AHCI SSD + RAID 0 Windows 10

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L

LJF3

Commendable
Jan 9, 2017
17
0
1,510
Hello all.

I have been searching the forums and the rest of the internet looking for a solution to my problem. I have attempted many fixes including a fresh install of windows 10, trying to load RAID drivers during Windows 10 install, setting RAID after windows 10 is installed and activated, everything. I have been at this for an exhaustive amount of hours over 2 days and now turn for help.

I am trying to configure my MB to use a Samsung 850 EVO as a boot / system drive. I am trying to configure 3 x WD Blue 3TB drives in RAID 0 to be used for storage. Once I enable RAID on my MB, the EVO disappears. I can see it connected in the bios but windows can not boot to it or the windows 10 install can't locate it to install fresh. Only the RAID drives can be seen.

I have read from other posts that any stand alone drive not in a RAID setup would default to AHCI, but that does not seem to be happening. I have also tried to see if my MB has a AHCI specific SATA port as others have mentioned but have been unable to identify it.

I have connected the SSD to SATA 0, SATA 1, and SATA 5.

My setup is a Gigabyte GA-970-Gaming SLI MB
Samsung SSD 850 EVO
3 x WD Blue 3TB Drives
Windows 10 Pro
AMD FX 8320e CPU
Bios Settings:
Boot Mode is set to UEFI Only
Storage Boot Option is set to UEFI Only
OnChip SATA Type RAID
OnChip SATA Port4/5 Type: As SATA Type

Any help would be much appreciated.

*UPDATE 1: Spoke to Gigabyte tech support. The problem seems to be with my SSD. The Samsung SSD is unable to show up however one of the WD does. When I configure the RAID for only 2 drives, leaving a mechanical WD and the SSD as stand alone, only the WD shows up. The SSD my be incompatible with the board in RAID.

Anyone else see this problem?
 
Solution
greens
K, the type of RAID Array you are referring to is called JBOD. Just a Bunch of Disks. Very common.

Performance is.. OK this is a server right? so if a server is spending CPU resources to manage an array - what performance is being lost? none - it is just doing its job. Software RAID on a gaming rig causes a performance loss, but not because of the RAID, because the CPU is spending resources on managing the array. But that is exactly what you want a server to do!

Turn the mobo to AHCI. Install windows 10 on the SSD.
Plug the WD drives back in, and use Windows Disk Management (just hit start and type "Disk Management" and hit enter, will come right up)

Then from there you can span your 3 WD drives into one big volume!

The above...
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greens

greens

Splendid
Jan 27, 2012
3,773
7
26,965
Why bother with all that when you don't depend on the Array for booting?

Just install windows 10 on the SSD. Leave the Bios in AHCI.
Install all the WD drives.
Open up disk management and uninitialize the three WD drives, if they are already formated.
Then just select New Dynamic Volume and make your RAID array in windows.

By far the easiest solution. You don't need your motherboard in RAID if you're not booting to RAID.
 
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L

LJF3

Commendable
Jan 9, 2017
17
0
1,510


Please bear with me as I have not built a machine in a long time. Maybe RAID is not what is best for my situation.

I am trying to build a movie server for my digitized movie collection. I have roughly 5.5TB and growing of DVDs and Blu Rays that I stream to a Roku using Plex. I would like this new machine to run Windows 10 on the SSD and store all the video files on the 3 WD drives. It would be easiest if they appeared as one big 9TB drive but not critical.

I was under the impression that software RAID in windows or even Windows 10 Storage Spaces would result in a performance drain. I assumed the best performance for what I am trying to accomplish is RAID 0 on MB with SSD for Windows.

Is there a better configuration?
 
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greens

greens

Splendid
Jan 27, 2012
3,773
7
26,965
K, the type of RAID Array you are referring to is called JBOD. Just a Bunch of Disks. Very common.

Performance is.. OK this is a server right? so if a server is spending CPU resources to manage an array - what performance is being lost? none - it is just doing its job. Software RAID on a gaming rig causes a performance loss, but not because of the RAID, because the CPU is spending resources on managing the array. But that is exactly what you want a server to do!

Turn the mobo to AHCI. Install windows 10 on the SSD.
Plug the WD drives back in, and use Windows Disk Management (just hit start and type "Disk Management" and hit enter, will come right up)

Then from there you can span your 3 WD drives into one big volume!

The above is how it is done.
 
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Solution
L

LJF3

Commendable
Jan 9, 2017
17
0
1,510


Yes, this is a server just for Plex and maybe some long term data storage. I want to try and optimize CPU performance as much as possible since Plex transcoding is very CPU intensive; hence the reason for building a new machine. When streaming a movie to Roku remotely, and sometimes internally too, the stream requires transcoding which is all CPU power.

I am not familiar with software RAID. Is it take a lot of CPU performance? Should I create the JBOD on MB RAID instead? The final option is to replace my SSD with an old fashioned mechanical drive for Windows, but that is my least desired option.

Thanks for all the help!
 
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greens

greens

Splendid
Jan 27, 2012
3,773
7
26,965
I think you might be a little confused still. The RAID setting in your motherboard... It still depends on the CPU. So either scenario is going to have an impact on your CPU. That said, JBOD is barely even considered an Array and doesn't require much resource at all.

Servers that depend on CPU power THAT much use RAID cards, which are probably more expensive than your entire build. A RAID card is essentially a baby PC right on one card, it has a CPU and RAM and does all the computing for the RAID array itself, taking the load off the CPU. this is $$$ and a non issue.

I use a mirror raid array on a core 2 duo server and have zero problems with it. I sincerely believe you are overestimating the resources needed to manage the array, and even over estimating the resources required for streaming.

Software raid takes very, very little CPU to complete. It is honestly your best bet.

Plus a RAID array is only of benefit if it is secure. JBOD is not advised for long term storage - if you lose one of the disks all the data goes poof.
 
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L

LJF3

Commendable
Jan 9, 2017
17
0
1,510


I was still a little bit confused, thank you for the clarification. I assumed when the MB was handling the RAID it was hardware based and less resources. I saw a dedicated RAID card for $100 but didn't feel it was necessary just yet.

Sounds like the best bet is to use Windows for everything and create a spanned volume (versus using Storage Spaces which I know nothing about; may be the same thing). Now the question is if I should use UEFI or Bios but I am thinking I am overthinking that one too.

Thanks for all the help!
 
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