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1st Homebuild

Forum Storage : NAS/RAID 1st Homebuild

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How do I go about setting up a SSD "Boot drive" with (two) 1TB HDD in RAID 0

Specs:

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
SSD: Crucial M4 128gb
HDD: Seagate Barracuda (ST1000DM03) x2
MOBO: ASUS Sabertooth x79

I'd prefer to use Intel RST controller for RAID 0 setup.

Will these Sata 3gb/s ports be "fast enough" for these 2 HDD's in RAID 0,because
I want to save the SATA 6gb/s port for SSD.

A step-by-step guide would be greatly appreciated.

PS. I have not yet installed the OS,I am in the process of connecting all wires to psu/mobo.

Regards,
Togan

Reply to togan
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togan wrote :

How do I go about setting up a SSD "Boot drive" with (two) 1TB HDD in RAID 0
A step-by-step guide would be greatly appreciated.




1.) Connect SSD to port SATA6G_1 & CD/DVD drive with Win 7 installation disk to port SATA3G_6 (all other drives should be disconnected)
2.) Install Windows
3.) Install motherboard drivers
4.) Install latest Intel RST drivers http://downloadcenter.intel.com/De [...] 2&lang=eng
5.) Reboot pc
6.) Shut down pc & connect HDDs to ports SATA3G_3 & SATA3G_4
7.) Boot into BIOS & change Intel SATA controller mode to RAID
8.) Verify 1st boot device is SSD; 2nd & 3rd boot devices should be set to "Disabled" or "None"
9.) Save BIOS settings & reboot into RAID BIOS
10.) Create RAID-0 array with 2 HDDs
11.) Save BIOS settings & reboot into Windows
12.) If Windows has not done so automatically, initialize the RAID array, format it, and assign it a drive letter (all of this can be done in Disk Management)


Quote :

Will these Sata 3gb/s ports be "fast enough" for these 2 HDD's in RAID 0,because
I want to save the SATA 6gb/s port for SSD.



Yes, the ports will be fast enough. 2 HDDs in RAID-0 cannot spin fast enough to saturate SATA 3Gb/s ports.

Reply to Dereck47

Wow Dereck47,sounds like you really know your stuff!!!

I will surely try out your steps tomorrow morning,as I am
pooped from installing all these components...

I'll let you know how I fared following your advice. ;)


Togan

Reply to togan
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