Is a new build using Raid 5 experiencing performance issues?
Is a new build using Raid 5 experiencing performance issues?
I have a fresh system with an Aorus Z690 i9, paired with four IronWolf Pro 8TB drives in a RAID 5 setup. It’s not very experienced with tech, and my friend assembled it for me. Everything appears to function properly, but the performance is quite slow—almost nonexistent except for Windows 10. I’m using the system board RAID and not any additional cards.
For launching files, I use the quick launch method. The first time it opens takes between 5 to 15 seconds, and sometimes the PC stalls for 10 to 30 seconds. The HDD light is solid, and everything looks new. In Task Manager, disk usage stays at 0%—everything seems normal. However, when usage reaches 25–50%, performance drops significantly. I suspect this is related to the RAID configuration.
I transferred a small folder using the 2.5GB port from a 12GB drive on PC RAID to my home NAS via USB. The transfer was about 286MB, which matched expectations. During copying, it slowed down sharply, dropping to near zero before recovering. The initial copy took roughly 1.5 minutes, but the return took around 5 minutes. When I tried to open Firefox during this process, it took over a minute to launch.
I repeated the test with a USB-connected HDD on the same PC. The transfer was about 286MB and stayed close to the expected speed. Task Manager showed 0% usage, and after finishing, the HDD was back at normal levels. The issue seems tied specifically to the RAID setup. It took nearly a week for the RAID initialization to complete—probably a bit longer than expected.
Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated. I’m not very comfortable with command-line tools like ProMP commands.
For what purpose is this RAID designed? It seems completely unnecessary for most users and could even be damaging in the worst cases. Is this device meant to function as a server or workstation handling massive, continuous data tasks? If not, reset the RAID and begin anew. Because assigning such a complex setup to someone new would be a mistake, and you'd be better off handling it yourself.
Is the Windows 10 installation coming from a distinct storage device, such as an SATA SSD or an M.2 NVMe drive? Even though RAID 5 offers high read performance, the write speeds to the array are likely to remain below those of a single drive.
The slowdown you notice during a 12GB file copy to NAS could stem from a folder in the RAID setup that holds numerous small files—typically under 5MB each. Such fragmentation often causes transfer delays.
You may encounter similar interruptions when moving small files to Linear Tape Open (LTO) cartridges. While copying 50MB RAW image files directly to tape works well, groups of tiny JPGs (under 10MB each) can trigger tape errors.
To address this, I use WinRAR to bundle directories full of tiny files into a single archive before sending them to tape. You might try the same approach on your system.
If you have a single 12GB file, like a high-definition movie, consider copying it from the RAID 5 array directly to the NAS. If performance issues persist, let me know.
You could ask someone to inspect the drives for a few days before installation to ensure all components are functioning properly. I currently avoid using motherboard RAID and prefer LSI SAS controller cards. The dedicated hard disk controller lets the CPU handle other tasks, but your i9 processor is more than sufficient.
I’m presently transferring 520GB of holiday photos to a new 8-drive TrueNAS Core RAID-Z2 array, constructed from four 4TB Enterprise hard disks. Note that RAID-Z2 functions similarly to RAID 6, adding another parity block.
The write speed from my portable SSD to the RAID-Z2 array is currently 96MB/s over Gigabit Ethernet—this is likely the maximum achievable speed, not a constraint imposed by Gigabit. I’ve just begun the file comparison, and the array is reading at 70MB/s (slower than writes).
I don’t have a 10GbE NIC on this RAID-Z2 server, as it would be unnecessary given the read and write capabilities of the array.
You might consider splitting your RAID 5 array as recommended, which would free up another 8TB of space. Four 8TB drives in RAID 5 provide only 24TB total, plus 8TB for parity—four separate 8TB drives would yield 32TB of available space.
The arrangement of four individual 8TB drives is entirely up to you, but remember: excessive duplication of critical data should be avoided (ideally not all in one location). If feasible, relocate some of the 8TB drives to another machine to mitigate risks from ransomware, fire, power failures, etc. RAID 5 only safeguards against a single disk failure (in theory), not real-world scenarios.
Alternatively, you could keep experimenting with RAID 5 and varying file sizes. It’s a process with its challenges, but it’s ultimately about finding what works best for you. Happy experimenting.
Why the RAID 5?
Especially if this is the only storage in this system.