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Guest Jpanford

Raptors OR Not

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Guest Jpanford

Hey guys I've been reading the forum about Raid0 and I'm getting ready to build my new system and I'm trying to decide if I should continue with Raid0. My current system include Raptor 74GB X 2 and Partitioned with FS9 on D: and FSX on E:. Question I have is should I just get 1 HD for OS I intend on Vista 64 and 1 Raptor 150GB for FSX/FS9 or get 2 X RAptors in Raid0. I'm thinking about performance for FSX, is it better fore FSX to be installed on 1 Raptor 150GB or 2 Raptors in Raid0 and Partition. Thanks guys.Joe

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>I'm thinking about performance...Then don't think RAID. ;)(At least not when factoring for flight sims)RAID0 is great for larger files, but flight simulator (any version) is based on thousands of small files. The Raptors on their own will have an easier time finding and accessing the thousands of small files needed for a flight if they aren't encumbered by the RAID-0 system.Now... if MSFS was based on LARGE files, RAID would be a benefit! But since it's not, keep things simple and fast... don't use RAID for MSFS. I'm not just evangelizing about it - this comes from experience. I operated in a RAID environment for a while, but was pleasantly surprised to discover faster flight loading when I reconfigured back to normal.Yes, I would recommend that your OS and general applications use a separate drive from the simulator, if you have the means. It won't give you any *serious* improvements in performance, but keeping them separated will be good for housekeeping, as well as help prevent your MSFS directory locations from becoming overly fragmented or cluttered with non-simulation data. IF YOU CHOOSE TO PARTITION (RAID or not...) :Keep in mind that the "first" partition is going to be the fastest, as it is located on the outermost tracks of the drive. If you dedicate a drive to MSFS, put the sim you will fly most on the first partition.Taking your examples, I'd recommend:{New 150GB Raptor for OS/Applications} + {74GB FSX} + {74GB FS9}Keeps it simple, gives you dedicated drives for everything....or....{74GBx2 RAID for OS/Applications} + {New 150GB Raptor for FSX/FS9}Gives you RAID for OS/Apps, keeps MSFS fast with no RAID there....or, for the budget minded...{74GB OS/Applications} + {74GB FSX/FS9}Saves money...Good luck!-Greg (De facto hard drive guy?)

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Guest Jpanford

Thanks that makes thing a lot cheaper. I already have 2 X 74GB raptors I think I'll buy 1 X 150 Raptor and use it for FSX/FS9, but I'll Raid0 the 2 X 74GB Raptors for OS/Application. Thanks for the help..Joe

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Guest krswen

>>I'm thinking about performance...>>Then don't think RAID. ;)>(At least not when factoring for flight sims)>>RAID0 is great for larger files, but flight simulator (any>version) is based on thousands of small files. The Raptors on>their own will have an easier time finding and accessing the>thousands of small files needed for a flight if they aren't>encumbered by the RAID-0 system.>>Now... if MSFS was based on LARGE files, RAID would be a>benefit! But since it's not, keep things simple and fast...>don't use RAID for MSFS. >>I'm not just evangelizing about it - this comes from>experience. I operated in a RAID environment for a while, but>was pleasantly surprised to discover faster flight loading>when I reconfigured back to normal.>>Yes, I would recommend that your OS and general applications>use a separate drive from the simulator, if you have the>means. It won't give you any *serious* improvements in>performance, but keeping them separated will be good for>housekeeping, as well as help prevent your MSFS directory>locations from becoming overly fragmented or cluttered with>non-simulation data. >>IF YOU CHOOSE TO PARTITION (RAID or not...) :>Keep in mind that the "first" partition is going to be the>fastest, as it is located on the outermost tracks of the>drive. If you dedicate a drive to MSFS, put the sim you will>fly most on the first partition.>>Taking your examples, I'd recommend:>>{New 150GB Raptor for OS/Applications} + {74GB FSX} + {74GB>FS9}>Keeps it simple, gives you dedicated drives for>everything.>...or....>>{74GBx2 RAID for OS/Applications} + {New 150GB Raptor for>FSX/FS9}>Gives you RAID for OS/Apps, keeps MSFS fast with no RAID>there.>>...or, for the budget minded...>>{74GB OS/Applications} + {74GB FSX/FS9}>Saves money...>>Good luck!>-Greg> >(De facto hard drive guy?)When I put my last system together, I was flying by the seat of my pants and am amazed that I got the RAID to work at all! Now, reading your post, if I want to "unraid" my setup (OS is on 150GBdrive, FS9 and FSX on 2 74GB Raptors RAID 0), do I need to uninstall the simulators, reconfigure, reload simulators, or can I just go into the BIOS screens and change a setting or two? In fact, it might make sense to put FS9 and FSX each on their own drive. The only reason I still run FS9 is for the RFP 747.

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>Now, reading your post, if I want to "unraid" my setup (OS is>on 150GBdrive, FS9 and FSX on 2 74GB Raptors RAID 0), do I>need to uninstall the simulators, reconfigure, reload>simulators, or can I just go into the BIOS screens and change>a setting or two? First thought - since you are already established with a setup, it might not be worth the efforts to change. The performance differences only come when loading flights - in flight performance remains largely unchanged. That said, since you have RAID on a "secondary" drive and not your OS drive, you might be in OK shape. It does depend an awful lot on the motherboard, drivers, and your general system, but it should be workable. You could get away with copying off a simulator, doing the above reconfiguration, then pasting the sim back to one of the new drives, but only if you were maintaining the same drive letter and path for that simulation. This will keep the registry entries the same for the sim, and you can skate through it. As an example:* FSX and FS2004 are on your RAID array, Drive D:* You plan on having FSX on a single drive, D:* You plan on having FS2004 on a single drive, E:* Cut or copy all the FSX related items including the sim off of the RAID array and paste them somewhere safe on another drive.* Uninstall all addons and items related to FS2004, including the sim.* Reconfigure drives, breaking RAID array and repartitioning/formatting the newly separated devices. * PASTE the FSX items to the newly created D: drive back to their "same" locations on the drive. * Reinstall FS2004 and items to the newly created E: drive.Again, it may be more work than it's worth... I actually have FS2004 on my C: drive in with my operating system and such, simply because I rarely if ever use it. FSX sits alone on a 76G Raptor, and hums along nicely. Good luck to you as well!-Greg

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