rabbidreader

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I've read about setting up dual m.2 nvme slots as a RAID configuration, BUT would it be logical/foolish to use one Asus Prime H370-A M.2 NVMe slot to hold my OS (Win 10) and all my programs and the other for files? Would I be over doing this setup when the same results might have been acheived on by using one slot and partitioned the drive as C: \ for OS and programs and D:\ for files? I'm not sure I want to do the RAID setup. What is an optimal setup? Or, a better setup than the simplistic, potentially less than optimal idea I stated above? I am not looking to max out speed, but looking for a sound, logical configuration. RAID vs. Non-RAID setups. Thanks
 
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By the way... I know I am kind of shooting myself in the foot by not considering ‘non-American’ made drives, but I am simply trying to use my domestically-derived stimulus money to purchase domestically(?)-manufactured/made products...(even though it is highly likely that only part of the drive is truly ‘domestic’. So, do you have any thoughts on:
Crucial P5, Sabrent Rocket or Western Digital-Black drives? I am thinking of 1- 500GB drive for the OS and Apps/Programs and 1- 1TB drive for files.
Any of those is acceptable.
And 500GB + 1TB is a good combination.

rabbidreader

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No RAID please. Serves little purpose in the consumer space, especially with NVMe drives
Of any type.

One drive for the OS and applications, another drive for other things. Personal files, music, movies, games, etc.
And...in doing the setup as you mentioned, there shouldn’t be any BIOS tweaks, right? It sounded like only the RAID setups required BIOS tweaks, BUT please correct me if I am mistaken. This will be my first dual setup. Thanks
 

rabbidreader

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By the way... I know I am kind of shooting myself in the foot by not considering ‘non-American’ made drives, but I am simply trying to use my domestically-derived stimulus money to purchase domestically(?)-manufactured/made products...(even though it is highly likely that only part of the drive is truly ‘domestic’. So, do you have any thoughts on:
Crucial P5, Sabrent Rocket or Western Digital-Black drives? I am thinking of 1- 500GB drive for the OS and Apps/Programs and 1- 1TB drive for files.
 
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USAFRet

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By the way... I know I am kind of shooting myself in the foot by not considering ‘non-American’ made drives, but I am simply trying to use my domestically-derived stimulus money to purchase domestically(?)-manufactured/made products...(even though it is highly likely that only part of the drive is truly ‘domestic’. So, do you have any thoughts on:
Crucial P5, Sabrent Rocket or Western Digital-Black drives? I am thinking of 1- 500GB drive for the OS and Apps/Programs and 1- 1TB drive for files.
Any of those is acceptable.
And 500GB + 1TB is a good combination.
 
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rabbidreader

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Any of those is acceptable.
And 500GB + 1TB is a good combination.
Don’t know if you remember, but about two months ago you helped me with some questions and I said I would try to give an update or ask more questions... how about both?

I finally got the 500 GB and 1TB drives installed on my Asus Prime 370 with Win10 (64bit) and 32GB of ram. The 500 is I the main PCIe 3x4 M.2 NVMe slot, the 1TB is in the second slot, which Asus states is “2x4”.. Anyhow, I xchecked the Crystal Disk report and was disappointed by the results...ALL under 1,800 MB/s,, whether Read or Write. I had actually,, run the test once before, (but no photo) and the results were almost double (3,400+). I thought these results were low and double-checked the Asus mobo info. That’s when I saw there 3x4 and 2x4 slot info and switched the sticks. Any suggestions?

Logically, I should (and will) switch them back, but why would a 2x4 slot give better results?
 

rabbidreader

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Which specific drive is in which port?
And screencaps of the CrystalDiskMark results of each would help.
Hi, I ended up taking out the drives to re-check everything. I also wanted to see what Asus meant with their mobo terminology.

I will try to figure out how to attach my photos (3), but here is my update.

The Asus mobo picture shows my two M.2sockets. They are labeled as:
M.2_1 and M.2_2.

M.2_1 is PCIe -x2 and M.2_2 is PCIe -x4.

I had managed to put the drives I the right slots originally, but didn’t think the Crystal Mark test results were the best because after this, I looked at the Asus mobo website and -INCORRECTLY- remembered the socket information, I reversed them in my head (it was 3a.m.), so I took out the drives, re-ran the test, got even worse results, decided to switch the drives back and write you. (I also took a moment to get smarter on understanding the CrystalMark test results.

I’m fairly confident I have it set up properly, but still value your input. Also, I have the second, larger drive (1TB) installed, but it is not recognized yet. Am I correct in saying that I have to format it first? Or would it be something else? Also, for overall performance, is it better to use the faster socket M.2_2 PCIe -x4 for the “Programs” drive and the slower one M.2_1 PCIe -x2 for the “Files” drive?

I imagine that if more speed for the “Files” drive was my goal, I could just buy and install a PCIe 3.0 card with an M.2 x4 socket on it..

I’ll try to send the pics with this message. Thanks again.
 

rabbidreader

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Hi,

Sorry for the delay. I could not get an account set up on imgur for some reason. I opened a support request with them and they are trying to get me an answer..that works. Their first attempt failed. Not sure why I tend to have so any issues with tech stuff...

Anyhow, hope to get it resolved soon. Happy New Year from Japan.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Hi,

Sorry for the delay. I could not get an account set up on imgur for some reason. I opened a support request with them and they are trying to get me an answer..that works. Their first attempt failed. Not sure why I tend to have so any issues with tech stuff...

Anyhow, hope to get it resolved soon. Happy New Year from Japan.
Being the end of the year/xmas...a LOT of online resources are being overwhelmed. Too much traffic.