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24 SSD's in RAID.


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So I bought a couple of Patriot SSDs... I gotta say OMG!

 

It is totally out of control!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you are looking for REAL performance and REAL competitive advantage -- this is it!

 

C-Drive - Raid1 across two drives.(+/- 280MB/second read, 175MB/second write)

Boot, Windows, Programs, Pofiles.

 

E-Drive - Raid0 across two drives.(+/- 560 MB/second read, 350MB/second write)

Temp directories, iexplorer, and reference files (as needed).

 

I'm done - stick a fork in me. It is incredibly fast, faster than anything I need.

 

I also got the iCore 7 860. With eight virtual cores -- it is way faster than anything I need. Essentially, it will probably be too fast for a couple of years.

 

I LOVE Moore's Law!!!

Edited by luckytohaveher
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I also got the iCore 7 860. With eight virtual cores -- it is way faster than anything I need. Essentially, it will probably be too fast for a couple of years.

 

Why the 860? ...everyone is pointing towards the 920 as the way to go. I know the 860 is faster, and it is only slightly more price wise, but I thought there was something about the architecture that was supposed to make the 920 a better choice.

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So I bought a couple of Patriot SSDs... I gotta say OMG!

 

It is totally out of control!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you are looking for REAL performance and REAL competitive advantage -- this is it!

 

C-Drive - Raid1 across two drives.(+/- 280MB/second read, 175MB/second write)

Boot, Windows, Programs, Pofiles.

 

E-Drive - Raid0 across two drives.(+/- 560 MB/second read, 350MB/second write)

Temp directories, iexplorer, and reference files (as needed).

 

I'm done - stick a fork in me. It is incredibly fast, faster than anything I need.

 

I also got the iCore 7 860. With eight virtual cores -- it is way faster than anything I need. Essentially, it will probably be too fast for a couple of years.

 

I LOVE Moore's Law!!!

 

those speeds r Sequencial Read/Write's.. u will rarely benefit from these on ur daily computer activity, unless u transfer large sized files around..

what defines the system's readiness of reaction is the Random Read/Writes (check it out by running programs like CrystalDiskMark or AS SSD Benchmark), so since the SSD access times r already around 0.2ms, using RAID 0 wont do much for u in this case..

 

also i'd get a regular drive as a slave if i were u.. u dont wanna be pointing any Temp Folders, Internet Browser Cache files Folders, P2P network downloads or anything that does a lot of fragmented writing to the SSD, otherwise u'll be shortening the SSD's lifespan..

 

 

Why the 860? ...everyone is pointing towards the 920 as the way to go. I know the 860 is faster, and it is only slightly more price wise, but I thought there was something about the architecture that was supposed to make the 920 a better choice.

 

maybe i just havent been up to speed on this but for me its unclear how big of a difference there will between these 2 platforms in the future..

except of course that the 920 platform will be the first to get a 6-core CPU shortly (i dont think the other platform will get it soon, if at all)..

 

the 920 platform (socket 1366) is said to be a High-End platform, whereas the other platform (socket 1156) is refered to as the Mainstream platform..

so far thats the only difference i've heard between the 2, (socket 1366 will get a 6-Core)..

 

oh, and i dont think the socket 1156 has Triple-Channel Memory, if this chart is correct:

 

47a.jpg

 

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the 920 platform (socket 1366) is said to be a High-End platform, whereas the other platform (socket 1156) is refered to as the Mainstream platform..

so far thats the only difference i've heard between the 2, (socket 1366 will get a 6-Core)..

 

oh, and i dont think the socket 1156 has Triple-Channel Memory, if this chart is correct:

 

Yes, I think those were the two reasons addressed in favor of 920. Interesting clock times on Fry though. It probably is about time to resurrect one of the benchmark threads, or create a new one.

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Oops -- I didn't mean to get to technical, I was just trying to give some advice.

 

I went with the iCore7 860 for the turbo boost, the eight virtual and four true cores. I am doing some intense math on another platform and wanted the speed. Also, I only wanted to spend so much money. Dual Xeons would be nice, but way too expensive.

 

I have another dual 500GB raid 1 configuration for data, backups, etc. I wanted good overall system speed, not just the fastest CPU or card. I do work with datasets and wanted the I/O throughput.

 

I ran the MAX 6 apache 200 frame sample file (with the background resizing) and got a time of 1 minute 20 seconds. Fast enough for rendering. It loads Windows XP Pro with a bazillion drivers in 30 seconds or so. I will upgrade to Win7 seven at some point, maybe January.

 

I just can't use all the power the system has, first time in life for me!

 

I got the new X58 MSI motherboard. Pretty good overall; however, I couldn't get the system to boot with the motherboard RAID and my existing PCI Raid card installed at the same time. I had to buy two new drives. I think most of the motherboard raid chips will have this problem with a PCI raid card running concurrently at boot, so not a big deal really. Besides now I have newer drives with one set of management. I just had to spend more up front.

 

The MSI motherboard did NOT COME WITH THE WINDOWS DRIVER DISK - UGH! So, I had download the file, setup the disk, and figure that out. It was a pain and NOT in the MB manual either. Their Over-Clocking Genie, which is supposed to be "all that" isn't. It set my 1800mhz ram to 866mhz or something and took the CPU down by 50% or so. I went with manual settings. The Turbo-boost will only work if you turn it on AND if you overclock the system (by my usage anyway) at the same time. There is bios setting for it, but the detailed setting only go into effect once you set the multiplier at least 1-click higher. This all took time, but I got it to work.

Edited by luckytohaveher
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Now I am just confused. I may need to pretend this thread never happened. I had settled on the 920 over the 860, though I still have yet to make my purchase on any parts, so I can still change my mind.

 

But do I want to... not sure? Puhhhh...

 

I am simply looking for overall speed, and performance when it comes to rendering and graphics. Right now I am looking at a 920, 12gb ram (possibly 6), with Intel SSD.

Edited by Crazy Homeless Guy
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You appear on track!

Go with the SSD for the boot drive -- for SURE!

Here is Intel's link for the CPUs:

http://ark.intel.com/ProductCollection.aspx?familyID=28037

 

They are virtually the same processor, see the specs below. If I were buying today, the 920 would be the choice, so you are right -- go for the 920.

 

The 920 is better. I just checked the Intel web ste. The 860 was Q3 release, which I got; however, the Q4 release of the 920 gives full triple channel addressing for an additional 3GB/sec of memory transfer (920-24Gb/sec vs. 860-21Gb/sec). The 860 has a slightly different turbo boost scheme which is maybe better subfunction, however, the 920 is the faster chip all around. The 860 does use 35 watts less power, but that is not really the point is it? ;^>

 

The 920:

Status Launched

Launch Date Q4'08

Processor Number i7-920

# of Cores 4

Processor Base Frequency 2.66 GHz

Max Turbo Frequency 2.93 GHz

Intel® Smart Cache 8 MB

Bus/Core Ratio 20

Intel® QPI Speed 4.8 GT/s

# of QPI Links 1

Instruction Set 64-bit

Instruction Set Extensions SSE4.2

Embedded

Supplemental SKU

Lithography 45 nm

Max TDP 130 W

VID Voltage Range 0.800V-1.375V

1ku Bulk Budgetary Price $284.00

Max Memory Size

(dependent on memory type) 24 GB

Memory Types DDR3-800/1066

# of Memory Channels 3

Max Memory Bandwidth 25.6 GB/s

Physical Address Extensions 36-bit

 

 

The 860:

Status Launched

Launch Date Q3'09

Processor Number i7-860

# of Cores 4

Processor Base Frequency 2.8 GHz

Max Turbo Frequency 3.46 GHz

Intel® Smart Cache 8 MB

Bus/Core Ratio 21

DMI 2.5 GT/s

Instruction Set 64-bit

Instruction Set Extensions SSE4.2

Embedded

Supplemental SKU

Lithography 45 nm

Max TDP 95 W

1ku Bulk Budgetary Price $284.00

Max Memory Size

(dependent on memory type) 16 GB

Memory Types DDR3-1066/1333

# of Memory Channels 2

Max Memory Bandwidth 21 GB/s

Physical Address Extensions 36-bit

Edited by luckytohaveher
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