[sjm1027]

Hello Everyone,
I am new to this group. I am building a desktop system and already purchased a Mother Board and my Hard drives. I have a total of 3 hard drives (2) 36.7 gig @10,000 rpm and (1) 120 gig @ 7200rpm both SATA drives. The Mother Board says the following:
Onboard SATA/RAID: 2xSATA by VT8237, RAID 0/1/JBOD; 2x SATA & 1x ATA 133 by Promise 20378, RAID 0/1/0+1/Multiple RAID

Not really sure what the heck all that means. I would like to take the (2) 36.7 gig drives and connect them in Stripe RAID 0 configuration so the data would be shared between the 2 drives to make data flow faster. and the (1) 120 gig drive be there for just storage and backups.

Another idea I had was to run the (2) 36 gig drives in Stripe RAID 1 to have a realtime backup and just store graphics and pictures on the 120 gig.

My question is this, With the Mother board I ordered, will I be able to connect 3 SATA hard drives to it? I read it as 4 SATA drives can connect but others tell me only 2.

Thanks,
Steve

Mother Board:
ASUS "A8V Deluxe Wi-Fi" K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL
Specifications:
Supported CPU: AMD Athlon64 and Athlon64 FX Series Processors
Chipset: VIA K8T800Pro + VT8237
RAM: 4x DIMM for Dual-Channel DDR400/333/266 Max 4GB
IDE: 3x ATA 133 up to 6 Devices
Slots: 1x AGP 8X, 5x PCI
Ports: 2xPS2,1xCOM,1xLPT,SPDIF Out,1xLAN,8xUSB2.0(Rear 4),2xIEEE1394(Rear 1),Audio Ports
Onboard Audio: Realtek ALC850 8-Channel Codec
Onboard LAN: Marvell 88E8001 GbE
Onboard SATA/RAID: 2xSATA by VT8237, RAID 0/1/JBOD; 2x SATA & 1x ATA 133 by Promise 20378, RAID 0/1/0+1/Multiple RAID
Onboard 1394: VIA VT6307
Features: ASUS WiFi-g PCI card
Form Factor: ATX more info->
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hard Drives:
Qty (1) Western Digital 120GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD1200JD, OEM Drive Only
Specifications:
Capacity: 120GB
Average Seek Time: 8.9 ms
Buffer: 8MB
Rotational Speed: 7200 RPM
Interface: Serial ATA
Features: Not specified
Manufacturer Warranty: 3 years
Packaging: OEM Drive Only more info->


Qty (2) Western Digital Raptor 36.7GB 10,000RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD360GD, OEM Drive Only
Specifications:
Capacity: 36.7GB
Average Seek Time: 5.2 ms
Buffer: 8MB
Rotational Speed: 10000 RPM
Interface: Serial ATA
Features: Not specified
Manufacturer Warranty: 5 years
Packaging: OEM Drive Only more info->

[ag3]

The motherboard has 4 SATA controllers. 2 of them are RAID capable (0/1/0+1 are different RAID "levels"). The "VT8237" part means that they are VIA SATA controllers (so you will need to install the drivers from VIA).

You can have the two Raptors in a RAID Array, and the Caviar as a single HDD. Just make sure that you don't connect the Raptors to the wrong channel.

Goodluck!

[sjm1027]

Thanks, So I don't have to eat that 3rd Hard drive. Thats good news.

Thanks

[ag3]

No Problem!

[sjm1027]

Just received all my components last evening. I am ready to go tonight. Wish I could of taken the day off!


Steve