RAID on my Shuttle XPC? Or WD Raptor 74gig?

[Chris Ciccarello]

My PCI slot is currently unoccupied, so I could easily add a RAID
controller. However, I'm concerned that the heat from RAID in such a
small box will create problems (or at least raise the fan speed and
create more noise from the fan).

Bascially I'm pondering getting one of the 74gig WD Raptors vs. RAIDing
two more pedestrian drives (say, two 120gig WDs). I suspect the two
lesser drives in RAID would actually give me better performance, not to
mention (obviously) three times the GBs for less than 1/2 the cost.

Any thoughts?
Thanks,
-Chris

 

[jpsga]

As you know the main factors in a fast drive are access time, rotational
speed and areal density.
The best SATA drives at this time are the WD Raptors for serial and Maxtor
6E040L0 for parallel. The Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 Plus also looks good but
I have not tested them

Heat should not be a problem with any of these as long as they are correctly
mounted.

JPS