question about P5W DH Deluxe hard drive configuration

[xxcysxx]

hello everyone,
i'm currently using a asus P5W DH Deluxe mainboard and running two seagate baracudas in raid 0 configuration. i'm also running win XP pro on it.
anyway, i'm intested in getting another hard drive, just one. a western digital raptor 10,000 rpm. i wanted to run the raptor by itself and the two baracudas in a raid 0. i wanted to install the windows xp os on the raptor my games in the baracudas raid 0.

now the question is can i do that using the only the intel ich7r chipset. i know that the intel ich7r only has three sata connectors. i was wondering how would you use the two black ich7r sata connectors for the baracudas and the single red ich7r sata for the raptor.
when i go to the bios to configure sata as (standard ide, achi, raid). if i chose raid, doesn't that make all three ich7r, the red and two black, sata ports raid.
but wait, i have to go to the ich7r bios (ctrl-i) to configure which drive i want to use as raid. so i chose the the two baracudas and raid 0 those two. but what about the raptor. since the ich7r bios does not add the raptor to the raid, what does it treat it as. standard ide or achi.

i haven't attemp this configuration yet, but i wanted to get my mind set before i buy.

although raid 0 is fast when it comes to loading time, but i still feeel that it is not snappy enough when it come to respond time. i tried running the same os software and configuration on a single baracuda in achi and two baracudas in raid 0. i find that while using a single hard drive in achi, everything feels more responsive and snappy, but program installs and loading time was bearable. like when i transfer large files and lots of music files to another partition or harddrive it was noticeably slower compare to raid 0. but when i use two baracudas as raid 0, things doesn't feels quite snappy and respondsive, but when it start it was done fast.
i feel like i don't have to wait as long with a raid 0 configuration but it doesn't feel as snappy at my finger tip. its as though i double the respond time of two hard drive for loading time. like trading acceleration for top speed. or is it.

well, if any of you have this mainboard or experience about this, could share some ideas.

thanks

Tam

 

[GuyScharf]

When you set the IDE Configuration to RAID, you get the option of going into the Intel storage manager with Ctrl+I during the boot process. If you don't set up a RAID array, then all of drives are treated as individual drives. I think that the ACHI NCQ function is available under the RAID setting.

I've just been configuring my new build with P5W DH Deluxe and Xeon 3070 over the last couple of days. I've tried setting IDE Configuration both to ACHI and to RAID. In terms of simple performance tests (HDTach, HDTune), I see very little--if any--performance difference between the ACHI and RAID.

I have a 150GB Raptor on SATA1 and two Samsung 500GB drives on the two black SATA connections. I plan to define a RAID 0 array tomorrow between those two Samsung drives, so this should be pretty much the same as what you are intending.

Note that it is generally recommended that you reinstall Windows when changing the IDE Configuration setting. That shouldn't apply to creating and destroying RAID arrays once you are in the RAID setting. I should know more tomorrow....

Guy

 

[xxcysxx]

Thanks guy for your respond,
so you think if i set the ide configuration to raid, the bios will treat the non raided drive as achi.
I'm very interested in this setup. The idea is to run the widows os off a single harddrive and have my games run off the raided partition.
Please let me know what you find with your progress.

Tam

 

[GuyScharf]

I'm very interested in this setup. The idea is to run the widows os off a single harddrive and have my games run off the raided partition. Please let me know what you find with your progress.

That is what I am doing. I am booting from a Raptor on SATA1. Then I have two Samsung 500 GB drives on SATA3 and SATA4 configured as RAID 0 on the ICH7R to hold digital photos. I'll have another hard drive on EZ-RAID1, with EZRAID jumpers set in pass-through mode (no jumpers at all) so that it functions as SATA2.

I'm still refining the rest of the configuration and loading applications, so it will be at least a week before I start hitting it hard.

Guy

 

[xxcysxx]

so let me get this straight. you connect the raptor to the sata1 and the other two samsung to the sata 3 and 4, right. so you go into the system bios (delete key) and configure the ide as raid. then go into the raid bios (ctrl-I) and configure the two samsung as raid 0 array. then when you install the windows xp you press the F6 button to install the drivers. you install the desktop ich7r raid drivers, right. since you din't configure the raptor to be part of the raid array, the windows instalation sees the raptor as a ahci, right.

i think i'm confusing my self too. but did you get it working this way, right.
sorry to sound like a totally newbie, but i really don't know. i'm still use to the old days where you just configure as master and slave.

Tam

 

[GuyScharf]

I understand the confusion completely! I was that way myself only a week ago!

Your sequence would work fine. I like to install with only the minimum hardware connected so my sequence was:
Connect Raptor to SATA1. Leave other drives disconnected.
Enter BIOS (delete key)
Set IDE configuration as RAID
F10 to save settings
Install Windows XP Pro using F6 to load Intel ICH7R RAID drivers (make sure you pick the correct driver; the F6 disk has about 10 drivers on it and you have to cursor down to the right one).
After installation is complete, turn power off
Attach Samsung drives to SATA3 and 4
Power on and boot
Press Ctrl-I during boot sequence when prompted and create RAID0 array of two Samsung drives (you won't see the Ctrl-I prompt when there is just one drive attached to the ICH7R).
In Windows, go into Disk Manager in usual way and initialize the new drive (the RAID array), create partition, and format just as you would a single hard drive.
Hope this helps.

Guy

 

[xxcysxx]

Thanks guy for the help. That really clear thing up.
So i guess the bios treats the single drive like a standard ide or ahci or something like that. To bad i couldn't use my ghost image from the raid array on the single drive now. I tried that already and it doen't work.
I have one more question for you. Why do you have to leave the other two samsung drive disconected when you install the windows. Do i have to disconect the two raided drives everytime i install the widows or restore a ghost image. I though it would be faster if the ghost could be restored from the raid partition.
I keep a few ghost image around for games and regular desktop work. I change the image pretty frequently too.
Couldn't you have all the drive connected, then configure the raided drives, then install the windows.

let me know what your though are.


Tam

 

[GuyScharf]

Couldn't you have all the drive connected, then configure the raided drives, then install the windows.

Yes, you can.

The reason I install with the other drives disconnected is just a convenience of drive letter assignment and a paranoid philosophy of "don't do anything that might confuse Windows, since it is so easily confused...." :lol:

If nothing else is attached, and there is only one partition on the drive you are installing to, then the CD/DVD drive will be known as D:. I like that. If there are other partitions, then the CD/DVD drive will have some other random letter assigned to it. Sure, you can always edit the registry later to change that, but I like to keep things simple.

Also, when I am reinstalling, my other drives frequently have important data on them. By keeping them disconnected during installation, that's just additional protection against me or Windows making a mistake and damaging data.

Guy