WorkPrinter XP and Serial ATA Drives..to RAID or not to RAID

Post by **super8film** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 5:24 pm

Thanks for all of the replies. Instead of taking chances, configuring a RAID 0 setup with standard ATA/100 drives sounds like it would be the safest bet in the event that I get a WorkPrinter. The following question is probably better suited for a computer message board, but does anyone know if newer motherboards that are designed primarily for use with SATA drives will support standard ATA drives as well? I guess it might be a moot point since a controller card would be interfacing with the drives, not the motherboard itself, but I'm wondering if motherboards designed to interface with SATA drives would have conflicts with a controller card using standard ATA drives.

Post by **threeinv** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 7:09 pm

Well, I'm banking on it--I've got an Abit IC7 Max3 motherboard which offers SATA RAID capability, but as a result of this thread I decided to go ahead and order an ATA 133 RAID PCI card. Since it's a PCI card, it should work without a hitch in any motherboard. I figured after all I've read that after spending this much on my setup, I shouldn't jeopardize the quality or consistency of my transfers by insisting on using SATA RAID. I found the Promise TX2000 card for $77 (includes shipping) here: http://store.bestbargainpc.com/prtxfaat2rap.html

--Derrick

Post by **super8man** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 7:14 pm

Just like sound and video, if you want it done right, you want to OFFLOAD the motherboard of all of these processes. It costs more but does make a difference. I was surprised at the sound enhancement when I moved off of the motherboard and onto the EMU 0404 sound card. WOW!