RAID0

NoobieOCer · 16 Dec 2007 at 10:16

i not sure is this the reight place but i wana know how to set raid up...

is it already buiilt in the mobo or do i need a expansion card or something? or do i just plug in several identicle HDDs, after that do i need to do any settings on bois or os or anything?

paradigm · 16 Dec 2007 at 10:22

It all depends on what motherboard you have mate, so... give us a clue

NoobieOCer · 16 Dec 2007 at 10:26

nah i aint the one doing it, just wana know cuase my m8 gona build a pc

okay what usually u do?

NoobieOCer · 16 Dec 2007 at 10:31

okay say if i had a ip35(i think its has raid if not a pro) how would u set it up?

LordSplodge · 16 Dec 2007 at 11:05

Step by step:

1: Make a floppy disk containing drivers for the RAID controller (if it is Nvidia go to there website and follow the instructions) if you are booting Windows XP (and maybe Vista) from a RAID array.

2. Connect the required number of identical drives. 2 x for RAID0 (stripe), 2 x for RAID1 (Mirror) and 4 x for RAID0+1. You can add 3 for RAID5 but most cheap onboard controller don't do hardware RAID5 so don't bother.

3. Enable RAID in the BIOS on the appropriate SATA ports. Leave it off on the others for "normal" drives.

4. Boot the computer and enter the RAID BIOS (the keypress depends on the controller but the RAID BIOS screen will tell you)

5. Select the drives and the type of array. Let the BIOS build the array (NOTE: You will lose any data on these drives.

6. Reboot from Windows CD. Press F6 to load any Third Party drivers when prompted. Insert disk when asked. Select the model RAID controller and continue Windows setup.

7. Enjoy, go get a pint to celebrate.

juno_first · 16 Dec 2007 at 14:57

With 4 drives on RAID0 I can:
*copy large files accross a partition at 90mb/sec
*burn 2 different 8x DVD's at the same time
*be the first to load a multiplayer game online
*wait 5 seconds for something to load rather than 20 seconds with 1 drive

Beware though, I lost a load of data once when the RAID array went down because of a faulty drive, but I think you can use a different RAIDx which backs-up your data.

NoobieOCer · 16 Dec 2007 at 17:30

juno_first said:
With 4 drives on RAID0 I can:
*copy large files accross a partition at 90mb/sec
*burn 2 different 8x DVD's at the same time
*be the first to load a multiplayer game online
*wait 5 seconds for something to load rather than 20 seconds with 1 drive

Beware though, I lost a load of data once when the RAID array went down because of a faulty drive, but I think you can use a different RAIDx which backs-up your data.

WOW THATS IOMPRESSIVE.... how fast does it take for u to boot up windows XP or Vista

rpstewart · 16 Dec 2007 at 17:41

juno_first said:
but I think you can use a different RAIDx which backs-up your data.

No RAID level backs up your data. There are proper redundant RAID levels (all bar RAID0 in fact) but all they do is provide hardware redundancy which is very different from a backup.

If you delete a file from a redundant RAID volume it's still gone, that's why you need a backup as well.

Delvis · 16 Dec 2007 at 17:45

True

You can have thing's called hot-spares, which can kick in if one of your drives dies...But as you said, you cant do that on RAID 0, as it's two drives made into one drive.

Unless of course you do a RAID 0 + 1 :rolleyes:

Which would then mirror the RAID 0

juno_first · 16 Dec 2007 at 18:09

I noticed a big difference after going RAID0 & have been using RAID0 for years now; up to 4 drives atm & may go 6 drives if I can find space.
People under-estimate just how much of an impact faster drive access can be.
Vista boots up a little quicker though only takes 10 mins to install heh heh.
Extracting RAR's is much faster as if you look at the CPU monitor when extracting RAR's, most of the process is dependant on the drive speed.
RAID0 is a very big performance booster

especially in bloated Vista.

Dist · 16 Dec 2007 at 21:49

just something that i think should be noteworthy, drives in a RAID array sometimes have difficulty moving to different systems. Like if you use RAID, then want to move the HDDs to a new rig you just built, they may not work unless the RAID device is the same, (which is a big plus for buying a seperate raid controller, as you can take them from motherboard to motherboard, which is not possible if you use an onboard controller.

juno_first · 16 Dec 2007 at 22:21

Yep I agree there, having gone through 3 RAID controllers & having back everything up each time & I'd advise making regular back-ups as RAID can be a little dodgy.