Raid settings on Gigabyte EP45-UD3P

[imported_Exilis]

I've looked everywhere for the proper motherboard settings but I can't seem to find one that works for my particular situation. What I'm trying to do is setup a dual raid system:

2x Intel x25-m x2 in raid 0 -- OS drive
2x WD 640gb Caviar black in JBOD -- Storage

the motherboard is a gigabyte EP45-UD3p. There's a bunch of bios settings for the hard drive that has my head spinning, not to mention the ports I need to plug them into to get it properly working.

here are the ports:
Intel ICH10R Sata ports 0-5 (Orange)
GSATA Sata ports 0-1 (Purple)


and bios settings available:
SATA RAID/ACHI Mode - Disabled/AHCI/Raid
SATA Port0-3 Native Mode - Disabled/Enabled
Onboard SATA/IDE Device - Disabled/Enabled
Onboard SATA/IDE Ctrl Mode - IDE/AHCI/RAID or IDE

In short, which sata ports should i plug the drives into for optimum performance, and what should each bios setting be?

Also, I'm planning to put Vista x64 on this system -- as far as I know, all I need to do is install regularly using the built-in Vista AHCI drivers, then replace them with the Intel drivers once I'm logged in to the desktop. Is that the proper way to go about it?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Absolution75]

SATA RAID/ACHI Mode should be enabled to raid if you want raid on the yellow ICH10R ports (which probably will offer you the best performance)

turn ntive mode on

enable Onboard SATA/IDE Device (puple headers)
Onboard SATA/IDE Ctrl Mode should be set to ACHI

once you have those set, you will see a new screen after bios that says press CTRL+I to enter raid config - do that

 

[homercles337]

Originally posted by: Absolution75
once you have those set, you will see a new screen after bios that says press CTRL+I to enter raid config - do that

Question, Ctrl + I does not get me into configuration utility. Any ideas? There is mention of installing the drivers via a floppy in the manual, but no mention of when in the instructions. To be honest, i had to install the RAID drivers for my current system via a floppy, but that was 4 years ago--seems really dated to still be doing that (didnt even bother with buying one for this machine).

 

[lopri]

Exilis, welcome to AnandTech Forums. You should use ports 0/1 for OS array, and 2/3 for storage array. Use ports 4/5 for optical drives and use GSATA for eSATA if needed, or disable it if not needed.

@homercles337: Are you pressing delete key before you see RAID BIOS? That will take you to board's BIOS whether you press Ctrl+I or not. Do not press delete key, wait until RAID utility shows up and tells you to press Ctrl+I. Then press Ctrl+I. After you configure the arrays, it'll give you the option to reboot. Then you can enter the board's BIOS and re-order the boot sequence.