Exact procedure for first-time RAID 0 setup?

[DannyLarry]

I have an MSI 845Ultra ARU coming this week. Got 2 Maxtor 40GB ATA133 hdds with it for RAID 0. This will be my first home-built sys, so I am pretty excited..

Just hoping to get a leg-up on the install and config process. When I first install the cpu and ram on the mobo and get it in the case and connect all the power and signal cables, do i connect both hard drives initially and boot to a system disk to run fdisk on each? Will it come with some RAID format utility that makes it all a no-brainer? What's the actual process, step-by-step?

ALSO: Any suggestions on cluster size? I've read many different opinions for optimum performance. I mainly want the speed boost for hdd-intensive games (I know - there aren't that many, I really just want to dick around with RAID..)

Any help is truly appreciated! This system should be great bangforbuck: P4 1.6A, MSI 845Ultra ARU, Enermax 10bay 300w, Maxtor 40GB ATA133 x 2 in RAID0, Gainward 128MB GF3Ti200 Golden Sample, 256 Crucial PC2100.

TIA

DL

 

[DannyLarry]

BTW this will be Win98 if it supports USB 2.0 (still trying to confirm that in another forum..), or win2K, possibly XP..

Some comforting info from anybody? PLEASE!?

 

[jlathrop]

Sounds like a really nice system your building.

MSI encloses a separate booklet for RAID with your mobo. It is fairly comprehensive and detailed and is more that sufficient for getting your RAID set up and running. There is a separate BIOS setup screen for the RAID which is explained in the booklet. I don't have mine handy at the moment but I had no difficulty setting up mine.

Good luck and have fun...