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RAID 5 different HDDs

Chriz6097
By Chriz6097
in Storage Devices
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Can I have different drives in RAID 5 as long as they are the same size?

My System Specs: (Short list) i7 4770k, GTX 780, many SSD's, a 2 TB HDD(deceased :( ), Corsair 650D. Full list: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/kchriz6097/saved/8dh7YJ

Upgrade Plan: Acquire some Black Noctuas then add 16 or 32GB of 2133MHz memory

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As long as the drives are of the same size, you can put them in RAID.

 

How many drives do you plan to put in RAID?

15" MBP TB

AMD 5800X | Gigabyte Aorus Master | EVGA 2060 KO Ultra | Define 7 || Blade Server: Intel 3570k | GD65 | Corsair C70 | 13TB

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Can I have different drives in RAID 5 as long as they are the same size?

 

 

Hey Chriz6097,
 
It is recommended that drives in RAID arrays are of the same storage and cache size, same rpm and same firmware in order to have similar read/write speeds. This is important because of the synchronization process during RAID performance and if this is not set up properly, some of the drives might drop out of the RAID and cause data corruption or loss.
 
Though, it is possible to put different drives in RAID. All the drives' performance will scale down to the slowest drive (e.g. several drives with different speeds and capacity will be limited to the speed and capacity of the smallest drive and the slowest drive).
 
Another tip: I would strongly suggest you use drives that are designed to work in RAID/NAS environments and setups as they have special features in their hardware and firmware that enable them to perform better and safer in RAID arrays.
 
What and how many drives are you planning to use in RAID5 and for what purpose? We might be able to give you a few useful tips.
 
Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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Hey Chriz6097,
 
It is recommended that drives in RAID arrays are of the same storage and cache size, same rpm and same firmware in order to have similar read/write speeds. This is important because of the synchronization process during RAID performance and if this is not set up properly, some of the drives might drop out of the RAID and cause data corruption or loss.
 
Though, it is possible to put different drives in RAID. All the drives' performance will scale down to the slowest drive (e.g. several drives with different speeds and capacity will be limited to the speed and capacity of the smallest drive and the slowest drive).
 
Another tip: I would strongly suggest you use drives that are designed to work in RAID/NAS environments and setups as they have special features in their hardware and firmware that enable them to perform better and safer in RAID arrays.
 
What and how many drives are you planning to use in RAID5 and for what purpose? We might be able to give you a few useful tips.
 
Captain_WD.

 

 

 

As long as the drives are of the same size, you can put them in RAID.

 

How many drives do you plan to put in RAID?

Sorry for the late reply, I plan on using my 2 TB seagate drive I have now with 3 2 TB drives I can get cheapest for a total of 4 drives. 

My System Specs: (Short list) i7 4770k, GTX 780, many SSD's, a 2 TB HDD(deceased :( ), Corsair 650D. Full list: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/kchriz6097/saved/8dh7YJ

Upgrade Plan: Acquire some Black Noctuas then add 16 or 32GB of 2133MHz memory

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Sorry for the late reply, I plan on using my 2 TB seagate drive I have now with 3 2 TB drives I can get cheapest for a total of 4 drives. 

 

Have in mind that if you use different branded drives there might be differences in the firmware and the tuning of the drives that would prevent them to work at optimum speeds or even fail to operate properly and fail. Again, it depends on the type of RAID that you are going for and the other 3 2TB drives that you are going to use.
 
Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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