Scratch =Storage= Start-up Drives Question(s)

Im Trying my first build
I've researched multiple drives being in RAID set-up.
My Question is Can you use different manufactures while setting up ?

I want to use : Scratch
$134.99 Fujitsu MAX3036RC 36.7GB 15000 RPM 16MB Cache
Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) Hard Drive
Start-up/Programs
$169.99Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10000 RPM
16MB Cache SATA 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Storage
$189.99Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200RPM
32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

From that i wonder Is RAID even needed or possible here?

What Motherboard Would be IDEAL ?

This Build is for 3D apps & Photoshop -graphics

CommentsQuestionsThankYou

The Fujitsu MAX3036RC is a SAS device so i think you need a controller to run that drive. SAS controllers will run sata drives, but not the other way around.

That drive is ideal for a scratch drive(fast access times). I assume you will be running photoshop and other adobe software. Once you factor in the controller it may be too much for the speed gain. Modern drives are very fast.

A raptor is great OS drive(access time are once again the best factor, your 1000GB drive may actually write and read faster, but jumping from place to place is faster on the raptor). if you want raid, 2 of those will work in raid 0 even with most mainboard controllers. The performance will not touch be the same as with a fancy controller, but i think it would be very acceptable. Raid 5 is where offboard controllers really shine.

Your storage drive should be good and allow you to save lots of images and high quality video. Get a second one and an enclosure for backups.

Quick raid info

Its best to use the same sized/make of drives. Running raid of difference sizes works at the size of the smallest drive.

Raid 0 - Fast, files written across multiple(more drives = more speed) drives in chunks(stripes). Capacity is the same as adding all the drives.

Raid 1 - Normal, ALL data is saved to all drives. Space is the same as the smallest drive in the array.

Raid 5 - Drive is written across drives with parity data(data used to recover from failure). If a drives fails data is still intact, but at a slower speed. Replace the drive rebuild and carry on.

RAID is NOT a backup solution. If you delete a file. Its gone on ALL drives. Always do regular backups.

Unless your images are huge I do not think it will be much of an issue.

If your images are that large you will want the larger drive anyway.

You can always add another drive down the line if you find you need more room or think that the saving is affecting overall performance.

Most of the actual work in Photoshop will remain in the computers memory thereby reducing the need to go to the hard drive often.

While SSD's can read extremely fast, they are not as fast to write. The access times are a huge improvement, but i am not sure how often the scratch space is used if you have enough memory. If you are always accessing lots of files the 0.8ms (vs lets say 12-15ms for a standard 7200rpm drive)

I have not used 3DS Max in a long time, but it should rely on ram before all else when storing textures.

SDD bench with PS CS3 - improved(running the program and windows off the SSD), but its up to you what cost you are willing to pay.
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 729-8.html