RAID for games drive

[Prophet][]

Just wondering if people here have experience running a RAID for a games drive and if they have seen noticeable increases in performance and load times?

I've seen varying accounts on the net, some people claim a 2-3 RAID 0 makes a big difference but others I've seen say it only has margin increases and isn't worth it. I can't afford a SSD large enough to host all my games so I was thinking of maybe get a few WD Reds in Raid 0 (although RAID 1 should also increase read speeds)

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Installation and loading will be faster. You probably won't see a big game performance improvement though.

[Prophet][]

By performance I guess I meant load times, especially when the game is loading data while playing. I should just bite the bullet and give it a go, get 3 x 1TB WD Reds.

[OrangeRibbon]

Do you want the data duplication, or is this straight up gaming?

If its just gaming I would get the SSD and just uninstall games you are not going to play in the near future.

[Prophet][]

Straight up gaming which is why I was thinking the RAID 0. I don't care if I lose a drive and lose all the data. The problem with games now is that they are getting so big in size, so its not always easy to get a smaller SSD and uninstall all the time.

[OrangeRibbon]

Straight up gaming which is why I was thinking the RAID 0. I don't care if I lose a drive and lose all the data. The problem with games now is that they are getting so big in size, so its not always easy to get a smaller SSD and uninstall all the time.

How much is a TB drive there? I saw one on new egg for 210 US. It just seems like if you are getting 3 1 tb Reds, it might be in the same price range to do a 1 TB SSD.

[Prophet][]

Cheapest I've seen is $429. 1TB Reds are only $80

[OrangeRibbon]

Cheapest I've seen is $429. 1TB Reds are only $80

Want me to just ship you one? I can even open the package so it is "used" like I did with Matisfactions 3ds to save him VAT.

[Prophet][]

Thanks for the offer, I'll keep it in mind. For now I've realized I need to save a bit but once my tax return comes in I might look into this again.

[Matisfaction]

Quick question, my device has two usb ports but only allows one as access for external storage

Would it be possible to trick the device into thinking there's only one USB stick plugged in via the RAID process?

[Prophet][]

naw, RAID doesn't work like that. Infact I don't think you can ever get RAID controllers that will work over USB. If you could do that, then each USB stick wouldn't work individually unless both were plugged in and they wouldn't work in another device without telling it they are in a RAID.

[ian]

get 2 2tb's instead of 3 1tbs and raid them.
you'll have an extra TB of game storage, and the difference between 2 and 3 drives is minimal.

And once your tax return comes in, give up on that idea and splurge on a 2tb SSD for $819

I was using 2 2tb barracudas in raid0 and it's certainly better than even the fastest single mechanical hard drive.