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2TB HDD Raid 0 (2 x 1TB) possible on a Macbook Pro?
- Thread starter Legind
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Maximum of two HDDs in a MBP, meaning both your drives would have to be in the RAID0. Why would you want to do that?
You can also do a RAID 1 with two drives
EDIT: And raid 0 is useful to have higher speeds without having either the high price of a high-capacity SSD, or the small capacity of cheap SSDs.
You can also do a RAID 1 with two drives
Well yeah, but 0 and 1 are totally different.
I know. But the guy wants to do a RAID with two drives, you answer that a RAID 0 isn't interesting...
There is one option left, and it is the RAID 1.
I know. But the guy wants to do a RAID with two drives, you answer that a RAID 0 isn't interesting...
He specifically says RAID 0, but with two drives RAID 0 is really pointless as the risk of data loss is quite large. Never said it wasn't interesting. You need at least 3 HDDs for RAID0 to be worth it.
RAID0 is a fine idea with 2 drives, 3 drives doesn't make RAID0 any more reliable - only faster. As long as you backup your data on an external drive there's no real problem. 2 drives in RAID0 is not much different from having a single drive in your machine. If your single drive fails, you still need an external backup from which to restore, and you still suffer the downtime whilst the drive is replaced under warranty and your data is restored to it. If a drive fails in your RAID0 array the downtime is exactly the same, as is the process of recovery.
RAID1 in a laptop isn't as useful as you might think. Sure you have a mirror of your data .. but it's in the same physical location - thats not a great backup. It's only really useful if you can't afford your laptop to go down, EVER. In which case RAID1 provides that redundancy - but you only have 1TB of usable space and you still need an external backup.
Your real consideration here is that you're only able to do a software RAID. You increase your disk performance (in RAID0) at the expense of CPU cycles ..
You'll be constantly sacrificing some processor speed and associated battery life. Personally, i'd say you're much better off buying an SSD for your boot volume and applications, and using the other slot for a 1TB HDD. You'd get your speed boost without sacrificing processor cycles and also improve battery life at the same time. The 1TB HDD can be used to store all your stuff, and since it's independent from the boot drive it'll run a bit faster as the OS won't be loading apps from it, prefs from it, or paging to it.
P.S: you can also buy an external usb enclosure for your old optical drive and run it MBA stylee. also, watch out for the 9.5mm limit - make sure to buy both a drive AND an optical drive adapter within those constraints. I'm actually about to sell an adapter built for the job as well as enclosure for the SuperDrive on eBay, however i'm in the UK so it's probably not that useful to you.
YES IT IS POSSIBLE, AND YOU'LL NOT HAVE ANY PROBLEMS UNLESS YOU USE OPTICAL DRIVE A LOT
Had to clarify on that point.
So, if you want to have two internal HDDs to be installed on your computer, one should be in the original space (where the HDD is originally installed), and one should be in Optical Drive (as many of other users said).
http://www.mcetech.com/optibay/
http://osxdaily.com/2010/05/19/install-an-ssd-into-the-optical-drive-slot-on-a-macbook-pro/
You might have to order this from Amazon or somewhere. It's very easy to install.
Had to clarify on that point.
So, if you want to have two internal HDDs to be installed on your computer, one should be in the original space (where the HDD is originally installed), and one should be in Optical Drive (as many of other users said).
http://www.mcetech.com/optibay/
http://osxdaily.com/2010/05/19/install-an-ssd-into-the-optical-drive-slot-on-a-macbook-pro/
You might have to order this from Amazon or somewhere. It's very easy to install.
I believe you're wrong, and not sure where you got that info, my 15" mbp has a 1tb 12.5mm hard drive in it...
Yeah I think all the Uni MBP support the 12.5mm drives. However, for my money I'd take the new Seagate ST9750420AS 7200rpm 750GB 9.5mm drive. Supposed to be available within 2 weeks.
Also, since there's no raid controller in the MBP wouldn't any raid be software-based and therefore slower?
Cheers,
+1
Together with a SSD in the optical bay for OS and Apps, though. It's faster than the RAID0 would be.
Software RAID is still faster then no RAID. I'm using software RAID on the iMac and it's a lot faster then with a single drive.
Every Windows motherboard you see with a "raid" controller is software raid, it's just software loaded by the BIOS of the card, it' not a real hardware raid. A hardware RAID controller is very expensive, if motherboards came with a real hardware raid controller they would be 1k plus. Also I would rather have the Momentus XT over just another 7200 RPM drive
I think the author means that only the 17" supports 12.5 mm drives in the optical bay, which is true. The 15" or 13" will only support 9.5 mm
That was true in the non-uniboby models but many people on this forum have installed the thicker drives on the uMBPs
Cheers,