Raid10

[ssvp]

Well I finally bit the bullet and did a complete reload and added some stuff.. Since I loading my Digital Juice stuff (5ETKS, 12JB, etc..) I have some time to kill..

First warning, if you get the YS drives make sure you check their firmware and update if your going to run them in a RAID config.. Update available from WD..

For starters, I'm running (4) WD2500YS 250GB drives for my OS Partition in RAID10.

Then I dropped the cash on the DS-500E Raid towers 5 Bays, SATAII Hot Swappable. Actually two of them.
The first one I'm running RAID10 across 5x250GB YS Drives..
The second one is running JBOD with 3x250GB YS drives and 2x500GB YS drives.

(YS) is the letter code for Western digital raid drives and come with a 5 year warranty.

I was a little leary of the DS-500e for under $500 bucks seemed cheap and well it sorta is, it's a Single eSATA port with the SiliconImg 5 sata controller in the external unit. So it's software controlled you can't hard set it up.. But I don't notice any more load than normal using it.

Raid10 was about the best bang for the buck for the OS and provides a wee bit of security.

Then I picked up a pair of M-Audio 8's for $35.00 brand new from a buddy and moved my Edirol's over to the capture system. I'm pretty impressed with those M-Audios much better bass response and fuller sound. I think I saw GME with those on his desk, but I could be wrong.

Finally swapped out the ram in the system for 4x1GB of Corsair 667 Extreme or whatever it is. Hell I don't notice anything.. Note to self, think before you buy..(actually I had two sticks already, so I add 2 more to match em up)

So with all that said, the system kicks butt. How do I know you ask? Because if you can run the Matrox RT.X100 without errors or problems then your one lucky SOB who has a kick butt system.

Rest of Specs:
SB X-FI Extreme Audio
Core 2 Duo E6600 (Sold my Quad core, problems with Battlefield 2142.:( )
Plextor DVD+/-R (SATA)
Sony DVD-ROM (SATA)
Actually it's a 965G chipset so IDE doesn't exist.
Video: 7950GT (Moved my 8800 to my Capture system, drivers have some overlay issues still..beware..But for games KICK ***)
Still sporting my trust bella pro keyboard with fancy dancy light and the 42" (not a GME 47") best damn display and many many thanks to GME for that..

[Hitman Jr]

I was a little leary of the DS-500e for under $500 bucks seemed cheap and well it sorta is, it's a Single eSATA port with the SiliconImg 5 sata controller in the external unit. So it's software controlled you can't hard set it up.. But I don't notice any more load than normal using it.

I can't find a 5 drive SI raid card, but they do have a 5 drive port multiplier. Is the port multiplier what is in there?

[ssvp]

I can't find a 5 drive SI raid card, but they do have a 5 drive port multiplier. Is the port multiplier what is in there?

Yeah I should have a been a bit more clearer on that.. The external drive rack uses Silicon Images SI4726 Storage Processor which is a 5P Multiplier. One thing to also mention the drive bay running raid10 only uses 4 of the 5, the 5th drive is a basic JBOD.

The card that comes with it is a SI 3Gb 2 Port PCI-E Adapter with the DS-500e the DS-500 is a standard PCI adapter.

[AndrewMSV]

http://forum.liberaldebatt.com/images/smilies/overhead.gif

[RatVega]

What kind of speeds are we talking here? I've been interested in a performance comparison of the port-muxed array vs. the Fastlane (discrete channels, combined cabling) 2TB array I have here.

Both styles have their advantage, but very little real-world info is available on the differences.

[ssvp]

What kind of speeds are we talking here? I've been interested in a performance comparison of the port-muxed array vs. the Fastlane (discrete channels, combined cabling) 2TB array I have here.

Both styles have their advantage, but very little real-world info is available on the differences.

Your's sound expensive..:)

This is a just a Basic SATA array. So your limited to the SATA speed limitation.