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WD6400AAKS vs WD6401AALS

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All the blacks come with a 5 year. I think newegg didn't have it listed on the product page, but the warranty is listed on the WD site.
 
Hey again, came across a little info that some might find interesting if they come by:

A NewEgg review of a single ALLS drive:

Lightning in a Bottle

{blah blah, benchmarks and stuff}

Reviewed by "Jimmy"

These drives DO perform nicely but when someone thinks HDTach/HDTune STR benchmark is the only thing that tells you a drive's real usage performance they don't know what they're talking about.

Anyone know if you can have 3 of these WD6401AALS in the same system, but only use 2 in RAID0 and the 3rd for storage? Will the ICH10R let you configure this?

Also so anyone know if these WD6401AALS have a 3 or 5 year warranty?

dja2k

Yes, you can configure the drives as you posted. You just select which drives to make part of the RAID array and any you don't select will just be regular drives.
 
All the blacks come with a 5 year. I think newegg didn't have it listed on the product page, but the warranty is listed on the WD site.
Thanks for clarifying that for me; yeah I asked because Newegg doesn't have it listed on there.

Yes, you can configure the drives as you posted. You just select which drives to make part of the RAID array and any you don't select will just be regular drives.
Thanks! That's what I needed to verify before ordering 3 WD 640's.

dja2k
 
Would you benefit from setting up 3 WD 640's in a Matrix Raid like in the "How to set up a Matrix Raid array (with pictures)" thread? Or just use 2 in Raid0?

I am getting confused in my own thoughts on the idea of 3 vs 2 640's. I have 2 500gb externals that hold all my data as backup that I download to my main drives. So I still don't know if just setting up 2 640's in Matrix Raid0 is sufficient and I don't need any 3rd drive for storage because my externals provide that benefit.

dja2k
 
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I'm about to order 2 of these drives, but I've been reading around that you cannot make Vista boot off of a RAID 0 setup?
 
Vista does RAID 0 and 1 with dynamic disks, but you can't make a RAID 0 array your boot partition. Also you can't bench the array with hdtach or hd tune. Gotta use Sisoft Sandra file system benchmark.

So this is wrong? Or is my reading comprehension terrible :(
 
I've been booting of a RAID 0 and Vista for a while now; its no different than booting off XP using the F6 Raid Drivers method, but Vista already has the Raid drivers integrated so no need for those drivers.

I think with the buy.com $15 credit from PayPal deal today, I am ordering two 640's and setting them up in a Matrix dual Raid 0 setup.

dja2k
 
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I don't think thats right.

In fact I'm pretty sure I was running my Vista x64 off of a RAID setup a while ago, but then again maybe i'm insane.

edit: Guess I didn't post fast enough :p

Nick
 
Got my two WD6401AALS and this is what I am showing with HD Tune and HD Tack. First two are without volume cache-back disabled and the last two are with it on. Do you guys keep volume cache-back permanently enabled or not?

dja2k
 

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So you can't go wrong either way when it comes to selecting between these two?

No. Actually the AALS is significantly faster (if you're paying close enough attention ;) )

I'm in for two. There's only a $5 price difference between getting the 640 or getting the 500. Might as well pocket an extra 240 gigs on the raid side.

Who knows?

Might have to play a game or something. :D
 
Thanks for that. I thought about getting either the WD640 or the WD Caviar Black 1 TB drive. Still trying to juggle between the two. Or I just might get both of them. :santa:

No. Actually the AALS is significantly faster (if you're paying close enough attention ;) )

I'm in for two. There's only a $5 price difference between getting the 640 or getting the 500. Might as well pocket an extra 240 gigs on the raid side.

Who knows?

Might have to play a game or something. :D
 
I don't know about significantly faster, probably not enough that you'd notice in day-to-day use. rainless likes to exagerrate things just a little ;) Unfortunately smaller size drives in a series don't usually get the full application benchmark reviews from reliable websites.But for near the same cost might as well get the Caviar Black.
 
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