RAID0 on mismatched SSD's

So here's my situation. Awhile back I purchased a Samsung 830 256gb thinking it would be plenty of space and of course it wasn't. Now I can't find another 830 at a reasonable price and got to thinking why not use a Samsung 840 Pro to create a RAID0 array.

My concerns are, is it possible to create an array with two mismatched SSD's? I'm looking at my original 830 256gb paired with a new 840 256gb Pro to create a 512gb RAID0 array.

Then my other concern is TRIM and garbage collection. I know there's new algorithms built in that are supposed to keep working even in a RAID setup but will I be in any trouble using two different SSD models? I'm running Windows 7 Professional SP1.

If anyone could answer these questions I'd appreciate it before I go blindly spending money.

 

The 'solution' to needing more capacity is to buy more capacity. RAID0 is not a solution - it is a disaster waiting to happen. While there are good reasons to have a RAID0 array - even an SSD based one - more capacity is at the bottom of that list.

You are right to be concerned with two different drives (HDD's or SSD's) being used for RAID - while most modern drives will behave properly together - when they don't it is not obvious what the problem(s) is/are. You will simply have an unstable and unreliable system that will be constantly tinkered with and not getting any use/enjoyment out of.

To have TRIM working - you need the latest OROM in your BIOS (10.6 I think) of IRST and Intel RST 11.7.

While garbage collection works internally and therefore shouldn't be affected by being in a RAID array - the Samsung SSD's do not have the best implementation of it and performance will deteriorate (not to mention the lifespan of the SSD...) to the point where you will need to periodically SE and re-install (or clone...) your installation again. Over and over.


Buy an M4 512GB SSD today ($350 Boxing Day sale) and call it a day. Either re-use your 830 elsewhere or simply sell it and enjoy an even cheaper (effective) price on the M4. Of course, you can also buy the 840 and add it to your setup (your notebook does have the required bay, connectors and drive caddy, right?) as a secondary drive (not RAID) - but whatever you do - forget RAID as a 'solution' to a capacity shortage problem - consider it as a stopgap solution back at a time when larger capacities where not available at any price.

See:
Crucial M4 2.5in SATA III Solid State Drive, 512GB at Memory Express


This is probably not the answers/advice you were hoping for - but I dropped using RAID (period) almost a decade ago with the first Raptors (early 2004). Simply put - using RAID for either more capacity or more speed was eclipsed by manufacturers consistently giving us single drive solutions that were faster, bigger and cheaper than what was available six months before... in RAID0 configurations.

Not to mention the flakey drivers, hit and miss compatibility and simply luck of the draw as to how stable and reliable the workstations built around them were (try 5 or more rebuilds a year for each workstation).

Hope this helps.

Good luck.

 

No, that wasn't the answer I wanted to hear but it's a good answer and makes sense. I'll have to re-think things. Thanks again.

 

Tiller hit the nail on the head. Other than "because I can" there are no real benefits or good reasons to RAID any SSD's. Performance is simply incredible as it stands and other than doing massive transfers between RAID SSD pairs on a regular basis, you really wouldn't gain much. Like many others (including me) have come down to is biting the bullet on a fat SSD (256GB or 512GB) and running with it.