Samsung 840 Pro 256GB in Mac Mini 2012 Raid 0!

[gizmo84]

Single SSD


didn't see any threads like this. im going to put a 2nd drive in an do a software raid 0.

UPDATE: RAID 0 BENCHMARKS!

[911scanner]

My write speed is just a smidge higher, read a smidge lower.

Frickin' fast SSD though!

[uncleMonty]

That is awesome, I have ordered two of these drives! I'll have to wait till after the holidays to install them both though. My data doubler kit has arrived and I'm itching to get to work.

[August West]

Excellent! UPS just delivered my 256gb 840 Pro tonight and will be bringing my new 2.6 mini and 16gb of RAM tomorrow. Should add up to a reasonably quick machine I hope.

[torana355]

They are a great drive, i have an 830 512GB to go in my 2012 iMac and will upgrade to a 840 Pro once they prove their reliability.

[hfg]

Looks like they are pretty consistent .... this is a Samsung 840 PRO 256GB on a Velocity Solo x2 PCIe card in a Mac Pro:



...

[53x12]

Originally Posted by torana355

They are a great drive, i have an 830 512GB to go in my 2012 iMac and will upgrade to a 840 Pro once they prove their reliability.

If you believe in the reliability of the Samsung 830, then no reason to doubt the 840 Pro. Those initial issues with the drive were all pre-production versions and was fixed with new firmware before they were sold to the general public. I have no doubt the 840 Pro will be fine.

[torana355]

Originally Posted by 53x12

If you believe in the reliability of the Samsung 830, then no reason to doubt the 840 Pro. Those initial issues with the drive were all pre-production versions and was fixed with new firmware before they were sold to the general public. I have no doubt the 840 Pro will be fine.

You are probably right but ill give it 6 months before laying down my hard earned.

[propower]

I have the 840 (non pro) in a fast USB3 enclosure and it is a great drive as well!

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1483374

[analogkid]

If you raid ssd's you will lose trim passthrough. There is a workaround involving the paid software Softraid, but you can format a softraid volume with the free trial.

[analogkid]

This is my Softraid volume with two 830's inside a 2011 Server.

[gizmo84]

i think the most annoying/difficult part of the install on the on the Mini is the metal antenna grade. it took me a few tries to get it to line up perfectly.

[gizmo84]

see original post for raid 0 results

[53x12]

Originally Posted by gizmo84

see original post for raid 0 results

Very impressive numbers. How easy was it to set the dual 840 Pro drives in Raid 0?

[gizmo84]

Extremely easy. click raid> select striped set> then drag the 2 drives over and click "create. after that it works great. installed ML in 8 minutes

[53x12]

I hope to do something similar when the new Haswell mini comes out. So did you do the Raid 0 setup within disc utility or is it within some firmware from Samsung? I assume the firmware?

[gizmo84]

Originally Posted by 53x12

I hope to do something similar when the new Haswell mini comes out. So did you do the Raid 0 setup within disc utility or is it within some firmware from Samsung? I assume the firmware?

its a software raid 0. did it with disk utility.

[53x12]

^ Thanks for answering my questions.

Now that you have the 840 Pro in Raid 0, I assume you will never be able to go back.

[Gav2k]

Can u check the CPU utilisation during a benchmark??

[Acorn]

I have always been told that raid 0 is fast, but extremely unreliable and prone to failure. I really want to build a machine with raid 0, but im really scared about the chance of failure. the few people ive talked to has said the chance is quite high. is that true?

[chrfr]

Originally Posted by Acorn

I have always been told that raid 0 is fast, but extremely unreliable and prone to failure. I really want to build a machine with raid 0, but im really scared about the chance of failure. the few people ive talked to has said the chance is quite high. is that true?

Odds of failure are double that of a single drive. If either disk/SSD fails, all your data is lost.

[analogkid]

Originally Posted by gizmo84

Extremely easy. click raid> select striped set> then drag the 2 drives over and click "create. after that it works great. installed ML in 8 minutes

And lose Trim in the process.. It's a fairly important function, but maybe when your volume degrades you can pull it apart, trim it, put it back together and then restore your data.

[hfg]

Originally Posted by Acorn

I have always been told that raid 0 is fast, but extremely unreliable and prone to failure. I really want to build a machine with raid 0, but im really scared about the chance of failure. the few people ive talked to has said the chance is quite high. is that true?

Well, the first part is right ... they are quite fast!

And, while statistically they are more prone to failure, drive failures don't happen often to any single user. Whether a single drive or a pair of RAID drives, any failure can and must be mitigated by a good backup strategy.

Since you are keeping a backup (just do it) ... I wouldn't worry about a RAID-0 failure.

I have been running RAID-0 arrays for years with both disks and SSDs with excellent results and no failures. I do keep an automatic backup to be prepared.

[gizmo84]

Originally Posted by analogkid

And lose Trim in the process.. It's a fairly important function, but maybe when your volume degrades you can pull it apart, trim it, put it back together and then restore your data.

I used trim enabler. Says its working. I'll use terminal to check if its actually working later.

[August West]

My Mini, RAM and 840 Pro arrived and everything is up and running. Other than struggling forever to get the antenna grid aligned and screwed down and not getting the RAM firmly seated the first time around all went well. Another satisfied customer.