Built-in RAID mobo question

[sprucio]

I'm currently thinking of how the built-in RAID affects both the CPU and RAM. Some have said that a simple RAID like 0 or 1 really won't effect both components but a complex RAID 5 would impact the CPU and RAM.

I have an old SATA RAID Adaptec card (for RAID 5) that I would like to use but it's a PCI-X. Typically, I choose ASUS as the manufacturer regarding mobos but there's only one that supports PCI-X these days and it is in the $300 ranage. Another reason why I would want to use this controller is due to the fact that it has good Linux support.

Considering the technology advances today, how much does a built-in RAID affect the CPU and RAM?

 

[silveradohd39]

I am running a raid 0 and 1 on my asus p5w DH, with a conroe 1.83ghz. The thing screams and I dont notice any effect on the ram or cpu at all, but faster speeds all around.

 

[sprucio]

But what about RAID 5?

 

[AngelDeath82]

First of all, which Adaptec card do you have? If it's a 2410SA or a 2420SA, as long as the PCI slot has sufficient clearance past it towards the front of the board, you can use it within a standard PCI slot.

However, if it's a 2820SA, then you would be well advised to purchase the board with the PCI-X slot. The Adaptec controllers are great, and RAID-5 WILL impact overall system performance as well as you will have deteriorated RAID performance if you run it off of the onboard SATA controller.

 

[sprucio]

I forget the exact model but it can fit into a PCI slot. I did read that RAID-5 really should be implemented on PCI-X slots as it's faster and this is what I'm hoping to achieve in the long run with the new system.

I'm currently looking at the ASUS mobos and there are two (both AMD and Intel) that will do PCI-X but they are pricy. If I'm correct, I don't believe that mobo prices drop steeply as CPU prices.

Either way, it looks like I'm buying a board with a PCI-X slot so thank you for your comments.