Considering a RAID 5 array build for next PC build

[JeanLuc]

I building a new PC in the Autumn (based around a Lynnfield, Radeon 5XXX and Windows 7) and after reading the front page I'm seriously considering building a RAID 5 for it's balance between speed and security. I was thinking of using 3 Western Digital Caviar Blue/Black 640GB SATA-II drives for this build. The PC is going to be a gaming/entertainment PC, and I was wondering what the general opinion was on RAID 5 suitability in a gaming PC was like? Would I better off with 2 drives in RAID 0 with third for all my crucial documents (music, pics, office work etc) or would RAID 5 be suitable?

If I was to use RAID 5 are motherboard RAID/SATA controllers good enough for RAID 5 or would I be better off buying a dedicated control card?

 

[GhislainG]

You should read http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2334984,00.asp. Nothing beats a RAID controller with a large cache and battery backup (like used in high-end servers), but they cost more than an X58 motherboard.

 

[JeanLuc]

You should read http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2334984,00.asp. Nothing beats a RAID controller with a large cache and battery backup (like used in high-end servers), but they cost more than an X58 motherboard.

Damn, I can't get the link to work not can I find the article on the site. But thanks for the link anyway, I had a look at this article and RAID 5 on an Intel chipset is crap, it looks like you would be better off doing a RAID 0+1 and or RAID 0 plus a third drive for all you saved documents.

 

[GhislainG]

Sorry, the link has been truncated. Search the site for "RAID Performance on Intel Chipsets" posted on November 19, 2008 by Loyd Case. RAID10 is a better solution than RAID0.