[Solved] Raid 0 and Intel SRT

Hello,

I just built a new computer and want to get the most performance possible with my hard drive configuration. I have 2x1TB WD Caviar Black and 1x60GB OCZ Agility SSD. Curious if anyone can provide insight on the best configuration possible. Thank you.

Hello,
I have the exact same setup, with the exact same WD Caviar Black Hard Drives. I just bought a new MOBO with the Z68 chipset that supports the new Intel SRT, which turns your SSD up to 64GB in capacity into a giant cache for your most accessed programs. The SRT (Smart Response Technology) sets up as a RAID configuration, so I don't believe that you will be able to run SRT in conjunction with a RAID configuration. Im sticking with Raid 0 Striped. Hope that helps.
Bill

Hello Again,
There were a couple of factors that made me think that it was probably not possible to use SRT with a current RAID setup.
1) Saw it on a youtube overview, althought they did not site there source.
2) Z68 chipset for my MOBO offers 4x speed increass via Raid 0 Striped on 6gbs SATA ports, and then sepperates the SRT option from that.
I am actually still putting togeather my RIG, but based on the information I've seen, and the fact that I don't feel like buying a SSD quite yet, I have decided to go with the Raid 0 Striped. My assumption is that because there is only one RAID controller on a motherboard, you would not be able to setup RAID for the SRT in conjunction with an already setup RAID config. If you have a spare SSD, id say give it a go. I don't seem to see any infomation saying you can't ( ;
My Configuration
2x 1 TB Caviar WD Blacks
I-7 2600k
16GB DDR3 Vengance
Coolermaster HAF X With V8 Cooler
GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3P LGA 1155

Just to contradict everybody: The SRT technology is really meant for people who don't want to buy a large SSD and put the OS on it. It makes 20-30 GB SSDs useful.

If you have an SSD that is large enough to hold your OS and your applications, you will see a larger improvement if you install the OS on it according to the various guides that you will find on these forums. (fora? forii?) The vast majority of enthusiasts do it that way because, for the vast majority of situations, it's the best use.

If your OS and apps won't fit in 60 GB you might use the drive for cache, or you could install less-frequently used apps on the hdd.

Some rare users will use the SSD for data. If you are processing huge data sets, like editing HD video, you will get quite a boost by having your input files, your output files, and scratch on an SSD. Of course, you have the overhead of copying it to the SSD before you start, and off when you are finished.

Finally, the obligatory advice: back everything up. Especially if you build a RAID 0, which increases your chance of a failure. Note that RAID0 improves sequential read performance for large reads but doesn't do startup and program loading much good, since its advantage in small random reads is nonexistent.

Best answer selected by mousemonkey.