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Can you install 2 SSDS in 2012 raid?
- Thread starter adonis3k
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With the 2012, yes. 2014, I don't believe so.
And performance difference, well, it depends what you do. If you were to do a RAID setup and you rely on extremely long sequences of data, yeah, massively. If you on the other hand mean "will there be any difference for day to day things, like how quickly Safari opens and how quick booting is", well... Let's just say you probably won't notice the difference at all, and some tasks could be ever so slightly slower as a drawback of RAID overhead (very small chunks of random IO)
I have a RAID 0 set up on my mid-2012 MBP. To get a noticeable performance increase, there needs to be a sustained task where the processor can process data for read/write to the SSD faster than the non-RAID equivalent. Or you need a file copy operation on the same logical drive. It turns out that my DVR app does pure file copy operations for a couple of tasks and one cannot specify a different output location. So for me, for this particular purpose, the RAID 0 is very useful when I need to edit large video files. On the other hand, I setup a database app where I have monthly processing where I need to execute some tasks that take several minutes to a hour. The RAID did not really help in that case.
SSD's with multiple NAND chips will often interleave data operations between the NAND chips and this will result in better performance. So, for specific models at specific SSD sizes, one may get better performance by buying the larger capacity SSD rather than two smaller capacity SSD's running RAID. One would have to do research on the specific SSD and specific sizes and both random and sequential benchmark data to see what the difference would be.
SSD's with multiple NAND chips will often interleave data operations between the NAND chips and this will result in better performance. So, for specific models at specific SSD sizes, one may get better performance by buying the larger capacity SSD rather than two smaller capacity SSD's running RAID. One would have to do research on the specific SSD and specific sizes and both random and sequential benchmark data to see what the difference would be.
I got 2 Crucial MX300 750GB SSDs in the Black Friday sale to upgrade the internal 1tb OEM drive and my Samsung 830 256GB so I had a matching pair, hence I was asking about the Raid option. I only do abit of video work with After effects but mainly photoshop work.
I agree with treekram in that your workflow should dictate whether it's a smart move. My SMB has 6 of them (2012 Mini Servers) with dual 1TB Samsung 850 Pro SSDs in RAID 0, and they're used as video ingest and CAD rendering workstations along with being the front end for fast DAS - and they're mounted in Sonnet's xMac units. They're part of a workstation setup that includes Macs and PCs. Keep the OS/app drive separate from your project/scratch disks - that's one of my edicts in my office!
My personal 2012 Mini Server has a single 512 GB 850 Pro - IMHO the best SSD to install when it's the OS drive - with the stock 1TB spinner hosting my iTunes library and other files. I dabble with PS and some video apps, and use a fast scratch disk that has a AFT Blackbird VX-2SSD USB 3.1 attached with two 500GB Evo 850 SSDs in RAID 0 (it works great with USB 3 for my needs). My GF wants more speed in a scratch disk option so she uses two USB 3 enclosures (Inatech, I think) and has Evo 850 SSDs in each - she mounts both, then boots up as they're basically a dual-port, dual-drive RAID 0 setup and it frickin' screams.
My personal 2012 Mini Server has a single 512 GB 850 Pro - IMHO the best SSD to install when it's the OS drive - with the stock 1TB spinner hosting my iTunes library and other files. I dabble with PS and some video apps, and use a fast scratch disk that has a AFT Blackbird VX-2SSD USB 3.1 attached with two 500GB Evo 850 SSDs in RAID 0 (it works great with USB 3 for my needs). My GF wants more speed in a scratch disk option so she uses two USB 3 enclosures (Inatech, I think) and has Evo 850 SSDs in each - she mounts both, then boots up as they're basically a dual-port, dual-drive RAID 0 setup and it frickin' screams.
I think I noticed that newegg was selling the MX300 750GB just before Thanksgiving for what the 525GB usually sells for. If that's what you got, that was a good deal.
With my DVR app, when I do an export, which involves very minimal processing because the export I use does not compress and does not change the format - I think all it does it add some sync data - there is almost no difference between the RAID and non-RAID performance. From what it sounds like, I don't think there would be a great performance benefit for you. On the other hand, setting up a RAID is not difficult - in El Capitan it requires using the Terminal app but they've restored the RAID setup capability in Disk Utility in Sierra. So I don't think it's a big deal either way.
With my DVR app, when I do an export, which involves very minimal processing because the export I use does not compress and does not change the format - I think all it does it add some sync data - there is almost no difference between the RAID and non-RAID performance. From what it sounds like, I don't think there would be a great performance benefit for you. On the other hand, setting up a RAID is not difficult - in El Capitan it requires using the Terminal app but they've restored the RAID setup capability in Disk Utility in Sierra. So I don't think it's a big deal either way.
I picked them up for around $125 each
Think I will leave off the raid, doubt I will see much benefits from what I do. Thanks for the info guys.
After Effects might see some good perfromance increases, assuming there's a storage bottleneck in any of the workflow, but generally, no. Not worth it
All you need for an SSD Raid in a 2014 mini is a compatible SSD module (similar to M.2, but Apple proprietary, if I understand correctly), the PCIe cable (for a mini that has been delivered with spinning HD only) and an off-the-shelf SATA SSD.
Well yeah, sure, fair enough. But I think getting Apple proprietary PCIe connectors for your SSD might get either expensive or difficult to find. Or both. But sure, didn't know that.