Best way to setup my system on RAID0 using GA-X58A-UD3R with 2 x Samsung F3s?

[matrix_sid]

I am a newbie to Gaming rigs and have just put together my first Gaming Rig consisting of the following:

Titan TTC-NK85TZ/CS2(RB) Fenrir EVO CPU Cooler
Intel Core i7 950 3.06Ghz (Bloomfield) (Socket LGA1366) Processor - Retail
G.SKILL Phoenix Pro 40GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive
2 x Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 470 SUPER OC 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (GV-N470SO-13I)
Corsair XMS3 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Triple Channel (CMX6GX3M3A1333C9)
Coolermaster Silent Pro 850W 80Plus Certified
Cooler Master - Tower Case - Cosmos 1000 - RC-1000-KSN1-GP - Silver/Black

I have read several threads and as this is the first time I'm setting up RAID0 I am really unsure on what to do.

I want to install Windows 7 Pro x64 on the G.SKILL Phoenix Pro 40GB SSD and have the Samsung F3s running as a stripe volume on RAID0 for installing games and further programs on.

I do not wish to overclock at present.

What is the best way to setup the drives ie. which Sata ports should I use for the SSD and Samsung F3s and what do I need to do in BIOS to ensure they all work properly.

From what I have read there are complications with Marvell and apparently the GSATA3_6/7 (SATA 6GB/S Connectors, Controlled by Marvell 9128) do not perform at the speeds mentioned but this is really confusing to me as this is the first time I am setting up an SSD as well as first timer for RAID.

Thanks for your help in advance.

[Dark Mantis]

Hi and welcome to the Gigabyte Forum.

The SSD should be put on the Intel ICH10R northbridge controlled ports so that you can make use of the TRIM commands.This will help keep your drive healthy. I would advise setting this to AHCI in the BIOS.

If you are definitely set on using a RAID0 array for your Samsung drives then you would have to put them on the GSATA ports. You are already aware that you can't use the Marvell 9128 ports for a stable RAID0 setup.


If you check in the back of your manual you will find there are step by step instructions on setting up a RAID.

[matrix_sid]

Thanks for the fast response Dark Mantis.

So you advise putting the Samsungs on GSATA2_8/9 which is controlled by Gigabyte and are classed as SATA2?

Is there any changes that I must make to the BIOS? or is the software that comes with the mobo going to enable me to set this up.

[Dark Mantis]

I really wouldn't advise installing any of the free software that comes with the motherboard unless you really need it. Often it just causes more trouble than it cures.

There are all the usual changes recommended to the BIOS eg disable floppy drive, set boot priority, set SATA2 controller to AHCI, set GSATA controlller to RAID and anything else you can think of.

[richardd43]

I would also suggest you install windows before you install any other drives.

Once your OS is installed you can install the other drives and play with it until you get what you want

You also have a few days grace period before you actually need to validate the install... I would wait to do this just in case something goes wrong.

[matrix_sid]

Thanks guys, I got it working nicely.

[SwissAndy]

If you are definitely set on using a RAID0 array for your Samsung drives then you would have to put them on the GSATA ports. You are already aware that you can't use the Marvell 9128 ports for a stable RAID0 setup.

Sorry but why? While I agree there are issues with the Marvell 9128 (Ihave a raid0 that is stable but performance is not great) I don't see any reason why the SSD and the Samsungs cant all be on the ICH10 ports, configured in BIOS to Raid then the samsungs setup through the Bios utility (Ctrl I) to raid leaving the SSD as a single disk which would be AHCI as Raid is a superset of AHCI. This is how I have mine currently set up and performance on the SSD and Raid 0 array are exactly as expected.

Is there a problem with the setup I am not aware of?

Andy

[Dark Mantis]

HI Andy. No there shouldn't be  a problem with how you have it set up. It was more a case of keeping the SSD and the optical drive apart on different controllers and the fact that the Marvell isn't very stable at high throughput rates.

[beaser]

DM, you say to keep the opticaldrive on separate controllers, why is this?

I have a vertex 2 as a boot and applications drive and planned to try a raid 0 array as a data drive and scratch disk. I'll also need a backup drive (hot swap bay) The ahci and raid issue has me puzzled. I have my Intel ICH10R controller set as ahci, if I change it to raid then wouldn't it change as well. I guess if that did work i could setup any other single drives as a just another drive.

I'm flying blind on this as i'm trying to build my ubber photoshop and lightroom puter. I don't really need this it's just i'm old with nothing better to do 

I had some concerns earluier about my choice of board and i have to say it's been one of the easiest setups i've ever done.(Elite, DFI, Asus, Abit Tyan, MSI and biostar) The board is very well built, the quality is obvious. I always worry but never seem to have a problem.

The system is a work in progress. I still have my old e6750 in operation
GA-X58A-UD3R
I7-950
Noctua ND-14 cooler
12 gig 1600mhz cl9 G Sklill Ripjaw
Corsair HX650
OCZ Vertex2 80 gig SSD
LianLi 50R
I have drives in my current system as backup for my photo files some of these are new and will be kept in use as backup.
Ihave also bought a 1.5 tb WD drive but I'm unsure of how i will handle the data handling. I shoot canon raw and my photo files are very important to me. At this point there are 3 different copies of each file. It's really far too easy to lose valuable images, they can never be replaced.
I'm migrating from CS3 to PS5 and Lightroom 3 which is a pretty big change

[beaser]

From intels site

If you are using a SATA hard drive, the best option is to set your BIOS to RAID mode. RAID mode provides the greatest overall flexibility and upgradeability because it allows your system to be RAID-Ready and also enables AHCI

There was a note to check with the mobo manufacturer if this was on a non intel board. This to me is very important info and should be in any motherboard manual. I was driven to find this info after i read Andy's comments.

[Dark Mantis]

From intels site

If you are using a SATA hard drive, the best option is to set your BIOS to RAID mode. RAID mode provides the greatest overall flexibility and upgradeability because it allows your system to be RAID-Ready and also enables AHCI

There was a note to check with the mobo manufacturer if this was on a non intel board. This to me is very important info and should be in any motherboard manual. I was driven to find this info after I read Andy's comments.

The part about checking with your motherboard manufacturer is important as not all will be the same as Intel boards.

I was advising keeping the optical drivve on a seperate controller if possible as sometimes running them on the same controller as the hard disk if it is set to AHCI mode can cause problems, usually where the optical drive isn't found or won't read properly.

Personally in your situation with data(pictures) that you can't afford to lose i would steer clear of RAID and just use redundant backup drives with an external drive just for data backup. That way you can take it off site for extra security which is always advisable. Just imagine if you had a fire there and all the disks in the world wouldn't help then.

You could use RAID1(mirroring) but I can't see the point really and it is just something more tpo setup and keep an eye on.

[beaser]

I'm finding SSd's somewhat dissapointing.They're fast but have all kinds limitations and require special care and feeding.If i understand correctly sata raid 0 is preferred for photoshop and lightroom  scratch drives .  Are raid 0 arrays that dicey?

[Dark Mantis]

RAID0 = Striping. Fast but no backup

RAID1 = Mirroring . Redundancy, backup