Raid, what config and what controller?

[Zelgiusthebrave]

New machine I'm planning is in need of storage. I plan on running the OS on an 850 Samsung drive. The machine is going to be used for video/audio editing and gaming, so I'd like to know what Raid array I should use and some tricks/tips for a "New to Raid" guy. By new to Raid I mean I've just never assembled/setup before.

 

Here is the plan for the PC I'm building http://pcpartpicker.com/user/zelgiusthebrave/saved/KZ2Zxr

 

I only have 1 SSD and 2 WD Reds listed, but if needed (such as if I go for Raid 6 or 10 or just want better storage etc etc) I can add more.

 

After watching the TechQuicky Raid 0,1,5,6,10 videos, I need suggestions on what to use, and I also need suggestions on Raid Controllers, as I've never used one and would like to know whats best, what will work, and how to use them. 

 

If just given links to other threads with this information is all I get in replies that is fine.

 

Thanks in advance.

[ELSknutson]

I personally prefure raid 5 if you can and raid 1 if you can't unless you dont have an ssd then go raid 0

[RichardsD]

Honestly if you're just going to raid 2 drives just use your motherboards raid controller.  I'd suggest 1 because 6 and 10 require more than 2 drives each.

[Zelgiusthebrave]

As I said, I can add more drives if it'd be better to do so and run a different config.

2 drives is just the minimum I planned on buying when I get this, and since it'll be a few months before I do build this I plan to make changes as necessary. 

[ChineseChef]

The real question is what are your goals for the storage system?  Do you want high I/O rates?  Do you want fault tolerance?  Do you want high I/O plus fault tolerance? 

 

I would not recommend raid 5 for anything less than 5 drivers, and raid 6 with anything less than 8.  Raid 5/6 have large performance hits on the writing to disk, so only use if you need fault tolerance with large data stores.

 

Raid 0 is great for speed increases, but it drastically increases your data loss risk if you don't do regular backups.

Raid 1 is really just to maintain uptime, often used as a fake replacement for backups. 

 

Raid 10 is kind of the best of both worlds but needs the most drives (4 minimum).

 

Just remember, RAID is not a replacement for backups, raid is not a backup.

[Zelgiusthebrave]

Yes I know. I have a backup system a friend is building for me and him to use.

 

Mine I'm not sure, really just what would work the best for video/audio storage to be cleaned out every other month or so. I know I don't want Raid 0 and Raid 1 and 10 is a maybe. Fault tolerance is something that I think almost everyone can agree is a nice thing to have, but usually the first thing taken out if someone needs performance lol.

 

Right now I'm leaning on Raid 10 I think. That said, for mildly high filesize videos what size do you think the individual drives should be? The 2 I have so far are just 3TB WD Reds, so would it be more logical to go with 4 of those or 4 of the 2TB drives?

[Captain_WD]

New machine I'm planning is in need of storage. I plan on running the OS on an 850 Samsung drive. The machine is going to be used for video/audio editing and gaming, so I'd like to know what Raid array I should use and some tricks/tips for a "New to Raid" guy. By new to Raid I mean I've just never assembled/setup before.

 

Here is the plan for the PC I'm building http://pcpartpicker.com/user/zelgiusthebrave/saved/KZ2Zxr

 

I only have 1 SSD and 2 WD Reds listed, but if needed (such as if I go for Raid 6 or 10 or just want better storage etc etc) I can add more.

 

After watching the TechQuicky Raid 0,1,5,6,10 videos, I need suggestions on what to use, and I also need suggestions on Raid Controllers, as I've never used one and would like to know whats best, what will work, and how to use them. 

 

If just given links to other threads with this information is all I get in replies that is fine.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Hey Zelgiusthebrave,

 

RAID generally offers one of the three things - speed boost, redundancy or a mixture of both. With the two drives that you currently have you can either get the speed boost (RAID0) but risk losing everything if either of the drives fail, or get redundancy (RAID1) and have half the space as usable, but have everything mirrored to the second drive in case either of the drives fail. 

 

For the other levels you would need more drives. It would be easier if you give us your aim (speed boost, level of redundancy, usable space, fault-tolerance, etc.) so we can recommend something. 

 

The motherboard's RAID controller would be more than enough for now. A dedicated RAID card would be useful if you have more drives and aim for more massive storage.

 

For RAID, it is recommended that you use similar drives with same rpm, cache size, storage space and brand/model. Otherwise you would be limited to the size of the smallest drive and the speed of the slowest one.

 

Captain_WD.

[Zelgiusthebrave]

 

Hey Zelgiusthebrave,

 

RAID generally offers one of the three things - speed boost, redundancy or a mixture of both. With the two drives that you currently have you can either get the speed boost (RAID0) but risk losing everything if either of the drives fail, or get redundancy (RAID1) and have half the space as usable, but have everything mirrored to the second drive in case either of the drives fail. 

 

For the other levels you would need more drives. It would be easier if you give us your aim (speed boost, level of redundancy, usable space, fault-tolerance, etc.) so we can recommend something. 

 

The motherboard's RAID controller would be more than enough for now. A dedicated RAID card would be useful if you have more drives and aim for more massive storage.

 

For RAID, it is recommended that you use similar drives with same rpm, cache size, storage space and brand/model. Otherwise you would be limited to the size of the smallest drive and the speed of the slowest one.

 

Captain_WD.

 

 

Thing is, I can't really give an aim because I don't know which config would be best. My OP said the new machine I'm planning will be used for gaming but also video/audio editing. Because of where I work, a lot of the audio work will only stay on there for a few months before being removed since it's also stored on the servers at work. Video editing is strictly for me and I plan on removing them over time after they get so many months old as well.

 

Also, again, if I need to make changes to the build plan I can easily. First thing I knew when going into it was I was most likely going to have to make changes over time till I get it the way I want/need it to be, so it's not a problem.

 

All this said, I don't really know what would be best for semi-long-term storage. I'm going to assume at least Raid 1 starting out then maybe upgrade to Raid 10 when things get a bit more heavy, but for my particular setup, I'm not entirely sure. Suggestions are what I'm looking for.

[ChineseChef]

Yes I know. I have a backup system a friend is building for me and him to use.

 

Mine I'm not sure, really just what would work the best for video/audio storage to be cleaned out every other month or so. I know I don't want Raid 0 and Raid 1 and 10 is a maybe. Fault tolerance is something that I think almost everyone can agree is a nice thing to have, but usually the first thing taken out if someone needs performance lol.

 

Right now I'm leaning on Raid 10 I think. That said, for mildly high filesize videos what size do you think the individual drives should be? The 2 I have so far are just 3TB WD Reds, so would it be more logical to go with 4 of those or 4 of the 2TB drives?

 

I would suggest doing a RAID 10 with 4x 3tb drives,  it will give you plenty of usable space, and should perform nicely.  It won't be screaming like an SSD, but you should be more than happy with its performance for your stated needs.  Honestly I feel this offers the best solution to what you are looking for.

[Zelgiusthebrave]

I would suggest doing a RAID 10 with 4x 3tb drives,  it will give you plenty of usable space, and should perform nicely.  It won't be screaming like an SSD, but you should be more than happy with its performance for your stated needs.  Honestly I feel this offers the best solution to what you are looking for.

 

Would it be cheaper to go with 4 2TB drives? Less storage but if it means money saved I'm willing to do so.

If not then 4 3TB WD Reds in Raid 10 it is.

[ChineseChef]

 

Would it be cheaper to go with 4 2TB drives? Less storage but if it means money saved I'm willing to do so.

If not then 4 3TB WD Reds in Raid 10 it is.

 

 

Honestly, I would say check out PCPartPicker.com, find the best $/gb ratio drives, and go with those.  I run 32 of the cheapest 3tb drives I have found, and haven't had any real problems.  Had a couple die, but that is why you have the raid.  Just warranty the drive, and add it back in and rebuild once the replacement arrives.  I have mostly seagates, but I understand people have their preferred brand.  You don't really need NAS quality drives if you are just running a small array.  I think 3tb is the best price per size at the moment, but it can change based on sales and such.

[Zelgiusthebrave]

I did post the link to my PcPartPicker build plan in my OP. But I suppose you're suggesting to use it to find the best price.

I did look and found that the 2TB Reds were $30 U.S. cheaper than the 3TB. So that said I'll have to see how much money I have at the time of purchase since 4 drives will add about $100 to the cost.

With THAT said, when purchasing would it be okay to actually buy things ahead of time and keep them stored safely till the machine has all its parts and I build it? There's only a few things that I'm skeptical about buying early in case I need to send them back, possibly the Mobo, GPU, PSU, CPU, but the hard drives I feel could be one that I can buy and safely store.