect much more than that.

[Wingfan]

@SkilledRebuilds thanks for the reply, do those scores look at least 'ok' for having 2 SSD's ?

[SkilledRebuilds]

@SkilledRebuilds thanks for the reply, do those scores look at least 'ok' for having 2 SSD's ?

Single 240GB Drives

Sustained Sequential Read up to (128k transfer)

500MB/s    

Sustained Sequential Write up to (128k transfer)

250MB/s

 

Seems your spot on.

M500 according to Crucial's site does the above transfer rates.

500/250 x2 and your very close to double.

[wpirobotbuilder]

was wondering if this score is 'ok' for 2 of these in RAID0

 

Anything i could do to improve it?

 

Thanks for any replies

 

That's a very good storage setup, for performance. You have put yourself at slightly higher risk of data loss (if any of your drives fails you lose all your data), but because your drives are SSDs it is not as big a concern as RAID 0 hard drives.

 

I wouldn't add any more drives to the setup, you won't get much more performance out of it.

[Wingfan]

Ive been doing RAID0 setups for many years, with never having problems. I realize the "risk" of a drive failing and everything being lost. But, how often do drives actually fail? Im just a gamer/pc hobbiest/and just like to play around with PC's. If a drive fails not much would be lost seeing as all my important files are on a seperate HDD. I will probably be getting an external WD Drive for my important files.

[wpirobotbuilder]

Ive been doing RAID0 setups for many years, with never having problems. I realize the "risk" of a drive failing and everything being lost. But, how often do drives actually fail? Im just a gamer/pc hobbiest/and just like to play around with PC's. If a drive fails not much would be lost seeing as all my important files are on a seperate HDD. I will probably be getting an external WD Drive for my important files.

Drives fail relatively often, and without much warning. SSDs fail far less often than HDDs.

[Wingfan]

Guess im one of the lucky ones, been playing around with PC's since the early 90's.....no fails

Well, i did just recieve a Mushkin SSD that was DOA, but that dont count lol

[dalekphalm]

Ive been doing RAID0 setups for many years, with never having problems. I realize the "risk" of a drive failing and everything being lost. But, how often do drives actually fail? Im just a gamer/pc hobbiest/and just like to play around with PC's. If a drive fails not much would be lost seeing as all my important files are on a seperate HDD. I will probably be getting an external WD Drive for my important files.

Your current RAID setup is great, and there's really nothing you'll be able to do to increase the speed. Do you actually feel a need for increased speed? Any tweaks you make will be minor at best, and not noticeable outside of benchmarking. As long as you're OK with the risks of RAID 0, then keep at it.

 

The only thing I can recommend is BACK UP YOUR IMPORTANT DATA! I could be mistaken of course, but it sounds like all of your important data is on a single HDD. That's honestly worse then storing it on the RAID in some respects, because HDD's are much more liable to die on you.

 

You really need to get that external HDD ASAP, and have it mirror, sync, or backup your important data, on a regular basis. You should have all important data on a minimum of 2 different drives. More if they are priceless (family/baby/wedding pictures, crucial financial information, etc).

[Captain_Slow]

I've had 2x 480gb sandisk extreme II for a couple months now, the performance degrades after a while but in general it's been ok.

 

you could back up your data but if you are like me and you only use it for gaming then it doesn't really matter.

[dalekphalm]

I've had 2x 480gb sandisk extreme II for a couple months now, the performance degrades after a while but in general it's been ok.

 

you could back up your data but if you are like me and you only use it for gaming then it doesn't really matter.

Your performance should degrade after a couple months. Your performance shouldn't really degrade much at all over the life of the SSD (At least until it gets near the End of Life). If you're having performance degradation issues, then something else is amiss. Unless there's something about SSD's and/or RAID that I have no idea about.

[Captain_Slow]

Your performance should degrade after a couple months. Your performance shouldn't really degrade much at all over the life of the SSD (At least until it gets near the End of Life). If you're having performance degradation issues, then something else is amiss. Unless there's something about SSD's and/or RAID that I have no idea about.

 

SSD Performance naturally degrades after a while, not raid specific.

[dalekphalm]

SSD Performance naturally degrades after a while, not raid specific.

After a while, sure. But that while should be measured in years, not months. Granted it all has to do with wear levelling and how many Writes you're doing to the drive. Performance after a couple months should be more or less the same as when it was new.

 

Unless I misunderstood you, and you were simply mentioning that performance will eventually degrade in time, rather then specifically saying that you were already having performance degradation?

[Captain_Slow]

well mine is probably from have data on it. not sure but just doesnt bench as high.

[dalekphalm]

well mine is probably from have data on it. not sure but just doesnt bench as high.

Hmm, well a small drop is normal from right out of the box, but it should have levelled off pretty much right away. With that in mind, a RAID 0 setup, and your particular usage, may have increased the writes a bit more than a single drive might encounter.

 

What kind of difference do  you see compared to when they were new?

[Wingfan]

Your current RAID setup is great, and there's really nothing you'll be able to do to increase the speed. Do you actually feel a need for increased speed? Any tweaks you make will be minor at best, and not noticeable outside of benchmarking. As long as you're OK with the risks of RAID 0, then keep at it.

 

The only thing I can recommend is BACK UP YOUR IMPORTANT DATA! I could be mistaken of course, but it sounds like all of your important data is on a single HDD. That's honestly worse then storing it on the RAID in some respects, because HDD's are much more liable to die on you.

 

You really need to get that external HDD ASAP, and have it mirror, sync, or backup your important data, on a regular basis. You should have all important data on a minimum of 2 different drives. More if they are priceless (family/baby/wedding pictures, crucial financial information, etc).

I will be getting that external drive, so between that and my other HDD i would think it would be 'ok'. Its mostly pics and music, i never EVER have financial info stored on any of my drives (paranoid i guess) On a regular basis, do you mean hourly, daily, weekly? What would be good for me, as far as backing up?

And thanks for the help

[Wingfan]

You really shouldn't use raid. It causes way too many issues that are not worth the speed boost. If you need that speed just get a PCIe SSD, or wait for sata express.

But honestly, a single SSD is already plenty fast.

Ive had single SSD's for a few years now, i know they are fast, like REALLY fast compared to HDD's. I got the second at an amazing price so i bought it.

[Wingfan]

Also, slightly off topic. My board supports M.2, any thoughts on these?

[dalekphalm]

I will be getting that external drive, so between that and my other HDD i would think it would be 'ok'. Its mostly pics and music, i never EVER have financial info stored on any of my drives (paranoid i guess) On a regular basis, do you mean hourly, daily, weekly? What would be good for me, as far as backing up?

And thanks for the help

Not keeping financial data on your computer is actually a smart move. If your computer ever gets compromised from a malware infection, then you won't have to worry about Identity theft or bank breaches as much. Though if you do online banking, then of course, still a small risk (Though totally unrelated to the topic).

 

As for backups, I mean that really comes down to how often your important data changes. If it's relatively static, lets say you only take pictures on vacation or special events, and you rarely buy (Because you paid for those mp3's of course lol) music, then Monthly would be adequate.

 

However, I'd say doing weekly backups is safer. I personally do daily backups to my home server, but weekly is probably fine for your needs.

[Wingfan]

Thanks @dalekphalm I was looking at the WD externals, i like the brand and prices seem descent.

[Wingfan]

Also, slightly off topic. My board supports M.2, any thoughts on these?

any thoughts on this?