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Raid for newbie?

I

imported_browsing

Senior member
Looking to do a storage raid (guessing Raid 0 with 2 1tera drives) but I've never done one before. I have a P5W DH Deluxe but I've heard that the onboard raid isn't very good. Any suggestions for a reliable controller card that wouldn't completely bankrupt me? Or am I mistaken and there is a good onboard configuration I could use?
 
RAID0 requires no real work so onboard cards are fine from that perspective. Where they're bad is that they're almost always software driven so you need to have the drivers installed to use the RAID. If you boot from a Windows install disc without the drivers or a Linux LiveCD you'll still see 2 separate drives. And also you'll have to recreate the array if you ever move it to a new motherboard.
 
Now this is just me. But I would spend the cash and get myself a Hardware RAID card. Since I have learned about RAID I have seen this story over and over http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2254120&enterthread=y

Seems that the software RAID is just to finicky. If you can invest in a Hardware card. And no matter which RAID you pick. Back up that software or you will be like the guy in this same forum who is risking not getting his data back.
 
If you are going to load your OS on it and you don't care if it dies, then on board RAID 0 will do just fine. If you want mirroring, on board RAID1 will work as well. If you want to get fancy and need the speed and flexibility of RAID5/5E/6, then only a mid to high-end RAID card will do. Expect to pay around $250+ for a decent RAID card. Any vendor such as Adaptec or 3ware are good to go with. If you really have a nice budget, SAS is a very nice thing to have, but it's not for everyone.
 
Keitero,
You have a beautiful system. I think this round I will be stepping up too an x38 or x48 intel system.
 
I'm sorry, I should have proofread that post better. I meant RAID 1. Concerning possible data loss on it-- how unreliable would the onboard raid for my board be? Is it software or hardware driven if it's built into the board? Any ideas?
 
Data loss is more of a concern with RAID 0, since the files are split between two drives and each half is useless without the other.
 
RAID 1 is the only thing I'd trust with an on-board raid controller.
RAID0 and RAID5 I recommend Hardware controller.
BTW, Unless you are amassing a gargantuan file collection (like me), you should buy 2x large HDDs, place them in RAID 1 and call it a day.
 
Is it better to raid 1 or just to have an automated backup program automatically create amended backup images on the second hard drive on a regular basis? I've seen a few threads about people having raid 1 failures as well with onboard.
 
Is it better to raid 1 or just to have an automated backup program automatically create amended backup images on the second hard drive on a regular basis? I've seen a few threads about people having raid 1 failures as well with onboard.
Click to expand...

Both, RAID1 isn't a backup.
 
Originally posted by: browsing
Is it better to raid 1 or just to have an automated backup program automatically create amended backup images on the second hard drive on a regular basis? I've seen a few threads about people having raid 1 failures as well with onboard.
Click to expand...
Set up backups first. It's really tough to lose data when ongoing backups are being made.
 
Exactly, RAID1 isn't intended as a backup system. A lightning strike, flood, theft, etc. would still wipe out all your data. RAID1 is intended to reduce downtime in the event that one hard drive crashes.
 
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