{"id":9769,"date":"2011-04-29T10:32:33","date_gmt":"2011-04-29T15:32:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/?p=9769"},"modified":"2014-05-22T13:34:07","modified_gmt":"2014-05-22T18:34:07","slug":"testing-raid-0-in-a-macbook-pro-using-the-data-doubler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/9769-testing-raid-0-in-a-macbook-pro-using-the-data-doubler\/","title":{"rendered":"Testing: RAID 0<\/font> in a MacBook Pro using the Data Doubler."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Among the different configuration options available when using the OWC Data Doubler<\/a> in your MacBook or MacBook Pro is setting both drives to function as a RAID 0 (striped) array. This combines both drives (the one in the Data Doubler equipped optical bay and the one in the original hard drive bay) into a single volume, which provides an increase in data access speed.<\/p>\n

Since we\u2019ve had several questions about this, we decided to put this configuration to the test by using different combinations of hard drives and SSDs to determine which offered the best balance of price, capacity and performance.<\/p>\n

Our test machine was a 2011 13″ MacBook Pro (MacBookPro8,1) with a 2.3GHz Intel Core 5 processor and 4GB of RAM. Inside, we replaced the optical drive with an OWC Data Doubler to allow us to utilize a second drive.<\/p>\n

Configuration<\/strong><\/h2>\n

For simplicity\u2019s sake, we tested four configurations:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Two Mercury EXTREME Pro RE 50GB SSDs<\/a> configured as a RAID 0*<\/li>\n
  2. Two 2.5″ Seagate Momentus 7200.4 500GB 7200RPM hard drives<\/a> configured as RAID 0*<\/li>\n
  3. One Mercury EXTREME Pro RE SSD in the Hard Drive Bay and one of the Seagate hard drives in the Data Doubler. For this test, we installed the OS on the SSD and relocated the Home folder<\/a> to the larger hard drive.<\/li>\n
  4. One Mercury EXTREME Pro RE SSD in the Hard Drive Bay and one of the Seagate hard drives in the Data Doubler. All the software was on the SSD, leaving the 500GB as \u201cgeneral\u201d storage.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    *Note that due to the nature of RAID 0, we would highly recommend if you are working with important files that you consider getting an external drive<\/a> for backup purposes. If you do have a drive failure in a RAID 0 setup, all your important information could easily be lost. Even if you are not going with a RAID 0 setup, it is important to keep a backup of any information you do not want to lose<\/a>.<\/h5>\n

    Tests<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    We ran two different performance tests. The first was the same boot test we use in our SSD shootout videos<\/a>. It times how long it takes to boot Mac OS X and launch 4 apps from Adobe Creative Suite.<\/p>\n

    The second test was the same Photoshop action used in our Memory Benchmark Tests<\/a>. Since this test generally fills the available amount of memory, and then goes to the scratch disk, this test offers some good insight as to disk performance as Photoshop reads and writes from the default drive.<\/p>\n

    Results<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    We\u2019re sure you are as excited to see the results as we were. So, without any further ado, here we go:<\/p>\n

    Boot Launch Test<\/strong><\/h3>\n