Configuration issue

[keilius]

I just spent some time picking out parts for an entirely new computer, but I failed to pay attention to the number of SATA III ports on the motherboard. There are only two, yet I also ordered a SSD for the OS and 2 HDDs to set up in a RAID, all of which are SATA III drives.

The question I pose to the community is, in your honest opinion, what would be the most desirable solution?

1) Put the SSD on a SATA III port and the RAID on SATA II
2) Put the RAID on SATA III and the SSD on SATA II
3) Purchase a controller card for the a) SSD or b) HDDs
4) Try to find a replacement motherboard which comes with more than 2 SATA III ports (the few I've seen actually come with a controller card as opposed to having them built in)

Thank you for your input.

 

[Hawkeye22]

Put the SSD on sata3. Put the HDD's on sata2 as they most likely won't be able to saturate a sata 2 link anyhow.

If it's possible to run an array and a non-raided drive simultaneously on your sata3 controller, then put all 3 on sata3.

 

[ss202sl]

Put the SSD on sata 3 and the HDD's on sata2. Are you going to use raid-0 or raid-1? Just be careful because raid-0 doesn't offer any protection for a failed drive, and if either drive fails, you will lose ALL the data on the raid. Just make sure you back-up important data somewhere else.