So if I made a RAID 0 array using SSDs, would I have a super fast hard drive? Below are some statements that we find interesting to read and ponder on if it is worth the effort to do Raid using SSDs.
Don't do RAID using SSDs, it's useless.I agree on some points below and disagree on most.
1) You won't notice the speed difference, especially if ou are a casual user only.Depends what you mean by casual user. Some games with long loading times can benefit. The main benefit is loading a big RAM disk during boot and saving the same big RAM disk to Raid 0 SSDs during shutdown.
2) There's no TRIM Support on RAID 0 configuration.This is not an updated statement. Raid 0 is now supported with IRST 11.x (at least 11.2 for sure) on series 7 chipsets. See for example this article: <click here for link>. Even for boards without Raid 0 - Trim support, most modern SSDs have good Garbage Collection routines that work with Raid. You can rely on GC to help circumvent the TRIM issue just make sure to leave ample space on the array.
3) RAID 0 is risky, if one drive fails then all the data in the entire array is lost the risks are too great for a gain that you won't even notice.I agree that it is risky but knowing the risks, the response is having back-ups. Gains such as these are fairly noticeable:
RAID 0 on an SSD is like steroids I don't even care for TRIM support, I just really need the very high read speed anyway. Until we see it, I dont think TRIM matters, by the time it is important, SSD will be a staple. Besides I'm sure we can always flash our old SSDs if we still even want to bother with them......or we may look back on TRIM and laugh, lol blast processing.It seems like the major cause of mechanical failure will have been eliminated by using the SSDs, so you're basically trading "Chance of SSD failure" for "chance of cheapo motherboard raid controller failure". I'm not sure if that's worth it.
SSDs with larger capacities are faster than the ones with lower capacities.If you compare SSD's in single configuration only, then it is true that the larger capacity ssd has better performance. In a RAID environment example RAID0 Agility 3 60GB vs Agility 3 120GB vs Agility 3 240GB the RAID 0 Agility 3 60GB easily beats the Agility 3 120GB.
Agility 3 240GB will have better write speed than the RAID0 Agility 60GB but the RAID0 Agility 60GB will have double the read speed of the Agility 3 240GB.
I just realized that I need to upgrade to a z77 or any 7 series mobo to able to make use of this new Intel tech that supports TRIM on RAID 0.Just ignore TRIM if you don't have a matching board that supports it, to avoid performance degradation or dirty a SSD as much as possible try to avoid writing and erasing on the RAID0 array.
Just to clarify what I said when avoiding "writing and erasing" what I meant was writing and erasing data in the array at the same time, especially large files. Example: You downloaded an 8GB ISO image on the array then when it finishes you erase it after realizing you already have an existing copy of it somewhere else.
Do I buy 2x120Gb SSD & put them in RAID 0 or buy a 240Gb directly?In my book, I'll get a 240gb ssd for reliability. Check out this review from xbitlabs: 2x120gb vs 240gb SSD: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/storage/display/kigston-hyperx-ssd-raid0_7.html#sect0
Additional sources: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/storage/display/kigston-hyperx-ssd-raid0.html
Solid State Drive Showdown: SSD Is On PC Gamers’ Minds: http://kotaku.com/5939069/solid-state-drive-showdown-ssd-is-on-pc-gamers-minds
