RAID 0 Question

[LIGISTX]

Ok, I know this is a bit remedial, I know a lot about RAID, but this one has me unsure.

 

I have two very similar drives, WD Caviar SE 16's, one is 500 gig, one is 640. As far as I know, they both have 16 MB of cache. Can they be put in a RAID 0 setup without having weird issues? Should it perform about how a RAID 0 setup should? 

 

Only reason I even care is because I have the 640 in my HTPC, and the 500 just sitting around doing nothing. I figure since I already have it why not throw it in there and maybe get a little more performance outa the rig.

[Oshino Shinobu]

Well, it will essentially make 140GB useless on the 640GB drive (will be 1TB total with the drives together). Apart from that, they should work fine. 

[AlwaysFSX]

You'd have to partition the 640GB drive to 500+140 and then set up RAID on the two 500's.

[SMURG]

You'd have to partition the 640GB drive to 500+140 and then set up RAID on the two 500's.

Does he have to partition them? I thought you could do assymetric RAID without partitioning, but the controller would just ignore the extra space on the larger drive. Surely if you partition the drive, when the controller builds the array it will just reformat it anyway?

[AlwaysFSX]

Does he have to partition them? I thought you could do assymetric RAID without partitioning, but the controller would just ignore the extra space on the larger drive. Surely if you partition the drive, when the controller builds the array it will just reformat it anyway?

It automatically does it anyways AFAIK, this just makes it easier and you make yourself a not terribly slow 140GB partition already done.

[LIGISTX]

Sweet, guess its reformatting time. lol

Unless... Would it be possible to clone my drive to another drive, set up RAID, (I am currently in AHCI mode I am pretty sure), and then copy the clone back and have it work in RAID instead of AHCI?  Honestly, format might be easier than all that huh.... lol

[LIGISTX]

Actually, might not be hard at all, at least the AHCI to RAID part... Drive cloning will be harder, not sure what program to use to go about that

 

Exit all Windows-based programs.
Press [Win] + R or take the RUN option from the start menu.
Now type regedit there and press Enter Key to open up the Registry Editor Window.
If you receive the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue.
Locate and then click the following registry subkeys:
Code:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\msahci
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStorV
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor

In the right pane, right-click Start in the Name column, and then click Modify.
In the Value data box, type 0 [3 is default], and then click OK.
On the File menu, click Exit to close Registry Editor.
Restart your computer
Go to UEFI/BIOS and enable RAID, Save & Reboot
Another restart will be required to finish the driver installation.

[IdeaStormer]

I once RAID 0-ed a 1.5 TB drive and a 320 Gig drive, it was in a pinch and didn't want or have the time to get a more comparable drive size-wise. Some people get all in a fuss about the lost space but if its what you got then its what you use.

[Titania_WD]

Hi there {EAC} Shoot em UP ,

 

You could use Acronis True Image to clone your drive. You can download it for free from the WD website. Here is a link for that -- http://support.wdc.com/product/downloaddetail.asp?swid=119&wdc_lang=en. As far as the RAID is concerned, the community already gave some very helpful opinions. I'd suggest you use Acronis even after you complete your RAID configuration, as RAID 0 won't give you any redundancy. It's always nice to keep a backup of your files, just in case.

Hope this helps. If you have questions, I'll be around.

Titania_WD 

[Columbo]

I was always under the impression to run a RAID 0 you should have identical drives and models #'s. Not all hard drives perform the same way. It's like paired ram or matching ram sticks. My Samsung F3's are the 1TB's and identical drives in my RAID 0. I was looking at turning my 120GB drive into a RAID 0 using the same brand and model SSD. Anybody want to clarify RAID 0 setups. I realize this forum has people who play by their own rules and make it up as they go. I have seen other threads with some of the most exotic solutions. A real world example, I know a guy who built a computer inside a potted plant. 

[IdeaStormer]

I was always under the impression to run a RAID 0 you should have identical drives and models #'s. Not all hard drives perform the same way. It's like paired ram or matching ram sticks. My Samsung F3's are the 1TB's and identical drives in my RAID 0. I was looking at turning my 120GB drive into a RAID 0 using the same brand and model SSD. Anybody want to clarify RAID 0 setups. I realize this forum has people who play by their own rules and make it up as they go. I have seen other threads with some of the most exotic solutions. A real world example, I know a guy who built a computer inside a potted plant. 

 

Ideally you should use two or more identical drives, again ideally and as you know life is not always ideal or does it go ideally. Luckily you can use two or more non-ideal drives to accomplish RAID 0 or any RAID for that matter, and yes the whole RAID array will function at the speed of the slowest and all that jazz but it will still work. Hard Drives are a bit more flexible,  not as fast as RAM so you can fudge with it a bit more and not get into speed issues as you would with RAM, and even with RAM it depends on the systems constraints and you can use different brand/speed RAM sticks and it will still work or at least I have, again in a pinch or where buying the exact pair of RAM sticks was not going to happen due to money or availability.

 

Some people will have a heart attack if something is not identical but your computer isn't as picky or at least some of them, yes some systems are that picky but its up to you to test it out.

[Columbo]

Ideally you should use two or more identical drives, again ideally and as you know life is not always ideal or does it go ideally. Luckily you can use two or more non-ideal drives to accomplish RAID 0 or any RAID for that matter, and yes the whole RAID array will function at the speed of the slowest and all that jazz but it will still work. Hard Drives are a bit more flexible,  not as fast as RAM so you can fudge with it a bit more and not get into speed issues as you would with RAM, and even with RAM it depends on the systems constraints and you can use different brand/speed RAM sticks and it will still work or at least I have, again in a pinch or where buying the exact pair of RAM sticks was not going to happen due to money or availability.

 

Some people will have a heart attack if something is not identical but your computer isn't as picky or at least some of them, yes some systems are that picky but its up to you to test it out.

I read one of your older RAID posts earlier today from 2010/11. I just ordered another identical Toshiba SSD to run a RAID 0. My question, will I have problems running two separate RAID 0's? MY OS will be on my SSD's like it currently is. On a side note, I also mixed memory when in a pinch. There were some saying you could not RAID 0 SSD's and another who said that the SATA III 6.0 controller didn't have the bandwidth. I found an ASUS review where 3 drives maxed out the connection with a little room to spare for a 4th in a RAID 0 configuration. 1.3gb write and 1.6gb read. I did benchmarks on my SSD HD Tune 2.55. My Samsung F3's still run at an average of 223mb's in RAID 0. 

 

I am not certain if I have multiple RAID controllers. I have a Z77 chipset. Any advice on how to setup dual RAID O's. My F3 magnetic drives are separate from the OS. My second RAID will be the Toshiba SSD's 120GB. Those will have the OS and BF4 and a few other games. Everything else pics and music go on the 2TB RAID O.