VMWare Workstation Dev Machine Disks: one fast or four echofriendly raid?

Posted by Avi on Server Fault See other posts from Server Fault or by Avi
Published on 2010-05-01T19:12:36Z Indexed on 2010/05/01 19:18 UTC
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I'm building a new dev computer. It will be running a few VMWare Worksation virtual machines - A dev machine running VS-2010, a build machine, a version-control machine, a web server for testing, a "personal" machine running office etc. I'll be connecting the computer to my stereo, so I'll also be running iTunes (possible on a dedicated VM) and I want the computer to be a silent one. I'll probably use an Antec P183 case.

I was advised on Serverfault to use Raid10 for performance. Raid 10 uses 4 disks.

So, my question is as follows: In terms of heat, noise, reliability, warranty, price, capacity and performance, what would you suggest: A Raid10 4 disk array using eco-friendly disks such as the $94 1TB Western Digital Caviar Green, or one high performance disk such as the 2TB Western Digital Caviar Black at $280?

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