I've noticed the improvements are relevant but not as big as I expected, I think with normal HD the RAID0 performance will be much better than a single HD drive, any experience using SSD in RAID0 configuration
View 7 RepliesThis is a weird one, my new M1730 has RAID 0 2x160GB but they are different makes of hard drive:
Hard Drive Member 1: Hitachi HTS722016K9A300
Hard Drive Member 2: FUJITSU MHW2160BJ G2
If you are an M1730 owner I would be interested in what drives you have. Dell have tried to fob me off and told me all M1730 have this config.
Although it works OK I can't see that this is good practice - I would have expected matched drives.
I tried calling their support number yesterday evening and after a 45 minute wait, I realized I have better things to do on a Saturday.
Today I waited 90 minutes on Dell Chat before someone showed up, then promptly disappeared
Which drive will the envy 17 come with and which drive performs better? These are the only 2 2.5" 1TB drives i see released as of now.
View 5 Replies View RelatedHere's my story and, let's say, my analysis:
I bought a generic 2 HD sata2 RAID1 enclosure based on the chipset Silicon Image SteelVine 5744. It can be used in USB or eSATA2. This embedded chipset (named SiL5744) is known (understand "claimed") to auto-handle Sata I/II and host sata2 controllers that not support the port multiplier feature. The HD are two Samsung F1 1To. There's no jumper to rollback to SATA 1.5Go on them, you can only do it by flashing the HD's bios, however we don't need to do it as I wrote just before, the SiL5744 supports SATA 3Go natively.
The enclosure works pretty well with USB, but *not* in eSATA : the E6500 freezes/hangs just after the POST step (a potential driver issue with the installed vista 64bits is not the reason then). As soon has I disconnect the eSATA cable, the system recovers and continues as normal.
What I've tried/done so far :
Both E6500's BIOS SATA mode AHCI and IRRT mode were tested,
Intel Matrix driver and software was updated to the latest 8.7.0.1007 version (AHCI and IRRT),
The SiL5744 chip was upgraded to its latest firmware as well (in case of...)
In order to verify the esata cable, the HDs and the enclosure itself, I succeed to :
- Use the enclosure's RAID1 feature when using the USB connection, I could partition,format, and read/write on the logical volume
- directly connect *one* HD (Samsung F1 1To) to the E6500's esata port -(I have a sata2esata cable), Vista installed it and I was able to use it as normal, even the hotswap feature seemed to work fine (I unkindly removed it). I could so test both HD individually this way... On the enclosure hardware side, everything looks fine then.
An IMPORTANT thing : The E6500's ICH8/9-M sata host controller seems to support the Port Multiplier feature *ONLY* on sata port 0 -as a bubble message from the Intel Matrix soft sometimes shows up-, but this is exactly where the internal HD is plugged on the motherboard I found nowhere you can change the internal sata port ID (switch,bios,ect...). I think this is the key of the problem that seems to be a dumb port conflict, because the esata port is in fact the port sata 4 (the DVDRW drive is sata 1, dock's esata is 5 for instance). If somebody knows how to swap the sata port ID, I think I won't be toasted !
Has anyone tried one of the netbook mini PCI SSD drives in an inspriron?
How about the regular SSD drives? I have a 1525 I am considering updating a smidge .....
Got my XPS 1730 today and as soon as windows booted, the first message I got was that a RAID 0 drive was failing and I needed to back it up immediately. Does this mean anything? Do I have a defective part?
View 15 Replies View RelatedCan anyone please tell me if it's possible to setup a RAID 1 from an existing HD and a new HD (same size)?
I don't want to reformat just to get the RAID setup. I want to keep what I have, but have redundancy..
I tried to backup my M6400 with Acronis. The backup works fine, but I'm not able to restore ....
View 8 Replies View RelatedCan you do RAID Stripping with e 256 SSD and a 160GB 7200RPM Drive???
View 3 Replies View RelatedI have a Dell Studio 17, with vista.
I want to be able to dual boot with XP, but am needing a raid driver.
I have installed XP on a partition on the hard drive but if I want to boot up XP I have to change the option in the bios, which does get a bit of a pain.
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9600 (2.8GHz/1066Mhz FSB/6MB cache) The only option
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-Bit
3 yr In-home Service after remote diagnosis + Complete Care+LoJack No one year options
15.6” Full High Definition (1080p) High Brightness LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera/Facial Reco
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz Only option
Size: 500GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM) Only option
McAfee 36 month Forced to get
Starting Price $2,024
Instant Savings $461
Subtotal $1,563
What is the automated PC tune up?
Is the processor speed (2.8GHz) really gonna benefit me at all?
I don't need the 500 gigs of memory. I don't need McAfee for 36 months. I'd rather get a one year warranty and upgrade as I go (it's cheaper).
I just recently bought a XPS 1640, and I am wondering if I have chosen the right hardware for the laptop. I'm a college freshman, so I need a long lasting laptop with good battery life and hard drive space.
Here are the specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo P8700(2.53GHz/1066Mhz FSB/3M L2 Cache)
4GB, DDR3, 1067 MHz 2 Dimm for XPS 1640
15.6 inch Wide Screen 16:9 900p HD+ WLED LCD W/2.0MP, XPS 1640
ATI Mobility RADEON M96XT - 1GB
320GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
Intel 5100 Wireless-N (1x2) Half Mini-Card
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion P Primary Battery
Is this a good combination of hardware? I know a TAD bit about computers, but not any in depth stuff.
Latitute E6400 (comparing with T400 from Lenovo)
my E6400 configuration options
1.For $50 more i can get a 2.53GHZ processor vs. 2.4GHz.
I can't imagine a noticable difference in performance
2.Should I get the WXGA or WXGA+
I also have an option called "Privacy Flexibility" - I assume it has something to do with
preventing others next to you from seeing your work.
3.My assumption is to go with the express card slot option NOT the PC card slot option
4.Integrated intel graphics or NVidia quadro ?
I don't plan on playing many games. Just want to watch DVDs, Tivo files and youtube videos
5. Backlit keyboard worth $50?
6.How much RAM. With Vista, I know 2GB is plenty. But how much should I get to support Windows 7?
7.How many of you have chosen the 80211.n card vs. the one that supports just B and G?
8.Do any of you actually use your fingerprint reader?
I've been checking out dell notebooks and using their system builder for the past few days. And every time I configure a system there's always something different in their config options. Mind you, sometimes this is with the same exact model.
For example, I will customize a Studio 15 and it will let me select the "No security software" option, which is nice because I hate bloatware. But then I will try again in an hour or two and that option will be gone and I'll be forced to choose the Mcafee trial.
I am in the process of ordering a new e6500. I have been reading through the forum for the last week and I came to the following configuration but would like to clarify a couple of questions.
Just an idea of what laptops I have, I am using Latitude D610, Latitude D620, Thinkpad T60. This might give you an idea of what I am used to. I find T60 is the best overall, D620 very mobile but slow, D610 ok and stable.
Here is what I am thinking for the e6500.
Latitude E6500 Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P8600 (2.40GHz, 3M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Operating Systems Genuine Windows Vista Business Bonus-Windows XP Professional downgrade
Memory 4.0GB, DDR2-800 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
Internal Keyboard Internal English Backlit Keyboard
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
250GB Hard Drive, 7200RPM with Free Fall Sensor
No Fingerprint Reader
15.4” UltraSharp™ Wide WXGA+ (1440x900) LED Display-Brushed Metal Black
Dell Wireless® 370 Bluetooth Module
Modem Internal 56K Modem
8X DVD+/-RW w/Roxio and Cyberlink Power DVD™
Camera / Microphone Integrated Webcam with digital microphone
Intel® WiFi Link 5300 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card
Intel vPro™ Technology’s advanced mgmt features are Off for future use
This machine will be used mainly for the Internet and not so demanding applications.
Now,
1) What do you think overall? Any issues to watch for?
2) Should I go for the WUXGA? I have been reading about the small font but was not sure. My T60 is set to 1280x800
3) I read about HDD noise, should I downgrade to 5400 or maybe upgrade to SSD?
I’m about ready to buy my XPS 1530, but wanted to check with the forum to see if I’m making any big mistakes. I came up with the configuration because I always have tons of documents open at the same time & also have a lot of programs open at the same time. This includes more than one photo editing program & a video editing program. My hard disk is always going, swapping things out. So I wanted something that will really speed things up.
I also don’t have a TV so use my computer to watch DVD’s. Later on I plan to get a larger external monitor to make use of the Blu-ray drive. My configuration follows. Let me know if I’m missing anything.
Also, I had a few minor questions.
I’m going to bite the bullet & get the 64 bit version of Vista. Do I also get the 32 bit DVD so I can use that if 64 doesn’t work for me?
I’m thinking of getting the LED screen. Is it worth the extra cost? Any downside?
I’m getting Dell wireless N. Is that the best?
I’m getting Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate) since it’s not that much more, but I don’t know what it is.
I was just on the Dell site and noticed that some configuration options for the XPS M1730 have changed...for instance it doesn't come with Blu-ray by default anymore and you can't select a single hard drive option. Before I was able to select a "200GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)" but I don't see that as an option anymore. The equivalent seems to be the "RAID Performance: 400GB (2x200GB) 7200RPM". Do you think it is RAID-0 or RAID-1?
Also do you think they will bring back the old choices or can I request them? Also what do these changes in configuration usually mean...did they find that the original configuration was causing problems?
Finally with the two SLI 8700 NVIDIA cards...is SLI enabled by default or will Dell have to release drivers for them? I thought on the Alienware website, when customizing a M9750, it said that you can purchase SLI but Vista doesn't support it yet and you will be e-mailed the drivers when available...so does Dell have the drivers already (or is SLI not enabled yet on the XPS M1730 either)?
I've seen a number of rescent posts where folks are still setting up RAID platforms even though dual core and now quad core processors are becoming mainstream.Is it the additional chipset that you demand or what is it that requires the additional hp you seek? there is no game out there I cannot play without it and short of CAD I see little use other than proffesional requirements (NIMBUS 2.1 or Zach, perhaps).
View 14 Replies View RelatedNot sure how exactly to get RAID setup - I've never set it up myself. Could anyone explain how to set up your computer in RAID in Vista/
View 5 Replies View RelatedPicked up a great deal on a 1730 with a 128SSD and 320 2nd drive - Does anyone know if the 120 will be faster than if I were to go with 2 7200 rpm drives? The price difference for the SSD is "UP THERE" so I at least want to know if its as fast as a conventional 2 hard drive raid zero approach.
Also does anyone have any links to spec's for the Dell 128SSD? Is it the Memoright 128GB.
Possibly off topic, but it is related to a Dell Precision (workstation..)
A message that you don't want to see on your main file server..."TERMINAL DISK FAILURE"...
Happily, I just pull the borked disk out and stick in a spare (of the wrong capacity, but hey...) whilst awaiting the arrival of a replacement...and all is well
I have a Dell 1749 into which I have installed two OCZ Vertex 3 MaxIOPS SSD drives. Boot times are pretty fast using a single, non-raid, drive but I was thinking of configuring the two drives in a RAID 0 configuration to boost speed a bit further. I could not find anything in the bios settings that would allow the SATA controller to go to a RAID configuration. I guess, therefore, that at least the laptop that I have does not have RAID capabilities. Were there any Studio 1749 system boards that did indeed support RAID?
View 4 Replies View RelatedAny other difference other than turbo? For my uses I really don't see where turbo is going to be beneficial. My most demanding task is encoding where all four cores are going to be used so turbo will be moot. Anything I am missing here? I don't do enough encoding to justify the i7, IMHO day to day performance will be better with the higher clocked 1i3/i5. $75 difference.
IGP vs. Dedicated
No gaming so no dedicated card needed? One thing I am really liking with my current rig is the nvidia GPU with flash 10.1 enabling support for it. If I am understanding this correctly the GMA4500 is supported so it should be fine. Main thing is HD youtube videos, I noticed a tremendous difference once I installed the beta. $110 difference.
After several problems with booting, I had my Precision m4400 serviced by Dell. Just in case, both the mainboard and the processor were replaced (I also had my LCD replaced at some time due to inversion issues).
When I looked at Device Manager and dxdiag, both told me that I had a Quadro FX 1700M (my system is supposed to have the 770M). In addition, the viewing angles on my LCD became rather restrictive compared to the previous screens before they started failing.
I ordered this Dell laptop a few days ago, and was wondering just how powerful it really is? ...
View 10 Replies View RelatedI'm going RAID 0 with my new 1730, and will be going 2 X 160GB in RAID 0.
The question is will windows defrag tool, know how to properly handle the 1/2 and 1/2 file fragments on both drives?
I would assume that it would, by simply moving a fragment and it's assosiated 1/2 on the other drive to the same spot on both disks? Or would it not?
If it's not, what defrag tools are RAID 0 compatible?
A serious question when you consider VISTA's "advanced" or more correctly "complicated" page/swap file use and RAID 0. The way I see it, is under defragmentation a raid configuration could be realy hurt by fragmentation as you effectively double the normal rate of fragmentation in a RAID configuration.
First have 2 drives of course. main drive and a Optical 2 SATA or PATA.
my howto is for a 320 and a 250 raided giving you 250/250 =465 real gb of space.
first partition the 320 drive when installing XP PRO so that you have your main partition 70gb and the rest leave for later. also just leave the other drive for later as well.
Install windows XP pro on the 70gb partition.
get your drivers etc programs etc and all other shit that you want setup.
next hack the registry to enable Dynamic Drives on XP-PRO. Funny cuz they say that you can't get dynamic drives on notebooks. not even with XP PRO.
go into :
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetServices
and change the following
.
in the services dir there is each reg dir and the corresponding start value.
you must change the start value to whats below.
dmadmin: 3
dmboot: 4
dmio: 0
dmload: 0
dmserver: 2
after that reboot.
then go into control panel, admin tools, computer management and then disk management.
right click on the windows drive and click on convert to dynamic.
it will pop up with a list of drives you have *2 of course cuz thats all we have* so check the other drive. and convert to dynamic. just say ok to the next few things it asks you. and reboot.
after reboot go back into disk management and right click on the second partition in the windows drive and click "new volume" and choose stripped in the list for what kind of volume. click next until format and do a quick format.
bingo you just created a raid 0 drive which will not be redundant but will be UBER QUICK.
mine has a 8ms response time.
sorry for my crappy howto. but I really wanted raid in my notebook and there was no howto's so it took alot of digging.
Anyone using SSD's in the M6400 in RAID 0?
I'm trying to figure all this stuff out until my M6400 arrives. By creating this thread I hope others can benefit from this instead of searching and reading 100's of pages...
Since prices have dropped and they are more affordable now some will want to explore this options but not everyone is aware of advantages/disadvantages, benefit .....
I purchased a Sony AW230J/H believing it would be easy to convert to a RAID 0 array by installing my 2 Intel SSD drives. Turns out on this particular model they turned the RAID options off in the BIOS so I can't access it, and install a NON-RAID version of Intel Storage! But, striping/mirroring are available in the native VISTA Storage of Manage Computer! So, how can I create a RAID on drives that are already being used to boot into the OS? Or does anyone know any tricks to turn ON the RAID Bios so I can configure it PRE-OS installation? When I right click on the 2nd SSD (unpartiioned) all options for mirrow/striping/etc are available, but no drives to add to it. My primary drive has those items greyed out?
View 9 Replies View Related