Should I leave some spare space?

[idata]

I am building a new computer for work and it will have two x25M-G2 80GB drives in a RAID1 configuration. I have updated the firmware so that I will have TRIM supported, but I realize that TRIM will not (currently) work for RAID. I am using an Asus P7P55D-E Pro and will be using Win7 64.

I have read that it is beneficial to leave some space on the drive for longevity purposes. My question is this: Is there any significant diference between these two scenarios?

1. I partition only 64GB of the drive and leave the rest unpartitioned

2. I make the largest partion possible (about 76GB), but never use more than about 64GB.

And finally, do I need to (or should I) install the Intel RST Drivers?

Thanks

CV

[idata]

Yes TRIM does not work with RAID, so the best you can do is to use the whole disk (do not create a smaller partition and leave unallocated space) and try to have at least 10 GB free. Unfortunately, you will have after a while to unRAID the disks and clean them seperately to restore them to their initial performance state.

Unfortunately, I cannot help you with the RST drivers since I haven't used them.

[DZand]

caesarv schrieb:

do I need to (or should I) install the Intel RST Drivers?

You don't need to install the Intel RST drivers, but I do recommend it, because they are optimized for being used with Intel SSD's running Win7 (32/64bit).

The currently best RST driver for me and my Intel RAID system (ICH10R with 2x160 GB Intel Postville SSD's as RAI0) is v9.5.6.1001.