A Raid Zero question

**Mubbers** · December 27th, 2004

I've just conjured up two Raptor 37 GB drives with the intention of setting a RAID 0 arrary on my PC to run the OS and some selcted gaming software.

Any considerations to take before I do this e.g. stripe size etc?

Help appreciated

**Heeter** · December 27th, 2004

Don't worry about stripe size, Mubbs. I never saw a difference in speed in my setup.

Just make sure that you set your First Boot Device in your BIOS to "SCSI". That should actually be your second as your XP disk is your First during installation. Make sure that you have your SCSI drivers on a floppy and ready to press F6 when it is asked.

Heeter

**Mubbers** · December 28th, 2004

Originally Posted by Heeter

Don't worry about stripe size, Mubbs. I never saw a difference in speed in my setup.

Just make sure that you set your First Boot Device in your BIOS to "SCSI". That should actually be your second as your XP disk is your First during installation. Make sure that you have your SCSI drivers on a floppy and ready to press F6 when it is asked.

Heeter

SCSI? The raptors are SATA!

I hear 128 KB stripes are preferable for speed.

**Heeter** · December 28th, 2004

Yes, Mubbers, I know that the Raptors are SATA. I have the same setup that you are thinking of doing. Since your Mobo does not have inherent SATA support, you will have to setup the Boot Device on your Mobo to "SCSI".

As well, if you are using a "Promise" RAID chipset, I have noticed that the chipset will automatically choose the most efficient striping for your setup. I have tried other striping and did not really notice the difference.

Hope this helps out,

Heeter

**Mubbers** · December 29th, 2004

mmhh my main drive is a SATA with two ATA IDE's as extra storage

But my new problem appears to be that there are only 2 SATA ports on the MOBO

**Heeter** · December 29th, 2004

Well,

Mubbers, you can either keep aside the 160SATA for future use, or, buy a PCI SATA card and use it there. That option will bring you down to PATA data transfer speeds as the PCI bus does not support current SATA data transfer speeds. (150mB/s SATA vs 33/66mB/s PCI Bus speed)

On a different note, you mentioned that your intent for this setup was for gaming. Just to let you know, RAID0'ing the two Raptors will not net you any increased gaming performance, as gaming is CPU/GPU intensive and does not rely on the HD's for faster/smoother gaming speeds. About the only thing this setup will help with gaming is that it will load the actual game faster than before. Once you start playing, you will not notice any significant game speed increases.

Heeter

MC82 · December 29th, 2004

Mubbers, If I am not reading your post wrong, you are saying you do not have any PATA slots and two SATA slots.

I hear there is a adapter kit to change a PATA connection to a SATA connection. This may help you use one of your extra storage drives.

**American Zombie** · December 29th, 2004

I think he is saying he has one SATA and two PATA drives now with 2 SATA drives on the way.
So he will have three SATA drives but only two SATA ports on motherboard.

**Mubbers** · December 30th, 2004

Thanks for your replies - the board has 2 SATA ports and three PATA slots (I think). When the raptors arrive I will then have 3 SATA drives!!

Thanks for the tip Heeter re the PCI SATA card - I shall probably get that too.

December 27th, 2004	Top \| #1
Mubbers Shoot! Joined: December 2001 Posts: 1,081 Reputation: 60 Power: 134	A Raid Zero question I've just conjured up two Raptor 37 GB drives with the intention of setting a RAID 0 arrary on my PC to run the OS and some selcted gaming software. Any considerations to take before I do this e.g. stripe size etc? Help appreciated

December 28th, 2004	Top \| #3
Mubbers Shoot! Joined: December 2001 Posts: 1,081 Reputation: 60 Power: 134	Originally Posted by Heeter Don't worry about stripe size, Mubbs. I never saw a difference in speed in my setup. Just make sure that you set your First Boot Device in your BIOS to "SCSI". That should actually be your second as your XP disk is your First during installation. Make sure that you have your SCSI drivers on a floppy and ready to press F6 when it is asked. Heeter SCSI? The raptors are SATA! I hear 128 KB stripes are preferable for speed.

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December 27th, 2004	Top \| #2
Heeter Overclocked Like A Mother Joined: July 2002 Location: In front of my computer Posts: 2,729 Reputation: 684 Power: 150	Don't worry about stripe size, Mubbs. I never saw a difference in speed in my setup. Just make sure that you set your First Boot Device in your BIOS to "SCSI". That should actually be your second as your XP disk is your First during installation. Make sure that you have your SCSI drivers on a floppy and ready to press F6 when it is asked. Heeter

December 28th, 2004	Top \| #4
Heeter Overclocked Like A Mother Joined: July 2002 Location: In front of my computer Posts: 2,729 Reputation: 684 Power: 150	Yes, Mubbers, I know that the Raptors are SATA. I have the same setup that you are thinking of doing. Since your Mobo does not have inherent SATA support, you will have to setup the Boot Device on your Mobo to "SCSI". As well, if you are using a "Promise" RAID chipset, I have noticed that the chipset will automatically choose the most efficient striping for your setup. I have tried other striping and did not really notice the difference. Hope this helps out, Heeter

December 29th, 2004	Top \| #5
Mubbers Shoot! Joined: December 2001 Posts: 1,081 Reputation: 60 Power: 134	mmhh my main drive is a SATA with two ATA IDE's as extra storage But my new problem appears to be that there are only 2 SATA ports on the MOBO

December 29th, 2004	Top \| #6
Heeter Overclocked Like A Mother Joined: July 2002 Location: In front of my computer Posts: 2,729 Reputation: 684 Power: 150	Well, Mubbers, you can either keep aside the 160SATA for future use, or, buy a PCI SATA card and use it there. That option will bring you down to PATA data transfer speeds as the PCI bus does not support current SATA data transfer speeds. (150mB/s SATA vs 33/66mB/s PCI Bus speed) On a different note, you mentioned that your intent for this setup was for gaming. Just to let you know, RAID0'ing the two Raptors will not net you any increased gaming performance, as gaming is CPU/GPU intensive and does not rely on the HD's for faster/smoother gaming speeds. About the only thing this setup will help with gaming is that it will load the actual game faster than before. Once you start playing, you will not notice any significant game speed increases. Heeter

December 29th, 2004	Top \| #7
MC82 Procrastinator Joined: June 2004 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 183 Reputation: 10 Power: 95	Mubbers, If I am not reading your post wrong, you are saying you do not have any PATA slots and two SATA slots. I hear there is a adapter kit to change a PATA connection to a SATA connection. This may help you use one of your extra storage drives.

December 29th, 2004	Top \| #8
American Zombie OSNN Veteran Addict Joined: June 2004 Location: Seattle Posts: 2,849 Reputation: 2689 Power: 148	I think he is saying he has one SATA and two PATA drives now with 2 SATA drives on the way. So he will have three SATA drives but only two SATA ports on motherboard.

December 30th, 2004	Top \| #9
Mubbers Shoot! Joined: December 2001 Posts: 1,081 Reputation: 60 Power: 134	Thanks for your replies - the board has 2 SATA ports and three PATA slots (I think). When the raptors arrive I will then have 3 SATA drives!! Thanks for the tip Heeter re the PCI SATA card - I shall probably get that too.