SSD in RAID 0

[duomaxwl]

Hey Goku,
I keep looking around for an answer on google, but I can't find something very conclusive, so I figure'd I'd ask you. I just got the two Crucial M4 64GB ssds. I RAID0'd them together, and everything is running great. The issue is, I keep reading that RAID0 doesn't support TRIM, which you need to keep up the performance on the SSD, but than I hear that the garbage collection system is fine enough for RAID0. Should I be worried about it running in RAID, and maybe just do 64gb for the os and few programs and the other 64 for Planetside/Battlefield, or do you think they'll be fine over time?
Sorry about the noobish question, SSD's are very new to me.
Thanks!

[Ailos]

I know this question directed right at me, but I'm kind of questioning the purpose behind the RAID setup? Performance of an SSD for practical home use tends to suffer when you throttle it through any kind of RAID controller, and having each drive on its own is also much less of a headache to set up.

I imagine you wanted to have an uber-fast 128 GB partition, but SSDs in that size are no longer exotics either. Why not just buy one of those?

In other words, I would recommend taking them out of the RAID array and just having one as the OS and the other to run programs off of. You can actually specify each one to have a swap space relevant to its programs, so if you have windows running off of one, and BF3 off the other, they have their own individual memory suppositories. You will actually maintain the top-level performance of an SSD for each program individually that way, while still having the space, and not worrying about any issues with longevity.

Here are a couple articles you might find helpful:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-raid-performance,2798-11.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-raid-iops,2848-2.html

[Goku]

Your only real option is to do a fresh install quite often. Maybe every month or so.

[duomaxwl]

Thanks for the information guys.
I'm going to end up splitting them up.
Seems like less troubles. Thanks!

[Traak]

Instead of working on opinions, how about downloading some tests, and setting your rig up with RAID 0, then not in RAID 0, and see which is faster? See how long your computer takes to boot. See how long it takes to load programs. See how well it runs Planetside.

Theories and advice can't hold a candle to real world results.

[duomaxwl]

Instead of working on opinions, how about downloading some tests, and setting your rig up with RAID 0, then not in RAID 0, and see which is faster? See how long your computer takes to boot. See how long it takes to load programs. See how well it runs Planetside.

Theories and advice can't hold a candle to real world results.

I actually did test them before deciding. On the benchmarks (CrystalDiskMark/AS SSD/HD Tune Pro,) with them in RAID 0 I get anywhere from 780-850MBps on the sequential, and the access time is around .087ms. With them apart, I get around 380MBps on the squencial, with .1 ms access time. It boots faster with them apart, and I can't notice a difference in either PS or BF3. I could probably get them to go faster if I changed the SSD's from IDE to ACHI, but my mobo is stupid (SATA 1-4 can be either IDE, RAID or ACHI, 5-6 are only IDE.) I can change them around, but than I'd lose my RAID0 HDD's for FRAPs use. But, either way, with them apart they're still pretty fast and I can't tell a difference. If there was a horrible difference I would've kept them in RAID 0 and dealt with the 25 minute restore/reinstalling.

[Quovatis]

I used to think RAID0 was the shiznet, but now I've learned it's just too much of a pain. SSDs are so fast that you really don't need RAID0. I recently went from having a RAID0 HHD to a single SSD. The big problem was my motherboard not being able to see both the RAID0 array and the single SSD at the same time. You also have a hard time recovering backups between RAID and non-RAID disks. Trust me, RAID just isn't worth it these days.

[duomaxwl]

I used to think RAID0 was the shiznet, but now I've learned it's just too much of a pain. SSDs are so fast that you really don't need RAID0. I recently went from having a RAID0 HHD to a single SSD. The big problem was my motherboard not being able to see both the RAID0 array and the single SSD at the same time. You also have a hard time recovering backups between RAID and non-RAID disks. Trust me, RAID just isn't worth it these days.

I've already put the SSDs seperate. I can't record 1080p without 2 HDDs in RAID0, the FPS drops too much. Since I need those in Raid0, I can't run the two SSDs in ACHI. The performance is still great in IDE for them though.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

[Ailos]

Your mobo can also be a limiting factor. SSDs are so fast they can actually saturate a mobo's SATA interface. Their performance in RAID (any RAID) can in some cases be worse than when split up individually (though obviously not the case for you - at least not until you add more SSDs). And in any case, loading anything isn't just a read-from-disk process, it's a pretty active process. Based on my own experience and that of others, I think you made the right choice to split them up.

[duomaxwl]

I think you made the right choice to split them up.

As do I. Everything runs great. Thanks gents!