GA-P55A-UD4P using RAID0

[bubbatran209]

I have a gigabyte p55a-ud4p and I am planning on doing raid 0 on it. Does anyone have this board and currently have it with raid 0 that can help me out here. I was looking at:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=

or should I consider

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533 because of the SATA 6.0GB

I'm new to this raid 0 and I was looking at the board, it has the two white sata ports. Should I connect the new two harddrives into those to do raid0 because it supports the new sata3 6.0gb? I also have a 500gb seagate that I am planning to add into sata port 0 for backup. Does this sound right? Am I on the right path? Would really appreciate your feedbacks. Thanks

 

[JackNaylorPE]

What programs are you planning on using that would benefit from RAID. The answer will depend on the usage.

 

[bubbatran209]

I do a lot of downloading blueray movies. I usually have a lot of windows and programs running with three of my monitor on. So I usually have my mega manager downloading, a few windows open at the same times, sometimes a movie on one screen, word and excel on another. I'm thinking about adding another 4gb of ram because when I'm downloading, average of 5-10gb at a time, I notice it's using up to 70-80% of my current 4gb of ram. That's when it really slows down my computer. There are times when my computer lag so bad where I just have to restart the computer so that it can clear up my mem and everything is running ok again. So yeah, I usually have a few internet windows open, downloading and uploading, music or movie playing, word and excel all running at the same time.

 

[marcellis22]

I'm stealing movies and I'm really stupid... RAID 0 will get you NOTHING... but trouble...

 

[bubbatran209]

I'm stealing movies and I'm really stupid... RAID 0 will get you NOTHING... but trouble...

Hey old bag, I don't need your stupid comment, it doesn't do me any good. I notice you're leaving them for other people too. You got anything else better to do or are you such a looser at an old age that you're going around leaving neg comments on people who needs help

 

[Mr Davo]

Hey mate,

I have been using RAID0 (Stripping) on my personal computer for quite a few years. It does offer supperior performance, and you will notice massive speed differences. Once you have RAID 0 setup, try putting a game ISO on your hard drive, mount it (using PowerISO, or similar) and then install. You will be amazed at the speed difference. Games typically install in 1/2 the time!

RAID 0 is also great for ripping, and converting large movie files.

2 disks is all you need for RAID 0. Once you have them installed into your computer you generally follow these steps:

1). Go into BIOS, and set your "IDE Mode" to RAID (look at your motherboard manual for a full explanation
2). Reboot
3). Press the required key combination in order to enter your motherboards RAID setup utility (typically Ctrl + F2, or something similar)
4). Reboot
5). Install you operating system

*** Note that your Operating System will need 3rd party RAID drivers (your motherboard disk will supply a utility for making an appropriate drivers disk) ***

I cannot stress enough that your best source of information is your Motherboard manual.

With regard to data redundancy, RAID0 has none! This means that your twice as likely to loose data from a catastrophic drive failure (e.g.: electrical damage, hard drive read head failure, etc).

I recommend backing up important data to an external hard drive (preferably get one with external sata support as this will speed up backing up large files).

I hope this general information gives you some insights. Once you go RAID0 there is no going back, it is very worthwhile for improved system performance.

Enjoy

Davo

 

[bubbatran209]

Hey mate,

I have been using RAID0 (Stripping) on my personal computer for quite a few years. It does offer supperior performance, and you will notice massive speed differences. Once you have RAID 0 setup, try putting a game ISO on your hard drive, mount it (using PowerISO, or similar) and then install. You will be amazed at the speed difference. Games typically install in 1/2 the time!

RAID 0 is also great for ripping, and converting large movie files.

2 disks is all you need for RAID 0. Once you have them installed into your computer you generally follow these steps:

1). Go into BIOS, and set your "IDE Mode" to RAID (look at your motherboard manual for a full explanation
2). Reboot
3). Press the required key combination in order to enter your motherboards RAID setup utility (typically Ctrl + F2, or something similar)
4). Reboot
5). Install you operating system

*** Note that your Operating System will need 3rd party RAID drivers (your motherboard disk will supply a utility for making an appropriate drivers disk) ***

I cannot stress enough that your best source of information is your Motherboard manual.

With regard to data redundancy, RAID0 has none! This means that your twice as likely to loose data from a catastrophic drive failure (e.g.: electrical damage, hard drive read head failure, etc).

I recommend backing up important data to an external hard drive (preferably get one with external sata support as this will speed up backing up large files).

I hope this general information gives you some insights. Once you go RAID0 there is no going back, it is very worthwhile for improved system performance.

Enjoy

Davo

Thanks dude... So install the two harddrive and config it to raid 0 via bios, reboot and instal os. I have the original hd for the computer at the moment, what can I do with that one, it currently have to os in it with all my data. I'll probably use it to back up my files.

Current set up:
Intel i5 750 oc to 3.6g
Win7 ultimate 64
seagate 500gb 8mb 7200
1tb external omega hd
4gb mem
etc

Was thinking of buying either the two 640gb black caviar or the 1tb black caviar to do my raid 0. So I was wondering what to do with the seagate 500gb. Also, is it best to partition the raid down to maybe 80-100gb for my os and my main apps. Leave the rest for movie download and pictures and games. Does that sound about right?

 

[Mr Davo]

Hi,

The first thing that I would do with a working computer is create the RAID drivers disk for the operating system installation. You can create the drivers disk by following instructions in your motherboard manual. Usually a utility is supplied on the motherboard drivers disk which can be used to create the disk. Typically said utlities create a DOS diskette (1.44") drivers disk. If you don't have a 1.44" drive you will need to find a computer that does, create the diskette, and then burn the files to a CD.

This first step is essential, because without the RAID drivers disk you will not be able to install Windows.

Set your BIOS to RAID, reboot, and then enter your motherboards RAID configuration utlitiy. In the RAID configuration utlitiy you can setup your hard disks for RAID.

Once the motherboard is set to RAID and it sees a viable RAID Array you can then use a partitioning tool. Usually I stick with no more than 2 partitions, but this is not due to technical reasons, this is a personal preference.

Now install Windows (for XP press F6 when prompted or choose Custom Installation if using Vista or 7) taking care to ensure that you load the RAID drivers mentioned at the top of this message.

I would use the Seagate 500Gig for backup once everything is setup 100%.

Cheers

Dave

 

[Mr Davo]

Hey mate,

I just had a quick look at the manual for your motherboard:

http://download.gigabyte.asia/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_ga-p55a-ud4%28p%29_e.pdf

Starting at page 87 there are very good RAID installation instructions.

Follow from page 87 and don't skip any steps. You must do everything in the order presented.

Cheers

David

 

[bubbatran209]

It looks like a ton of work to get this raid 0 setup. And it looks like I need a floppy disk to set this up too. Is that right? I thought this whole process was basically, instal the two hd, boot up the computer, get into bios, set the hd to raid 0, reboot the computer, partition the hd, instal os from cd, reboot and then instal all apps and updates and that would be it. would be nice if i didn't have to use a floppy disk

 

[Mr Davo]

The first time you install RAID0, like the first time that you do anything, your going to hit some road blocks. You will definitely need a floppy and the instructions in your motherboard manual. Once you have RAID going though you won't look back, and in retrospect once you have done it it is not too difficult a task.

 

[bubbatran209]

Is it possible to use a usb flash drive to load the motherboard drive?

 

[Mr Davo]

Unfortunately there is no way around using a floppy that I am aware of. Once you have the files on a floppy you should be fine to put them onto a USB stick (provided that your installing Vista or 7), but I would burn them to a CD just to be safe.

You need to find yourself a computer with a floppy drive and make the disk on that or alternatively buy a floppy drive (there quite cheap these days, and most computer stores still stock them).