The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Raid0 with SSD and HDD

    Discussion in 'Sager and Clevo' started by chapman_w, Nov 17, 2011.

  1. chapman_w

    chapman_w Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    79
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Wondering what's the best way to use a SSD and a HDD together.

    Should I combine them using raid0? Is it possible and any reason why I shouldn't or downfalls?

    Or is there another option that I can use the SSD to boot and load things faster?

    Thanks
     
    chapman_w, Nov 17, 2011
    #1
  2. khetik

    khetik Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    101
    Messages:
    812
    Likes Received:
    17
    Trophy Points:
    31
    It is possible, but I wouldn't recommend it. Just keep your ssd as an os and main app drive, and the hdd as your storage drive. Raid-ing those two different types of drives together decreasing reliability of the drives (data failure) down the track as well as reducing the ssd write speeds.

    Basically don't raid. SSD = OS, HDD = storage.
     
    khetik, Nov 17, 2011
    #2
  3. DruePhoenix

    DruePhoenix Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    14
    Messages:
    193
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Yeah it's only recommended to RAID identical drives, as far as I know :-/
     
    DruePhoenix, Nov 17, 2011
    #3
  4. chapman_w

    chapman_w Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    79
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Which SSD would you recommend, taking into consideration price/speed.

    Kingston HyperX SSD 120 GB
    OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 120 GB
    Corsair Force 3 120 GB

    Also taking into consideration the compatibility with P170HM
     
    chapman_w, Nov 17, 2011
    #4
  5. Aier

    Aier Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    1
    Messages:
    61
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    From what I've heard, non-Intel SSDs may be prone to comparability issues (it's an issue with the Sandforce Controller).
     
    Aier, Nov 17, 2011
    #5
  6. jclausius

    jclausius Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    6,160
    Messages:
    3,265
    Likes Received:
    2,573
    Trophy Points:
    231
    Have you also considered the Crucial M4 SSD? Pretty good drive from reading the SSD forums. I would recommend the Crucial C300, but since you have SATA 6Gbps on the P170HM, might as well up the drive. In regards to Aier's post, not all non-Intel drives use a SF controller, but do your research.

    In regards to setup (pretty much on what's been said above),

    a) install Windows 7/ Apps on the SSD.
    b) Move the User's Directory to the platter based SSD.

    I don't know what your usage pattern is like but this is working great in my setup. Very fast BOOT/READ speeds, and does not overly tax the write-cycles of the SSD.
     
    jclausius, Nov 18, 2011
    #6
  7. kevindd992002

    kevindd992002 Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    233
    Messages:
    2,299
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Definitely the Crucial M4. It's one of the best drives out there. Don't fall for Sandforce drives just yet since they have lots of problems even with the latest released firmware from manufacturers.
     
    kevindd992002, Nov 18, 2011
    #7
  8. philiphan

    philiphan Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    51
    Messages:
    189
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Can someone explain really brief and conclusive what RAID is and when it's good or not?
     
    philiphan, Nov 18, 2011
    #8
  9. khetik

    khetik Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    101
    Messages:
    812
    Likes Received:
    17
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Basically storing the same data in different places, except in raid 0 which is for performance. nine different types of raid.

    If you want to know more, just google it. Lots of info will come up.
     
    khetik, Nov 18, 2011
    #9
  10. pasoleatis

    pasoleatis Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    59
    Messages:
    948
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    It is just trying o put together separate drives (identical or not) in order to work in tandem. One common use is 2 or more identical drives to get double speed at the cost of space. In this case the data is stored in both case and it is read or written in parallel.
    In another common setup drives are put together so that the system sees only one drive of size equal to the sum of all drives.
    Other setups include additional drives for back-ups.
     
    pasoleatis, Nov 18, 2011
    #10
  11. chapman_w

    chapman_w Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    79
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Thanks for all the replies, I was going for those SSD because they were on sale, 190, 170, 120 for OCZ, kingston, corsair, but if they're not reliable then the money isn't worth it.

    I was looking at the intel 510 120GB and that was like 300+, ideally I'd like a SSD for under 200.

    I'm new to SSD so I don't know all the brands and which ones are good. Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.
     
    chapman_w, Nov 18, 2011
    #11
  12. Support.3@XOTIC PC

    Support.3@XOTIC PC Company Representative

    Reputations:
    1,268
    Messages:
    7,186
    Likes Received:
    1,002
    Trophy Points:
    331
    Before you set your SSD in RAID make sure it will support TRIM in RAID. Not alot of SSD (if any) will. If your SSD does not support TRIM in RAID you drives will fails prematurely. The speed benefit you get from a RAID set up isnt worth having the SSD die on you in a year.
    Unless you absolutely need the fastest read/write times possible you should just have the SSD and HDD in a simple disk format, the SSD speeds are going to be crazy good anyway.
     
    Support.3@XOTIC PC, Nov 18, 2011
    #12
  13. kevindd992002

    kevindd992002 Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    233
    Messages:
    2,299
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Intel SSDs are the only SSDs that support TRIM while in RAID config.
     
    kevindd992002, Nov 18, 2011
    #13
  14. jclausius

    jclausius Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    6,160
    Messages:
    3,265
    Likes Received:
    2,573
    Trophy Points:
    231
    Actually, it has nothing to do with the drives, but more to do w/ the drivers. At this point in time, there are no RAID drivers which support TRIM.

    Now, Intel is working on a new set of RST drivers to support TRIM in RAID-0, but that is not available to the general public yet. So, the write amplification problem due to lack of TRIM in RST 10.x.x.x can occur in any RAID volume using SSDs.
     
    jclausius, Nov 18, 2011
    #14
  15. Anthony@MALIBAL

    Anthony@MALIBAL Company Representative

    Reputations:
    616
    Messages:
    2,771
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    56
    You are correct, it's a limitation of the current chipset and RAID cards. Technically speaking the drives can support TRIM just fine in RAID, the cards just have no idea how to handle that support at the moment. It was rumored to be supported by Intel as recently as the HM65/67 chipsets, but it ended up being just that- a rumor. It would be great if it was a possibility as RAID'ed SSD's with SATA 6 would be blazingly fast.
     
    Anthony@MALIBAL, Nov 18, 2011
    #15
  16. chapman_w

    chapman_w Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    79
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Thanks for all the replies, I guess putting Raid on a SSD does more harm than good.

    Can anyone link me to a place on how to setup SSD with a HDD to get the most out of it? Including settings and the likes?

    Thanks
     
    chapman_w, Nov 18, 2011
    #16
  17. jclausius

    jclausius Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    6,160
    Messages:
    3,265
    Likes Received:
    2,573
    Trophy Points:
    231
    jclausius, Nov 18, 2011
    #17
  18. kevindd992002

    kevindd992002 Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    233
    Messages:
    2,299
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    56
    kevindd992002, Nov 18, 2011
    #18
  19. Shanester

    Shanester Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    11
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Raid is good, depending on what your using it for.
     
    Shanester, Nov 21, 2011
    #19