RAID/Backup Question

C

Captain Jaxx

New Member
I've never used RAID before, but have an idea how it works. I just bought this mobo: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P

If I decide to do a RAID 1 configuration, do I have to buy a Raid card, or does the mobo have everything I need built in?

Actually, I just want my data to be safe in case of a HD failure. I thought RAID may be easier than doing backups. But I've never done it before. Is it easier to just backup what I want to save to my 2nd drive instead of using RAID?

Thanks for any suggestions.
 
RAID 1 is a mirrored configuration. Data is written to both drives simultaneously so it is easier than doing a backup but it also puts more wear on the disk since it has to spin up more as you write. An external backup drive would only have to spin up when you do a backup and after that it is off, making it last longer.
 
RAID 1 is a mirrored configuration. Data is written to both drives simultaneously so it is easier than doing a backup
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It's not a backup solution though it's an integrity solution. You wont lose data to a failure but you will lose data to accidently deleting something. That said, since you said you are just worried about drive failure RAID1 is fine.
puts more wear on the disk since it has to spin up more
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Unless you have windows set to turn off the hard drives when the system is idle they spin up once and only spin down when you power the system off.
 
Cromewell said:
Unless you have windows set to turn off the hard drives when the system is idle they spin up once and only spin down when you power the system off.
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Maybe I should have phrased it differently. A RAID1 mirrored drive would still be spinning for longer periods. Usually external disks spin up when being written to and spin down after an idle period so in either case, an external would have less wear compared to a mirrored drive over a long period of time. I'm not sure about what it is set in Vista or XP but Windows 7 has it set by default to turn off disks after a set idle period so in that case it would spin up more unless he is RAIDing the OS drive which I doubt would ever spin down to begin with.
 
I have said this a million times. RAID is really more of a niche user and server side technology. You won't gain any real benefit from running it, unless the machine needs to have zero down time and it is used for business.

I suggest just running regular back ups.
 
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