X79 LGA 2011 motherboard harddisk setup question.

[malanick]

Hello,
I am building a new computer.
I am going to have a boot SSD
and 2 data Harddisks as a RAID 0 array

I want to run both on SATA 6Gb/s.
I see motherboard specs like this:

SATA 3Gb/s 4 connections
SATA 6Gb/s 4 x SATA 6Gb/s
SATA RAID2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), brown and 4 x SATA 3Gb/s port(s), black support RAID 0, 1, 5, 10

Does this mean the RAID is only on the 3Gb/s ports?

ASUS Sabertooth X79 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Board Link:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131801

Does anyone have a recommendation for a X79 motherboard?

Thanks

 

[Outlander_04]

"Hello" is not a question .

I could tell because there was no " ?" after it

 

[malanick]

Sorry posted before I finished typing.

 

[a4mula]

There are X79 motherboards, such as the Asrock Extreme7 that will support what you're doing.

With that being said, there is no advantage in having 2x HDDs on SATA 6Gb/s as they won't saturate SATA 3Gb/s.

Either way just ensure that you keep the SSD on the intel 6Gb/s controller.

 

[inzone]

It clearly states that the sata3 brown ports are available for Raid.

 

[Outlander_04]

Why run the data hard disks in RAID 0 ?

You may save files mildly faster , but you have twice the risk of losing everything since it will all be gone if even one drive [ or the RAID controller ] fail

Did you mean RAID 1 for data redundancy?

 

[malanick]

The data drives are for video editing ( moving files around alot )

Will save final files to other add on drive

 

[a4mula]

It clearly states that the sata3 brown ports are available for Raid.

The problem is that those are the Intel 6Gb/s controllers. That's where you want to install your SSD as they provide the highest throughput of any of the onboard SATA options.

If the OP is dead set on running RAID0 HDDs on SATAIII then he'll need to look for a board that has secondary SATAIII RAID controllers like the:

Asrock Extreme7 $259.99

It has not only the Intel controllers, but also 2x Marvel 9182 controllers which would work for his HDDs.

It also has 3x 9172 controllers that would work.

 

[malanick]

Thanks, that is the info I was looking for.
And the board is cheaper then the one I was looking at.

The only thing is I've heard bad things about the 6 DIMM slots compared to the 4 or 8.
More picky with the memory.

 

[a4mula]

Yeah I didn't personally care for that myself. 6x DIMM slots in a quad channel setup is just a downright poor engineering choice imo. For myself however I've pretty much decided on a 4x4GB configuration, so at the end of the day it wasn't a huge detraction.

There are also some Gigabyte boards that offer this same level of SATA support while doing 8x dimms. If you use the power search feature at Newegg you can search via SATA 6Gb/s connections. Just pick the 4,5,6,7,8 options, 8x dimms, and LGA2011 to give you a decent idea of what you're looking for.

edit:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=Property&Subcategory=280&Description=&Type=&N=100007627&IsNodeId=1&srchInDesc=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=&PropertyCodeValue=717%3A218895&PropertyCodeValue=3880%3A27178&PropertyCodeValue=7968%3A74809&PropertyCodeValue=7968%3A133290&PropertyCodeValue=7968%3A56407&PropertyCodeValue=7968%3A57760&PropertyCodeValue=7968%3A55465

The search query url. Just keep in mind that while all of these boards offer a minimum of 4x SATAIII ports, not all of them will offer them in RAID configs. The Extreme6 is an example of this. Just make sure you view the Details screen to ensure it has the support you want.

 

[malanick]

If I skip the RAID, what does everyone think for a Motherboard recommendation?
I want an X79 for the speed and don't want to have to upgrade in 2-3 years.

 

[a4mula]

If durability and longevity is your primary concern I'd look towards the Asus Sabertooth or the MSI military class boards. While most manufacturers have jumped on the premium capacitor bandwagon which is great, a motherboard is still only going to be as durable as its weakest component. The ones mentioned have been built and stress tested with longevity and stability as the foremost factor.

Of course, that could also just be what the marketing team wants to sell. I do know I'm using the P55/1156 version of the Sabertooth and I have nothing but love for it. Two years strong now and it's never once gotten in my way or given me a cause for alarm.

 

[malanick]

Best answer selected by malanick.