Would RAID make sense for my setup?

[imported_blip]

I just got a new PC with a 2Tb internal HDD with an SSD boot drive. I currently have a mac with an SSD boot drive and a 2Tb external HDD. I’m planning on plugging my external HDD into the PC and copying all the files over to the PC’s internal HDD. First question is: since I’m just copying over, no need to worry about how the drives are formatted (FAT32 or NTFS), right?

Once that’s done, I figure I’ll have the external HDD there, and I don’t really need that much extra storage, so I was thinking about putting it internal and having a RAID 1 setup. Would this make sense? The external drive is 3 years old, but it should have plenty of life left. I also use an online backup service, so I wasn’t sure if the RAID setup is really needed. I know it will save me the hassle of getting a backup from online if one drive dies. Are there any downsides to it, such as slower speeds? Anyone know if it affects how online backup works, or does everything just see one drive? Also, does it matter if one drive is 7200RPM and one 5400RPM?

My Mobo has 4 SATA connectors. Is the issue with shared speed only for PCI and M.2 ?

Thank you!

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Copying the files from a mac-formatted (HFS) file system to a windows-formatted (NTFS) volume may be a problem.

RAID? Don't bother.

If one drive is slower than the other, it will slow the fast one down to match. It will not effect how online backup works. (The pair of drives presents itself as a single volume.) RAID isn't a backup or a backup-equivalent, it's intended to preserve uptime. (Deleting a file from the mirror will remove it from both drives. Ditto corrupt data, which will be mirrored to both.) SATA port "shared speed" is mostly a thing with newer port types, where they disable some of the SATA ports. If all your devices are SATA, no worries.

 

[PliotronX]

A better use would be automating an image backup to the external drive, I don't think you can even mirror to an external in RAID as its not attached to the controller. Even if it could, like Dave said the sata drive would then be as slow as the external.

 

[imported_blip]

Thanks for the help! I won't bother then. I used to try and backup to my own HDD also, store it in a fire proof safe, etc., but then I got lazy. Think I'll just stick with online backup for now!