The right way to "break" Intel RAID 0 ?

I acquired two 150gb, 10tk rpm raptor HDD's for my new Intel Matrix Raid setup, a question arose regarding my "old" RE2 x 2 RAID 0 (Intel Matrix Raid) setup.

Right now I have two WD Caviar RE2 (500gb) hdd's running in Intel Matrix Raid (RAID 0). 1 partition with total size of 931 gb. Used space --> 255gb; free space --> 676gb

The plan is to do the following:
1. Create Intel Matrix Raid using two 150gb raptors in RAID 0
2. Leave one of the RE's as a separate hdd for data storage.

So is there a way for me to "dismantle" the current RE2 x 2 Intel Raid 0 setup so that all the used data of 255gb is copied onto one of the RE2's? OR should I just leave the current Intel Raid setup as it is and copy the whole date to a another hdd and then create new setup with the raptors and simply format one of the RE'2 ?

As far as I know, there is no way to "dismantle" your current RAID-0. I'd say you'll need to go with your plan B on this one.

Don't think you need to do that, ICHxR capable of running different raid arrays & volumes all the same time as long you have enough sata ports.

bing said:

Don't think you need to do that, ICHxR capable of running different raid arrays & volumes all the same time as long you have enough sata ports.

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So in principle, I could just: 1) re-attach them RE2’s just to be sure that nothing goes wrong; 2) connect them Raptors, create intel matrix raid array and then after fresh OS install I shall just reconnect the RE2’s and run two raid 0 Intel Matrix Raid arrays ? there might be some problems as to defining which array is the one to boot from

one more question:

if such is the setup:
1. Intel Matrix Raid (RAID 0 with two 150gb two 150gb raptors in RAID 0
2. One WD Caviar RE2 500gb hdd for data (not part of intel matrix raid).

Will the separate WD Caviar RE2 500gb hdd in someway hinder the performance of Intel Matrix Raid setup? Like, will it affect the boot time of Raptor Intel Raid 0 setup or will it be a non-recognizable hindrance?

There shouldn't be any difference in performance.

-JJ- said:

So in principle, I could just: 1) re-attach them RE2’s just to be sure that nothing goes wrong; 2) connect them Raptors, create intel matrix raid array and then after fresh OS install I shall just reconnect the RE2’s and run two raid 0 Intel Matrix Raid arrays ? there might be some problems as to defining which array is the one to boot from

Click to expand...

Every Raid volume you've created will be seen by the mobo bios like a physical drive, so you just select which volume to boot from in the main bios (not in Intel bios screen).

-JJ- said:

one more question:

if such is the setup:
1. Intel Matrix Raid (RAID 0 with two 150gb two 150gb raptors in RAID 0
2. One WD Caviar RE2 500gb hdd for data (not part of intel matrix raid).

Will the separate WD Caviar RE2 500gb hdd in someway hinder the performance of Intel Matrix Raid setup? Like, will it affect the boot time of Raptor Intel Raid 0 setup or will it be a non-recognizable hindrance?

Click to expand...

As Moto said, no, they are physically separated raid array, they wont affect each other.

Great. Thanks for the replies. I will post the results later on.

Just out of interest, what motherboard are you using this on?

aja said:

Just out of interest, what motherboard are you using this on?

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ASUS P5K-E WIFI/AP motherboard with two WD Caviar RE2 500gb hdd's (WD5000YS) in Intel Matrix RAid (Raid O) (see the result in the attachment).

I am eager to get my WD Raptors (WD1500ADFD 150GB), since I briefly got them for a quick test. Burst speed was even higher than with RE2's; about 3,4gb and the most important thing - access time was about 7-8 seconds and access time is the factor which really matters in every day applications. Game/Software intall/load time is just so much faster with raptors!!

The performance is not bad !

That is just plain raid 0, not matrix raid 0.