Basically, Nvidia’s chipset enables you to perform any migration that is technically possible in order to have sufficient storage capacity to host existing data, as long as the migration has the requisite capacity. It is also possible to transform a RAID 5 with three hard drives into a RAID 5 with four hard drives. We only didn’t succeed in converting a single hard drive into a RAID array. However, Intel is able to do that. Besides, the ICH8-R can operate two different RAID arrays on one set of drives (Matrix RAID), which Nvidia does not offer.

Test Setups

Conclusion

RAID-conscious users have a wide range of possibilities to setup, administer or modify RAID arrays - either with Intel’s t P965 and ICH8-R or with Nvidia’s nForce 680i SLI. If you go with Nvidia, you have to assign drives to be used in RAID arrays by using BIOS commands. Intel allows users to configure the drives with Windows.

At the beginning of the year, Intel showed clearly higher RAID performance in our tests. However, Nvidia is able to keep up when it comes to flexibility. Nivida’s migration options from one RAID array to another are by far better than the Intel chipset options. Managing the options is also much easier. On the other hand, Intel offers two unique features: You can migrate a single hard drive into a RAID array, and you can operate two different RAID arrays on the same two hard drives (Matrix RAID).

Finally, we found that Intel’s chipset offers more efficient RAID configurations, while Nvidia’s device has extensive migration options. However, there is no such thing as the perfect product that combines all options and possibilities. Only a device that would combine Intel and Nvidia’s best features would offer total flexibility for RAID storage. We hope Intel will take this to heart as it designs its next chipset generation ICH9.