New To Raid

teamhex

teamhex

Active Member
Alright iv got the setup in my Sig. I'm wondering how this works, I understand the concept of it, but iv never done before. I'm really looking for speed here. So Im assuming Raid 0(striped) will be what im looking for. Iv got a 750 gigger in there, and im thinking about buying another one. Same model n all. So how would this work? Also is there a big speed increase? I'm really looking to lower my load times on games and my boot speed.
 
Nothing ?
Do I have to have the same brand and model hard drives?
Can I run 2 in RAID 0 and still have a slave drive?
 
Raid 0 supposedly increases speed so you get faster load times. You need 2 drives the same size not necessarily the same brand though. And yes you can still have a slave drive or data drive.
 
Many will say that in real world application the gains from RAID arrays are minimal, though it seems many here run RAID 0. I prefer RAID arrays myself mostly for the data protection of the mirror configurations - Something you don't have in RAID 0. RAID 5 is a good compromise between speed and protection, though at that point you only need one more drive for RAID 10. With two new drives a RAID 0 setup SHOULD be reliable for a number of years, though no guarantees.

RAID arrays aren't for everyone. Thay are somewhat difficult to setup, though if you can read a manual and have some patience, you can setup a RAID array.

Your MB has the Drive Xpert option for RAID setups so you have a choice of how you wish to configure it, with Drive Xpert, or the conventional BIOS/southbridge method. Both achieve the same thing, a choice of RAID 0, 1, 5, or 10. The conventional method is a fairly involved procedure and you'll need a floppy drive. The Drive Xpert method requires three drives to setup the RAID on two drives, the third drive is needed for the operating system. You start with a conventional installation on the third drive then migrate the operating system to the two raid drives via software leaving you with the option to use the third drive as a data drive or remove it and store all data on the RAID array. I've used both methods and have settled on the conventional BIOS/southbridge method. Maybe more complex, but doesn't require the extra drive and I am familiar with the steps involved. All instructions for both methods are covered in your MB manual.
 
One thing that I've noticed with RAID running on a mobo with IDE or SATA drives is they have a high likelyhood of failing. This and the marginal performance gains is why I tell people if you have to ask RAID isn't for you. It just seems that IDE and SATA drives just aren't as reliable as the old SCSI drives were back in the day.
 
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