To get some feel for what is fast, use the database here. Select
a criterion and the database will sort them in order.
http://www.storagereview.com/comparison.html
The fastest (convenient) way to RAID two disks, is using Western
Digital Raptor SATA disks. Seeks might be a bit noisy, but the disks
spin at 10K RPM, which reduces their average read service time
(seek) and gives them a good STR (sustained transfer rate).
The best (7200 RPM) IDE appears to have an STR of 60MB/sec and
read service of 12.1 milliseconds. The best SATA (the 10000 RPM
WD Raptor) has an STR of 71.8MB/sec and read service of
8.1 milliseconds.
The lower the read service time, the faster the head can move
from track to track. That is important when transferring a lot
of small files. A high STR is important for transferring the
really big files. If you are compiling software, you might want
a low read service time. If doing Photoshop, a high STR helps.
The STR quoted above, is at the beginning of the disk. The
end of the disk is slower. About 66% for the IDE drive, and
75% for the Raptor (suggesting the Raptor is short stroked,
meaning the ratio of inner to outer diameter is not the same
as its IDE competitors).
If you need additional SATA ports for your motherboard, a
PCI card with a SIL3112 RAID controller is an option. Then
you could use the Raptors. There are also four port SIL3114
PCI cards, which might be nice for a 0+1 four disk config.
In terms of brands, everyone has had a disk failure or two at
some point in time. (If you use S.M.A.R.T, that might give you
some warning of impending doom.) Rather than bad mouth every
brand, I'll say the last four drives I bought were Seagate.
Even though my first failed disk was a 2GB Seagate
The Storagereview database also has heat and noise data, which
can be important if the computer sits next to you.
Paul
