Raid Vs 2 HDs

[irishgrizzly]

What would be better? Getting a Mac Pro and putting in a raptor, then using this as the boot drive with all the apps on it, while using the stock drive to keep docs.

or

Buying a similar sized drive as the stock and making them Raid0? (do they need to be the same size?)

Ps I do graphic design and light gaming

 

[suneohair]

I don't think you would really benefit from either option. With the RAID 0, you have no redundancy. You would have to have a backup.

The raptor isn't going to give you a huge boost in speed for OS and apps. Using it as a scratch drive would be a better choice if you use Photoshop, etc.

 

[irishgrizzly]

I don't think you would really benefit from either option. With the RAID 0, you have no redundancy. You would have to have a backup.

The raptor isn't going to give you a huge boost in speed for OS and apps. Using it as a scratch drive would be a better choice if you use Photoshop, etc.

Really? Oh. I read somewhere (I think it was on this forum) that using Raid0 gives as much a boost as going from 2.66GHz to 3GHz on some tasks.

I've already got a Seagate 320 external drive, so maybe I'd be better off saving my cash for more RAM?

 

[CanadaRAM]

Minimum of 4 Mb RAM would be the first goal

Then -- having System/Apps, Scratch and Data all on different physical drives, would be the most efficient in most cases.

Besides being risky (if one drive fails, you lose all data on both drives) RAID 0 really doesn't provide a significant benefit for mixed use, single user operation. There are very specialized areas where a RAID system is beneficial; high usage servers, professional level video production. But even there, it comes after RAM and after dividing tasks between drives.

 

[és:]

The raptor isn't going to give you a huge boost in speed for OS and apps. Using it as a scratch drive would be a better choice if you use Photoshop, etc.

I have to disagree with this. I felt a massive boost from using a raptor for OS an Apps and the only time you will feel any benefit is when you are using photoshop and it has to use that drive, and if you're doing that on a regular basis your money is better spent on more RAM.

For me, it would be a waste of a fast drive. I would use it for OS and Apps - gives a decent boost, especially in and application load and file opening times.

If you're a serious user then I would consider raptor for os and applications, then 2 drives in RAID 1 (mirrored) say 2x500 or 750gb one mirroring the other - then you won't lose any dat should one go down. Maybe even a 4th drive as a scratch

 

[suneohair]

I have to disagree with this. I felt a massive boost from using a raptor for OS an Apps and the only time you will feel any benefit is when you are using photoshop and it has to use that drive, and if you're doing that on a regular basis your money is better spent on more RAM.

For me, it would be a waste of a fast drive. I would use it for OS and Apps - gives a decent boost, especially in and application load and file opening times.

Cost to performance and size are worth it IMO. Booting faster and my apps opening a smidge quicker are not really worth the extra amount to me. Since I usually keep most apps open and I don't reboot all that often.

If you have photoshop scratch on that disk it will improve speed. That is better use of the raptor as opposed to a OS and app drive. I would consider using such a fast drive for OS and apps to be a waste. Your theory that Photoshop only benefits when it needs to access that drive applies for all the other Apps as well, so I am not seeing your point there.

Of course RAM will always help, but Photoshop will be scratching regardless. Better to feed that bottleneck than get my apps to run after 1-2 bounces. It really comes down to what you are doing. I think a Raptor as a scratch drive will benefit the OP since he is doing graphic design and those files can get big. I have some PSDs well over a 1GB. In reality the OP could do OS and Apps, as well as paging on the raptor.

 

[Sean Dempsey]

I use a Raptor for my boot and apps, and a raid0 for my data.

the speed boost, both objectively and subjectively, is apparent and significant. I wouldn't use a mac pro any other way. Also, I back my data and OS up nightly to 2 different external drives, so I have no problem if the raid0 fails.

I don't worry/care about "dollar to gigabyte" ratio or whatever else people crumb on the Raptor for. My apps and OS take about 30 gigs... all other data is stored on the raid0, so the Raptor still has about 100 gigs free that I'll never use.

Plus, with 5 gigs of ram, photoshop uses that for scratch (anything above 3 gigs).

I fully can recommend and endorse the raptor/raid0 setup. Everyone will have their little urls and opinions they'll post about how it "isn't worth it", but as a person who has done it and tested it with measurable results, I can say: it rocks.

 

[és:]

I use a Raptor for my boot and apps, and a raid0 for my data.

the speed boost, both objectively and subjectively, is apparent and significant. I wouldn't use a mac pro any other way. Also, I back my data and OS up nightly to 2 different external drives, so I have no problem if the raid0 fails.

I don't worry/care about "dollar to gigabyte" ratio or whatever else people crumb on the Raptor for. My apps and OS take about 30 gigs... all other data is stored on the raid0, so the Raptor still has about 100 gigs free that I'll never use.

Plus, with 5 gigs of ram, photoshop uses that for scratch (anything above 3 gigs).

I fully can recommend and endorse the raptor/raid0 setup. Everyone will have their little urls and opinions they'll post about how it "isn't worth it", but as a person who has done it and tested it with measurable results, I can say: it rocks.

Yep, and nearly every other pro I've spoken to will agree with that, too. Photoshop won't use the scratch disk (to any noticeable amount) until you start going out of RAM and that doesn't happen that often if you have a lot of RAM.

OS and Apps benefits you all the time, scratch (whilst nice to have on the rare occasion it's needed) doesn't.