I want to set up multiple RAID arrays... will it work?

[Ironfrunk]

Hi, all.

I currently have two hard drives, each containing their own separate OS.
My current setup is:
Hard drive 1) A Western Digital Green Caviar 1TB (32MB cache) running Linux Mint 7 64-bit; Hard drive 2) 80GB Seagate hard drive (I will upgrade to 500GB Caviar Green (32MB)) running Windows XP Pro 64-bit.

When ever I want to switch from Linux to Windows (mainly to play games; I dislike Wine) I simply switch the boot order in the BIOS so that it boots my Windows hard drive.
My plan is to set up a RAID array using two (2) Western Digital Green Caviar 1TB (32MB cache) to run Linux... and a second RAID array using two (2) Western Digital Green Caviar 500MB (32MB cache) to run Windows. By the way, I wish for the two arrays to be completely independent of one another, like that of my two hard drives.

So, I have three questions:
1) If I set up a RAID (preferably RAID-0 or RAID-1) for each OS, would I still retain the ability to simply switch the boot order around so that I can boot into a different OS while still maintaining the RAID array? Or would I run into complications?
2) Would you recommend using a dedicated RAID controller over my built in Intel one?
3) If you recommend using a dedicated RAID controller, which one?

System Specs (if you need them):
OS': Linux Mint 7 64-bit & Windows XP Pro (may upgrade to Windows 7) 64-bit.
CPU: Core 2 Quad Q6700 @ 2.66GHz
RAM: 8GB DDR2 (4 x 2048MB)
Hard drives: *Specified above*
Motherboard: Asus P5Q Deluxe
PSU: 700watt

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you 😀

 

[r_manic]

Yes you can! Just make sure to read the RAID FAQ for more details!