35 replies to this topic

[hog]

My 320GB, while it has always and is still working well, is starting to get really crowded, especially with all those games that I've acquired/installed since I've started going to big LAN parties... Also, SATA with 16MB cache was great at the time, but now I feel I'm up for more performance.

Since I'm not really using it anymore (other than for school, it seems a portable computer is of no use to me) and it has some keyboard issues, I considered taking apart my Aspire One and putting the 16GB SSD in my desktop to run Win7 on it and have the rest on one or more other hard drive(s). But I found out it's a 1.8" drive with a ZIF connector, so I don't think I want to go through the trouble of making that work after all... Unless you think it might be worth it.

Of course, I'm looking at 1TB+ sizes, and will probably get one with 64MB cache. But I don't want to run Windows simply on a partition like I was doing previously. I want a dedicated hard drive for Windows and a couple of programs like Office and stuff, and my files, games, videos and all that stuff on the bigger storage hard drive.

Alright, so the storage drive is not really a problem, I'll find something. (Unless you have something to propose ) For the Windows drive, I have couple of ideas and would like to hear what you think:

1. Keep my money and stay with my 320GB for the OS and some stuff, spending the money only on the storage drive.

2. Get a second 320GB like mine and run a RAID 0 array. They go for 60$. It's not that bad, but considering I could get 1TB for 80$...

3. Get a small SSD. I don't want to spend 200$ on it though. Would getting a small (let's say 64GB or less), low-cost SSD be worth it? Or would a cheap drive not really offer an upgrade?

4. Get two small but fast drives that go for cheap (500GB?) and run them in RAID 0.

Also, I know SATA3 is now out. My old mobo of course does not support it, but should I pay for SATA3 drives if I don't plan changing my motherboard for at least another year? Then again, I have a history of keeping my stuff for a long time (my 320GB turned 3 years old Monday and it's still my main drive), so a drive that I buy today would probably be included in my next build...

[scaramonga]

Number 4.

But get 3 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500Gb drives and shove them in RAID 0.

Great performance in 3 disk RAID setup

[hog]

What if I got 2 more 7200.10 320GB? They are SATA2, 16MB cache just like the 7200.12...

edit: or would 2x 7200.12 320GB work with my 7200.10? Can't seem to find 7200.10 320GB's anymore, but it seems they are just the same...

Edited by hog, 18 March 2010 - 07:27 PM.

[scaramonga]

There is another interesting option, cheap and getting pretty good reviews. You will need to buy a small SSD drive for this to work, but it will work alongside your existing drive and enables operating system drives to be larger than any current solid state drives with SSD speeds.

Silverstone HDDBoost

Maybe just buy a cheap 500Gb or 1Tb drive to run with it, or use your existing 320Gb drive?, although you wont be increasing storage space that much.

Quite a nifty little unit for those on a budget though

[hog]

scaramonga, on Mar 18 2010, 03:44 PM, said:

There is another interesting option, cheap and getting pretty good reviews. You will need to buy a small SSD drive for this to work, but it will work alongside your existing drive and enables operating system drives to be larger than any current solid state drives with SSD speeds.

Silverstone HDDBoost

Maybe just buy a cheap 500Gb or 1Tb drive to run with it, or use your existing 320Gb drive?, although you wont be increasing storage space that much.

Quite a nifty little unit for those on a budget though

That's pretty nice, but wouldn't it be even faster with the OS running on an SSD alone, considering I will be using a seperate hard drive for storage anyways?

Although going for, say, a 32GB SSD hybrid with my 320GB would give me a lot more possibilities than a 32GB SSD alone. And if I wanted to have a larger SSD (even only 64GB) to have less space restrictions, it would still be more expensive than the hybrid solution... I'll look into it, thanks.

Oh, and I'm still open to other suggestions if anyone wants to say something.

[VROSA]

I'm also looking for a way to improve my system storage performance.

That hybrid thing is nice. I got interested in that now.

Keep us informed !

[hog]

Even if it does look interesting, I pretty much ruled out the SSD hybrid solution, as it would be very hard to get it below $150 or even $200, and that's not counting the additional storage drive that I want, so it's just too much.

I've settled on a $110 Caviar Green 1.5TB with 64MB cache for storage.

3x500GB is also too expensive and my current drive would become useless, so I've looked at available 320GB drives but couldn't find any Seagate 7200.10, although a 7200.11 is $58 and a 7200.12 is $59, both with 16MB cache like the one I have. Correct me if I am wrong, but the only difference would be in seek speeds / latency? So if one of these was in a RAID 0 array with my 7200.10, the array would scale down to the 7200.10's speed, right?

So the question now is should I get 1 or 2 new 320GB drive(s)? Is the speed difference between a 2-disc and a 3-disc RAID 0 significant enough to justify spending $60? Capacity is not an issue here.



BTW, all of this will come from ncix.com. Actually cheaper than newegg.ca.

Oh, and that's a lot of questions...

[m.oreilly]

ssd! hehe, my obvious choice. yeah, a small one for os and apps you want to be faster, and hdd for bulk storage. my daughter is running an 60gig agility ssd for her os (win7), and two older raptors for storage and downloads (torrents, etc). if you do go ssd, make sure that they are trim capable (the older intel are not trim capable, but can be had cheap, sold under the 'dane electric' name). new, faster controllers are out, and they will be prices pretty close to the older ones, so keep an eye out for deals across the board re gen2 drives of all makes.

[hog]

m.oreilly, on Mar 19 2010, 11:31 PM, said:

ssd! hehe, my obvious choice. yeah, a small one for os and apps you want to be faster, and hdd for bulk storage. my daughter is running an 60gig agility ssd for her os (win7), and two older raptors for storage and downloads (torrents, etc). if you do go ssd, make sure that they are trim capable (the older intel are not trim capable, but can be had cheap, sold under the 'dane electric' name). new, faster controllers are out, and they will be prices pretty close to the older ones, so keep an eye out for deals across the board re gen2 drives of all makes.

you mean like this one? http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=397...mp;promoid=1115

Also I have no clue about what to look for when it comes to SSDs. How do I know if it's 2nd gen or whatever? I may settle for a 30GB SSD hybrid with my current 320GB after all, if I can find a cheap one. But I don't know how to shop for them...

[m.oreilly]

yes, that's the one. it is trim capable, and has advanced garbage collection/wear leveling, and not at a bad price. her system boost so fast, i have a hard time catching it if i want to check out the bios.

[scaramonga]

I'd honestly avoid the SSD route unless you have plenty cash (like me, and are a fool) Shove your system into 'sleep' if you want quick boot times lol. The SSD route does mean a lot more hassle than it's worth - these guys spend more time thinking of ways to not write to an SSD than actually using the damn thing lol, pointless nonsense if you ask me

About as bad as having a top range GPU and you don't play any games lol - nonsense!

Ah well.....good luck hog on your choice buddy

[Roadrunner]

scaramonga, on Mar 21 2010, 04:45 PM, said:

Shove your system into 'sleep' if you want quick boot times lol.

Exactly-
my HTPC is always in "sleep" when I'm not using it- very easy to set up in 7.

I'm still waiting for SSDs' to be large enough and cheap enough to make it worth the difference in price.
A movie can use 1~ 3 Gig each-
So while I can buy a 1TB for a price for around $80 I think I'll stick with standard drives.

[hog]

Actually I'm kinda happy that someone tries to turn me away from the SSD route It's tempting, but for what I would really use it for, I think you're right saying that "sleep mode" will do the job--I already use it all the time anyways.

So it'll be the Caviar Green 1.5TB and I'm watching 2 eBay auctions for 320GB 7200.10's that end tomorrow. I would really like a Raid 0... But if I cannot get them for cheap, I might only get one new one or even none and keep Windows on my current drive alone.

[scaramonga]

Good choice on the Caviar Green 1.5TB

Now stop fumbling, and get another in RAID 0 boy



You know u wanna hog

[m.oreilly]

oh no, more old fogy banter

hog, i'd go black and blue before green...