Hows it going guys? I've browsed these forums on and off over the last year but never created an account. I'm building a new PC and have some questions concerning the RAID setups I want to do, and which route is the best for me.
Here is the system specs:
Mainboard: ASUS Rampage III Extreme
CPU: Intel i7 950
CPU Cooler: Ultra ChillTEC Thermal Electric with Controller
RAM: 6 x 2GB Corsair Dominator Tri-Channel CMT12GX3M6A1866C9
PSU: Corsair Professional AX1200
Case: Antec 1200 (replacing blue lights to red), all fan slots filled
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate
GPU: nVidia 4xx or 5xx series, not sure yet
SSD Model: 3 x 120GB OCZ Vertex 2 MLC 2.5" (OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G)
Regular HDD Model: 4 x 2TB WD RE4 7200 (WD2003FYYS)
Raid Card: not sure yet, thinking Areca ARC-1210 PCI-Express x8
I have built PC's before but I have never set up any sort of RAID in my PC before.
I am wanting to do the 3 vertex 2's in a RAID 0 setup, then the 4 WD RE4 drives in a RAID 5 setup.
I was going to run the RAID 0 setup off the Intel controller on the ASUS Rampage, then the Raid 5 setup off the PCIE RAID card. However, I dont know which is the better route to go. Which would provide better performance accross the SSD RAID 0, going through the mobo or the RAID card?
Another point of view is which company is most likely going to support TRIM in a RAID 0 setup with SSD's. Acura said it is in the works, Intel said it was out with the new drivers but then I found out it didnt work as people thought it would. I hear OCZ also has a garbage collection type of program that helps.
Regarding the RAID card, I really have no clue what is good or what to look for. the $300 price point is what I'd like to spend on it. Any suggestions or is the one I found sufficient?
One last thing, what stripe size is good for 3 SSD's in RAID 0? 128k?
As I said, I havn't done any RAID setups before so I apologize for the "noobness" of the questions if they come off that way. I don't care about the noise level of the drives as the tower is going to be a wind tunnel as is. The SSD RAID 0 is for the OS and Applications/games. The RAID 5 is for storage (music/movies/pictures/etc.). So getting the most performance out of the SSD RAID 0 is more important to me.
As a side note, the only thing purchased are the hard drives, so I would be happy to hear any other suggestions that everyone might have regarding the build.
Thanks.
Here is the system specs:
Mainboard: ASUS Rampage III Extreme
CPU: Intel i7 950
CPU Cooler: Ultra ChillTEC Thermal Electric with Controller
RAM: 6 x 2GB Corsair Dominator Tri-Channel CMT12GX3M6A1866C9
PSU: Corsair Professional AX1200
Case: Antec 1200 (replacing blue lights to red), all fan slots filled
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate
GPU: nVidia 4xx or 5xx series, not sure yet
SSD Model: 3 x 120GB OCZ Vertex 2 MLC 2.5" (OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G)
Regular HDD Model: 4 x 2TB WD RE4 7200 (WD2003FYYS)
Raid Card: not sure yet, thinking Areca ARC-1210 PCI-Express x8
I have built PC's before but I have never set up any sort of RAID in my PC before.
I am wanting to do the 3 vertex 2's in a RAID 0 setup, then the 4 WD RE4 drives in a RAID 5 setup.
I was going to run the RAID 0 setup off the Intel controller on the ASUS Rampage, then the Raid 5 setup off the PCIE RAID card. However, I dont know which is the better route to go. Which would provide better performance accross the SSD RAID 0, going through the mobo or the RAID card?
Another point of view is which company is most likely going to support TRIM in a RAID 0 setup with SSD's. Acura said it is in the works, Intel said it was out with the new drivers but then I found out it didnt work as people thought it would. I hear OCZ also has a garbage collection type of program that helps.
Regarding the RAID card, I really have no clue what is good or what to look for. the $300 price point is what I'd like to spend on it. Any suggestions or is the one I found sufficient?
One last thing, what stripe size is good for 3 SSD's in RAID 0? 128k?
As I said, I havn't done any RAID setups before so I apologize for the "noobness" of the questions if they come off that way. I don't care about the noise level of the drives as the tower is going to be a wind tunnel as is. The SSD RAID 0 is for the OS and Applications/games. The RAID 5 is for storage (music/movies/pictures/etc.). So getting the most performance out of the SSD RAID 0 is more important to me.
As a side note, the only thing purchased are the hard drives, so I would be happy to hear any other suggestions that everyone might have regarding the build.
Thanks.
