Correct SATA Ports to configure system?

[mikeysp]

I am assembling my PC. Which ports should my storage devices be hooked to?
The SSD is for OS and applications.
The four 2TB HDDs are for Raid storage.
I have one DVD optical drive that needs a slot.

I have a ASUS P8Z77-V Pro motherboard with 8 SATA slots total.

SATA Slots on Motherboard
2 INTEL 6 Gb/s
2 ASMEDIA 6 Gb/s
4 3 Gb/s

I have a 256 GB Samsung SSD for OS and applications.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005T3GQ0G/ref=pe_175190_21431760_M2T1_SC_dp_3

I have 4 Hitachi 2 TB HDDs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145473

System will be a dedicated video editing system. No games ever.

Additionally, which RAID should I use? I have no intention of purchasing a RAID controller, so the RAID configuration will have to use the capabilities that come with the motherboard. I would like RAID 5, so I could get 6TB of storage rather than 4TB with RAID 10; however, I read that to have the speed with RAID 5 requires an external controller or the CPU power will get sucked away to do the RAID 5 and will slow the system down??

Thank you for your advice!

-Michael

 

[mikeysp]

Will, we made it! good evening.

 

[Paperdoc]

Start by realizing that no mechanical (rotating disk) HDD can move data between the mobo controller and the disks faster than the original SATA spec of 1.5 Gb/s - well, the best can get to 1.7. So there is no need to connect your 4 HDD's to a 6 Gb/s port - the four 3 Gb/s ports will do nicely, and the all can use the built-in RAID capabilities of the Intel chipset on your mobo.

The SSD, on the other hand, may exceed the 3 Gb/s rate of the older SATA version, so it should be connected to the first Intel SATA 6 Gb/s port, and you can boot from this device.

There are two additional ports rated at 6 Gb/s but provided by a second controller chip NOT part of the Intel system. The mobo specifically says these ports cannot be used for boot devices, and you are free to use them for data storage devices. I expect that the CD that came with the mobo includes among its many drivers to be loaded the one for this controller chip and its ports. Once this is installed after Windows is installed, like so many other drivers it will be loaded automatically from the boot device so the ports become available for use.

 

[mikeysp]

Best answer selected by mikeysp.