Best Strip size for gaming?

tastyweat · Jun 13, 2004, 07:31 PM

Hey guys, I'm new to Raid... I just bought 2 new raptors... gonna put them in raid-0 stripe...

I'm trying to find out what the best strip size is for gaming... I know it's a larger one for video editing etc... and a smaller one for gaming... but what would be the most optimal/best performance for gaming?

malkor · Jun 13, 2004, 07:40 PM

Have a look here . More questions about RAID and storage in general found here .

I personally use a 128K stripe. Doesn't benchmark great, but nice for overall performance for my uses, gaming included.

Others will have opinions I'm sure. Highly debatable.

tastyweat · Jun 13, 2004, 07:48 PM

thanks mate

malkor · Jun 13, 2004, 08:01 PM

Cheers, you're welcome.

Suggest forming a good routine for backups, as with RAID O you run a slightly higher risk of data loss because if one drive fails, the whole array fails, unlike RAID 1 or other types of mirroring.

tastyweat · Jun 13, 2004, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by malkor
Cheers, you're welcome.

Suggest forming a good routine for backups, as with RAID O you run a slightly higher risk of data loss because if one drive fails, the whole array fails, unlike RAID 1 or other types of mirroring.

Thanks - I'm only going to have windows + progs on the raptors... I'm not hugely bothered about them being slightly volatile - I have extra 120gb + 80gb + 60gb hard drives to sort out the rest of my data - thanks for the warning though

dipstick · Jun 13, 2004, 08:05 PM

I run 64k as its the largest I can choose. Everything runs great.

tastyweat · Jun 13, 2004, 08:10 PM

... I'm planning on using 64k

malkor · Jun 13, 2004, 08:19 PM

Probably a good choice.

So many people are so caught up with benching, synthetic benching at that. I've seen long drawn out guides on discussion boards, where guys are suggesting 16K stripes. Then they detail how to install Windows onto a spare PATA drive, just so they can partition and format the SATAs into 16K clusters to match the stripe size (Windows defaults to 4K if you partition when you install). Then install Windows onto the pre-partitioned SATA drives. All of this so they can post numbers from HDTach or Sandra. Funny.

tastyweat · Jun 13, 2004, 08:22 PM

lol

drakesteakn · Jun 13, 2004, 09:17 PM

yeah, 64K is where u want it.

Judas · Jun 14, 2004, 12:31 AM

i've ran now ..... 4kb (BLOODY SLOW).... 32kb/64/128/256/512kb stripe length (block size)..... for gaming... specially the larger games like UT2003-04 and Halo along with far cry.... the larger the better the game plays.. the faster the game loads... (files are huge now... 4kb is kinda useless).... Sure, Office work or simple browsing isn't gonna be exactly top notch... thats when the lower size would be nice.... You said gameing... i'm tempted to give 1024 or 2048kb a try soon... I think i'll just max it and on my next install.. set it to 2mb.... But for balance between the good gaming.. and the excellent in windows preformance.... i'd say pick 128 or 256kb... currently it's the best i've come across....

Jun 13, 2004, 07:31 PM	#1
tastyweat Lurking Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: The void Posts: 4,794 Rep Power: 75 System Specs	Best Strip size for gaming? Hey guys, I'm new to Raid... I just bought 2 new raptors... gonna put them in raid-0 stripe... I'm trying to find out what the best strip size is for gaming... I know it's a larger one for video editing etc... and a smaller one for gaming... but what would be the most optimal/best performance for gaming? __________________

Jun 13, 2004, 07:48 PM	Thread Starter #3
tastyweat Lurking Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: The void Posts: 4,794 Rep Power: 75 System Specs	thanks mate __________________

Jun 13, 2004, 08:10 PM	Thread Starter #7
tastyweat Lurking Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: The void Posts: 4,794 Rep Power: 75 System Specs	... I'm planning on using 64k __________________

Jun 13, 2004, 08:19 PM	#8
malkor DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 123 Rep Power: 0	Probably a good choice. So many people are so caught up with benching, synthetic benching at that. I've seen long drawn out guides on discussion boards, where guys are suggesting 16K stripes. Then they detail how to install Windows onto a spare PATA drive, just so they can partition and format the SATAs into 16K clusters to match the stripe size (Windows defaults to 4K if you partition when you install). Then install Windows onto the pre-partitioned SATA drives. All of this so they can post numbers from HDTach or Sandra. Funny. Last edited by malkor; Jun 13, 2004 at 08:27 PM.

Jun 13, 2004, 08:22 PM	Thread Starter #9
tastyweat Lurking Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: The void Posts: 4,794 Rep Power: 75 System Specs	lol __________________

Jun 13, 2004, 07:40 PM	#2
malkor DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 123 Rep Power: 0	Have a look here . More questions about RAID and storage in general found here . I personally use a 128K stripe. Doesn't benchmark great, but nice for overall performance for my uses, gaming included. Others will have opinions I'm sure. Highly debatable.

Jun 13, 2004, 08:01 PM	#4
malkor DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 123 Rep Power: 0	Cheers, you're welcome. Suggest forming a good routine for backups, as with RAID O you run a slightly higher risk of data loss because if one drive fails, the whole array fails, unlike RAID 1 or other types of mirroring.

Jun 13, 2004, 08:05 PM	#6
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	I run 64k as its the largest I can choose. Everything runs great.

Jun 13, 2004, 09:17 PM	#10
drakesteakn boo!!!! Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Ft. Meyers, FL Posts: 2,041 Rep Power: 0	yeah, 64K is where u want it. __________________