Help me setting up 2xSSD 120 intel 520 in raid 0 please!!

shaun4work

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May 1, 2012
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okay so i got a computer being built for me on way soon in the mail i ordered it with 1 120gb ssd then ordered the second from newegg cuz i got like 50bucks off for doin it that way... now i need help setting them up in raid 0 i got a asus sabertooth z77 mother board... Also i had another question could i use this hard drive on my laptop untill my other computer shows up? and then wipe it and set it up in raid 0 when that computer gets here without causing any problems with the disk or damage? Ty for the help :) i never set up raid before and dont wanna mess it up heh
 
Solution
Geofelt’s advice is good, best to just use the 2 drives separately, one for your O/S, and the other for data storage/backup.

BUT, if you’re determined to create a RAID-0 array then:

1.) Connect the drives to the Intel 6Gb/s ports (SATA6G_1 and SATA6G_2), not the ASMedia 6Gb/s ports.
2.) Connect your CD/DVD drive or USB thumb drive that contains your Windows installation disk.
3.) Change the SATA port mode to RAID.
4.) Change your 1st boot device to the CD/DVD drive or USB drive.
5.) Save your BIOS settings and reboot into RAID BIOS.
6.) Create your RAID-0 array.
7.) Save your RAID BIOS settings and reboot.
8.) Install Windows. Let Windows install its own default RAID drivers.
9.) After installation is complete reboot into BIOS...
I suggest you don't bother with raid-0.
You will get nice sequential benchmarks, but that is not what the real world does. The os does mainly small random i/o.

I have tried it with no apparent performance benefit.

One negative is the loss of trim in a raid environment. This will hurt performance as the drive fills up.

If you can, just get a 240gb 520 drive. If you want, use one 120gb for the os and some apps, and the other for expansion.

Of course you can use it in a laptop, assuming it is a suitable modern sata based laptop.
It will transform the laptop, and you will not want to remove it.

Intel has a nice ssd migration utility that will clone a drive to your Intel ssd. Download from the intel web site.
 

shaun4work

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May 1, 2012
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but i already got 1 and payed for the computer with 1 so its kinda done deal and i spent all my cash i can spend on this lol i already ordered a replacement hd for laptop
i just wanna set it up for now cuz the harddrive broke in mine and my pc not here for few more weeks then i wanna switch it to raid and put new laptop harddrive in 120 to small for only hard drive but if i tossem both in it will have 240gb in raid 0 and then i can get a data drive later
 

shaun4work

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May 1, 2012
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basicly i wanna know can i use my ssd in my laptop untill my replacement drive comes and still use the ssd for raid 0 when my cpu comes cuz right now my only computer with a decent graphics card has no hard drive....
 
Geofelt’s advice is good, best to just use the 2 drives separately, one for your O/S, and the other for data storage/backup.

BUT, if you’re determined to create a RAID-0 array then:

1.) Connect the drives to the Intel 6Gb/s ports (SATA6G_1 and SATA6G_2), not the ASMedia 6Gb/s ports.
2.) Connect your CD/DVD drive or USB thumb drive that contains your Windows installation disk.
3.) Change the SATA port mode to RAID.
4.) Change your 1st boot device to the CD/DVD drive or USB drive.
5.) Save your BIOS settings and reboot into RAID BIOS.
6.) Create your RAID-0 array.
7.) Save your RAID BIOS settings and reboot.
8.) Install Windows. Let Windows install its own default RAID drivers.
9.) After installation is complete reboot into BIOS and change your 1st boot device to your RAID-0 array.
10.) Boot in Windows and download and install Intel’s latest RAID drivers.
 
Solution

shaun4work

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May 1, 2012
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sweet TY!! :) now would it be okay for me to use the ssd for my laptop untill the computer comes and then would i be able to just wipe the ssd and set it up in raid 0 then with no issues from running it on laptop? and how would i wipe it to run it in raid or could i just stick it in there and it would format itself when i stuck it in raid?
 


Yes, it's ok.



No need to format or Secure Erase the drive unless you want to. When you create a RAID-0 array all information will be deleted from both drives during the process.