Maximum PC RAID RSS Feed

RAID5 May Soon Be Obsolete

Justin Kerr — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:35:07 -0500

RAID 5 users anxiously awaiting the debut of 2 TB drives to help build massive storage array’s may want to think twice before taking the plunge. An in-depth look into the underlying problems with massive storage RAID5 configurations suggests that s a single drive as redundancy might not cut it anymore. SATA drives carry a specified unrecoverable read rate of 10^14. This might sound like a huge number, but it basically tells us that any array in excess of 11.37 TB will contain at least one unrecoverable read. In the case of a RAID 5 rebuild, this can be catastrophic.

Hit the jump to learn why RAID 6 won't help you, and to see what the future holds.

Raiding The Raptors

The Maximum PC Staff — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:47:48 -0500

I have a brand-new rig that sports two WD Raptors in a mirrored array. I wanted the speed of the Raptors and the convenience of a mirrored array. But I wonder if a mirrored or striped array (1+0, 0+1, or some other RAID number) using four 7,200rpm drives would be faster than the above array. And how would the price compare?

—David Thiel

Delicious, speedy answers for David after the jump.

Addonics Enclosure Gives You RAID on the Go

Paul Lilly — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:02:25 -0500

Power users who have dreamed of outfitting their portable backup solution in a RAID 0 array can now do so thanks to Addonics' new Portable Dual Drive RAID enclosure (AE25RDESU). Nervous Nellies are covered too, with RAID 1 providing a backup for your backup. The handheld device accepts up to two 2.5-inch SATA drives inside its "heat resistant aluminum" chassis, or pick up the optional SATA-CF hard disk adapter and install up to four CompactFlash cards. Other notable features include:

Easy installation and removal of hard drive
USB 2.0/1.1 and eSATA support
RAID configuration with DIP switch or GUI configuration
Supports RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD, BIG (Concatenation), SAFE50, SAFE33, or GUI mod using built-in hardware RAID
Can be powered by USB port

For backup duties Addonics throws in DriveClone software and the device itself includes a backup button the company claims "can be configured to provide the convenience of one button backup of any critical files or folders."

Pricing has been set to $100 and can be purchased now.

Disappearing Drives, Connectors, and Copy Protection Problems.

The Maximum PC Staff — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:26:15 -0500

This month, the Doctor tackles mysterious unrecognized devices, HDCP's colossal headaches, and trying to back up content from your DVR.

May 2008: The Ultimate Guide to Downloading TV & Movies

The Maximum PC Staff — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:23:10 -0500

The complete PDF archive of the May 2008 edition of Maximum PC, every article included, every page posted! Download it now!

RAID Controllers Compared!

David Murphy — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:17:20 -0500

In the November 2007 issue, we took an in-depth look at RAID—short for Redundant Array of Inexpensive (or Independent) Disks—and broke down the pros, cons, and most importantly, speeds of the various RAID permutations you would find on a typical multidrive setup. Here we’ll examine the medium itself: the RAID controller, which tells the drives in a RAID setup how to interact. As you’ll see, there are RAID controllers of differing types, technologies, and price points, and we want to learn whether these variations translate into performance differences. After all, even the fastest RAID configuration ultimately depends on the performance capabilities of its physical host.

Click Read More for more.

Beefing up Socket 939, RAIDing Heaven, SLI problems, and mobo upgrades.

The Maximum PC Staff — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:42:52 -0600

Diagnosing and curing your PC problems - Is Socket 939 worth sticking to? How much can RAID do for me? Why won't my SLI work? And more!

Videocard Image-Quality Shootout

Michael Brown — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:48:46 -0600

Which company delivers the best visual experience: AMD or Nvidia?