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Does anyone here use RAID 0 over 2TBs?

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Windows 7 Authority
Storage Expert

It's certainly possible to create a logical volume > 2TB using RAID - the only issue is that the standard MBR partitioning scheme maxes out at 2TB and therefore you need to use a GUID partitioning scheme ("GPT Partition" - see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUID_Partition_Table )

GPT partitions are supported by Vista and Windows 7. You won't have any particular issues using them for data disks, but if you want to install the OS itself on a GPT-partitioned volume and boot from it then you need to use a 64-bit version of the OS and find an EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) based motherboard.

sminlal said:
It's certainly possible to create a logical volume > 2TB using RAID - the only issue is that the standard MBR partitioning scheme maxes out at 2TB and therefore you need to use a GUID partitioning scheme ("GPT Partition" - see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUID_Partition_Table )

GPT partitions are supported by Vista and Windows 7. You won't have any particular issues using them for data disks, but if you want to install the OS itself on a GPT-partitioned volume and boot from it then you need to use a 64-bit version of the OS and find an EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) based motherboard.


Sweet :)  By any chance is there a way to check if the Asus Rampage II Gene has EFI? I tried searching it on google but didn't had any luck.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-131-3...
Windows 7 Expert

I would like to take a second to point out how bad of an idea this is. One bad thing happens to not just your drives, but your driver and your OS/data is gone. Even if you have back ups, you still get to have the joy of reinstalling not just windows but everything else you need to use it. (AV, zip, media players, programs, games, etc.) Whats worse is that you probably don't even need the speed that AID0 can provide.

AID0 had its time, but for most its time has passed. Back when RAM was small and expensive so you had to use a swap file a lot, stringing harddrives together was a good idea. More so when you considered the horrible speeds of a single drive. Now however we have drives that can read at 150MBps. It would take one of these drives <7secs to transfer a 1GB file into ram. How many 1GB files do you play with on a daily basis? A better idea is to get a modern (500GB per platter drive or the newer ones.) and put your OS on that. Get an AID0 array setup if you TRULY need the speed. And don't forget a good external backup solution. I'd get one of those before getting AID0.
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Windows 7 Authority
Storage Expert

Deep Blue said:
Sweet :)  By any chance is there a way to check if the Asus Rampage II Gene has EFI? I tried searching it on google but didn't had any luck.
If it did I'd expect it to be mentioned on the motherboard's specification page on the Asus site - but it isn't, so I have to assume it doesn't.

I agree with 47... A single RAID-0 volume containing the OS and a huge amount of data is not a very good way to organize your system. A smaller drive for the OS makes more sense, and if performance of that drive is a concern then an SSD is the best way to go.

I'm glad I've read all this before carelessly buying my 2nd HDD, lol have to admit I kinda got sucked into these RAID and cpu OC hype while it's my first time, not to mention all the obsticles to set up over 2tb I bet I would regret it later on lol. Thanks again everyone. :) 

I just tried to set up a 3TB raid 5 out of 4 1TB drives, and have found my MOBO (ASUS P7P55D-E Pro) maxes out at 2tb. =( I was really wanting 3TB!!~!! My OS and some other stuff are on a SSD, but I wanted a large, redundant drive for media back-up.
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