Help! Which RAID mode should I use?

[Eggz]

Does it matter if I base my RAID 1 array on IRST or RSTe?

Motherboard: Asus Rampage Gene IV (Latest BIOS)
Drives: 2 x Segate Constellation Enterprise ES.3 ST4000NM0033
Windows 8.1 Professional

My system's OS is on an SSD, but I'm building a RAID 1 array for redundant storage with these drives.

In the UEFI > SATA > RAID Mode, my choices for Intel's Rapid Storage Techonology are either the regular one (IRST) or the enterprise one (RSTe).

Normally, I wouldn't care about the choice so much, but the UEFI warns that I'll have to re-install the OS in order to make the switch between the two once I choose one. Not trying to go down that route!

Currently, SATA is in AHCI mode. The version of Inel's Rapid Store I have installed is the non-enterprise version, but I can easily switch to the enterprise version because I haven't built any RAID arrays yet. Is there any reason to pick one over the other?

My computer is basically a photo studio with gaming capability, so the storage is very important. Also, corrupting the OS install would take me at least an entire weekend to rebuild because I don't have it imaged. So unfortunately, the guess and check method isn't an option here.

Please advise.

Thanks!

 

[geofelt]

sorry.

 

[Eggz]

Umm . . . completely non-responsive!

I know exactly what RAID 1 is and how it differs from backups.

I just need to know whether the distinction between IRST and RSTe matters for a two-drive RAID 1 array.

 

[Eggz]

sorry.

No problem. Sorry as well if my reply was curt, but back to the topic . . .

Do you know about that distinction? I'm inclined to just use IRST because I'm not on an enterprise system. Just because I'm using enterprise quality drives doesn't seem to necessitate using the enterprise software, but that's just a hunch.

 

[FireWire2]

AHCI mode is the BEST for SSD, if you switch to RAID mode in your MB, it's a bit complicated.
to boot from RAID, then OS must have RAID drivers loaded, so you are pretty much in "catch 22"

Since you want RAID1 - it's simple RAID
Use Disk Manager in window and create RAID1 from it
This will work best for you.
You could of save the money use Desktop drives in RAID1, there is no need for Enterprise drive in RAID1

 

[Eggz]

@FireWire2

Thanks for the input. From what I've read, it seems that the current RAID protocols include AHCI, so my SSD seems to be getting the benefit of that.

As for the enterprise drive with RAID 1, I agree that desktop drives would have been okay as well. But based on some math I did that considered the likelihood of failure, upgrading to the enterprise version actually came out to be cheaper over a 5 year span (as an anticipated cost). If that anticipation turns out to be an overestimate, that's okay because I got a really good deal on the drives.

More to the point, though, I got everything working and explained what I learned here: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2135685/raid-mode.html (posted in two places b/c no response here for a while)

Thanks again for chiming in!