improvements i have fond to help trainz

[Gandalf0444]

@Gandalf:

Note that you HAVE to make a complete reinstall when you have a hardware RAID controller.

The RAID controller starts immediately after BIOS, then builds the RAID volumes at the first time of installation (it gives you a control screen where you define which disks go to which volumes, what kind of RAID will be used, etc.)

Then, the RAID controller does a low-level format on all disks that will take some hours (no NTFS or ext3 or something else - it uses its own system). After that, you will be permitted to install Windows, Linux, whatever you want on the volumes.

The operating system never sees the separate disks, only the disks that the RAID controller presents to it.

The speeds approach the SSD, but you have MUCH higher capacity AND fast writes.

N.F.

No you do not for all raid controllers. Some you do, some you don't. I have done several using the method I said above and as per the directions given with the RAID controller. All it does is makes an exact copy of the used hard drive to to the other "blank" hard drive.

That is why I said you must do your research if you want to go that route as all of them do not work that way.
Pictures of the manual(NOTE ONLY FOR THIS CONTROLLER)
Old installation instructions:
http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae97/tcrstaff1/091311111419.jpg
New Installation Instructions:
http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae97/tcrstaff1/091311111636.jpg

Then all you have to do after following those instructions for the old installation is turn it off, then move the hard drives from the motherboard to the raid controller, then enter the raid card setup and setup the raid(NOTE ONLY WORKS FOR A MIRRORING RAID)
The setup will then copy the hard drive from 1 drive to the other, then once done you can boot into windows normally.

 

[nfotis]

Yes, this is NOT a hardware RAID controller, but what's termed a 'fakeraid' (similar as the one on motherboards).

The 200+ dollar RAID controllers are altogether different beasts.

N.F.

 

[Gandalf0444]

Seems to be a hardware raid controller to me, seems pretty physical:hehe:
However I will not debate this further.

 

[nfotis]

Here is the difference between the real RAID controller and 'fakeraid':

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID#Hardware-based_RAID

(read also the 'firmware-based RAID' section immediately below it)

N.F.

 

[peghorse]

Excellent Raid information thank you.
Can't wait to go SSD in the very near future.
Raid SSD would just be icing on the cake.

 

[nfotis]

I wonder, did nugget2225 install a RAID controller (or not) on his PC?

By the way, the consensus is that SSD in RAID configuration is not worth it, a single SSD is already stretching the SATA II 3 Gbits/sec transfer speed
(and I do not know if the RAID controllers are fast enough to transfer 6+ Gbits per second via PCI express to the CPU)

N.F.