how many hdds for raid

[kyle_L]

i want to venture in the world of raid but i have no idea on how many hdd to use. i have only 200-300 bucks and would like to know how many hdd's i should buy (2,3,4,5) and if its really worth it to buy a raid controller.not looking for EXTREME PERFORMANCE just looking for a little more speed.

[3.0charlie]

Start by reading this, then we'll see about a Raid controller: RAID - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by kyle_L

i want to venture in the world of raid but i have no idea on how many hdd to use. i have only 200-300 bucks and would like to know how many hdd's i should buy (2,3,4,5) and if its really worth it to buy a raid controller.not looking for EXTREME PERFORMANCE just looking for a little more speed.

If you can't afford a good RAID controller don't really bother.

People choose to go the route of software RAID meaning to use their onboard controller but its not really RAID and is unreliable.

[sswilson]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't all of the sub-$100 raid controller cards pretty well the same as using on-board raid? (I.E. still require drivers.....)

While I'm at it.... am I correct in assuming that a true hardware raid card would allow somebody to move their array over to a new motherboard without any problems other than the standard motherboard OS drivers?

[lowfat]

Hardware RAID cards still often require drivers unless the OS comes with them already installed. The difference between hardware RAID. The easy to way to tell if a card is a hardware card or just a software is to look if it has cache. If so then its a hardware card.

And yes with a hardware RAID card you can swap between any motherboard.

And personally RAID is pointless unless you are doing it for redundancy (not speed) or with SSDs (as they scale significantly better than HDDs).

[death_hawk]

I've never had a GOOD hardware RAID require drivers.

And the cheapest hardware RAID is going for about $400 (3ware 9690sa-4I)

[AkG]

You can get a very decent Dell PERC 5i for about 100 USD off ebay. Might have to do slight mod to get it to work with your mobo....but they work very well and are a steal at those prices. This plus say $300 for 4 WD SE16 500s or a little more for even faster WD 640GB's = very good, yet cheap RAID 5 setup.

Little outside your stated range but....might be worth looking into

[lowfat]

Originally Posted by death_hawk

I've never had a GOOD hardware RAID require drivers.

And the cheapest hardware RAID is going for about $400 (3ware 9690sa-4I)

Then I guess you consider Areca's not good raid cards?

I agree about the Perc 5/i. I use one in my media server and it does a rather good job.

[AkG]

Yeah the sweet arcea 1220 is another great option! 8 port goodness for about 180 - 200 on fleabay.

Guess to some if its not 3ware or Adaptec its no good :)~

...Now if we were talking for real a server its HP/Compaq SmartArray's or its CRAP!

[lowfat]

Originally Posted by AkG

Yeah the sweet arcea 1220 is another great option! 8 port goodness for about 180 - 200 on fleabay.

I don't think I've ever seen them that cheap. I don't think I've even seen them less than $400.