First time creating a RAID array

[Stretchman]

Hey Guys,

I'm sitting in front of a brand new Asus A8N-SLI motherboard. I have two identical 160gb Seagate SATA HDD's, which I plan to set up in RAID0 (striping).

Which controller should i use: Nvidia's or Silicon Image? Looking at the manual here, both look relatively easy to set up, but i'd appreciate any advice or tips from experienced users. Thanks very much.

 

[Ronin]

I've always used the nVidia controllers, personally. I believe reviews show that they're the better of the two (on boards that have both).

 

[Stretchman]

Thanks for your input. I wonder if people have been having any difficulties with Nvidia's controller? I'll have to check up on it, but i seem to remember people having some difficulties with it on the hardware analysis forums.

 

[virtualrain]

The nV controller is integrated into the chipset while the SI controller is on the PCI bus. You will have higher max. throughput on the nV controller.

 

[CZroe]

Some onboard SIL controllers support RAID5 despite what the box, manual, reviews and even Sillicon image's spec sheets say. That may be incentive enough considering that HDDs can only burst for a fraction of a second at speeds over 133MBps anyway. The nVidia RAID utility can probably access drives connected to the SIL controller if it's the "PHY-only" variety (I don't have time to check the specs).

 

[gdsqx9]

Raid 0 is stripping only no redundancy. It will be very fast, but if you loose 1 drive you loose both. So don't forget to take good backups.

 

[Stretchman]

Much appreciated

Since this is my first time, I think i'll just use Nvidia's Controller. Wish me luck!

 

[imported_itr]

may i suggest a WD raptor?

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Yes, you should use the nVidia controller. However, RAID 5 > RAID 0, and nVidia controllers don't support RAID 5 I believe...

 

[Ronin]

Raid 5 in a home environment really isn't necessary (or realistic, for most). Mirroring, perhaps, for data integrity, but not 5.

 

[GamerExpress]

Originally posted by: gdsqx9
Raid 0 is stripping only no redundancy. It will be very fast, but if you loose 1 drive you loose both. So don't forget to take good backups.

Please show me where you see "it will be very fast", that's just not true!!!!

Sure a Raid0 might save you one second during boot, and maybe a few miliseconds during write operations while editing video, besides that IT'S A WASTE!!!!!!!

 

[nick1985]

Prepare to be Raid ZerOWNED!

 

[KoolDrew]

What you are even using the computer for? Basically everybody who uses a RAID-0 array won't benefit from it at all and I doubt you will too. RAID-0 is also bad for seek times since each disk has to seek to their portion of the data. This will be bad for small files and the OS is filled with small files. It will also be bad for the pagefile where seek time is everything. It also significantly reduces reliability. So for the majority of people RAID-0 is a complete waste and can actually reduce performance in some cases because of worsened seek times. RAID-0 is good for sequential transfers, that is it.

 

[Stretchman]

Thanks for the additional input, guys.

For myself, its more of a learning project than anything else. I had the good fortune of speaking with some of the CS professors here at Cal, in the same department where RAID was initially developed, and after expressing a desire to learn more about it - with some of their astute guidance - I decided to build my first RAID setup.

I will probably be doing *some* gaming with it, but its largely for the experience of setting up the hardware and software.

 

[imported_Tick]

Then why not RAID 1 or 5?

 

[Stretchman]

hehe, getting there, getting there. I'm just going to start with the basics for now.

 

[imported_Tick]

I fail to see how raid 0 is basic.

 

[Stretchman]

Oh, and one more question for you guys. The manual informs me that Windows XP will need a RAID driver floppy during installation. There is information on how to reach the drivers on the included CD for both Silicon Image and Nvidia.

Is the CD accessible when all I have is the BIOS? Would I have to instruct BIOS to boot-up the cd-rom first in order to access the drivers from the CD? I was actually playing around with the idea of eschewing my floppy drive this time around, but if it's necesarry for a proper setup, then i'll just leave it in this time around.

 

[Bona Fide]

Originally posted by: Stretchman
Oh, and one more question for you guys. The manual informs me that Windows XP will need a RAID driver floppy during installation. There is information on how to reach the drivers on the included CD for both Silicon Image and Nvidia.

Is the CD accessible when all I have is the BIOS? Would I have to instruct BIOS to boot-up the cd-rom first in order to access the drivers from the CD? I was actually playing around with the idea of eschewing my floppy drive this time around, but if it's necesarry for a proper setup, then i'll just leave it in this time around.

Yes. Set your "primary boot device" to CD-ROM or whatever your optical drive is, and voila.

 

[Stretchman]

Fantastic - muchos grachias senores