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Retired · ‎07-25-2011

I currently have

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227714

I want to use the ssd as a boot drive and im not sure if this is possible ( this computer is my very first build ) but what I would like to do is when i install programs I want them to install on the data drive ( WD Caviar Black ) Instead of my SSD. How do i go about setting this up? thanks for your help!

FiNAS · ‎07-25-2011

- Connect the ssd to sata port1, the hdd to sata port 2, the optical drive to sata port 3. In bios, configure all the sata ports as AHCI.
- install windows on the first device ( ssd )
- after instaling windows, format the second device ( hdd ) ( from within windows )
- create a directory on the hdd named ( program files ) or ( programs ) or ( software ) or whatever you feel the directory should be named.
- when installing software, click on advanced options ( on the software installer ) and select change the path on the instalation directory to the one you created on the hdd.

if you want to make this change permanet ( ie, windows will always default to install on that hdd dir, see the link bellow )

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=change+program+files+location+windows+7&l=1

jewie27 · ‎07-29-2011

FiNAS wrote:
- Connect the ssd to sata port1, the hdd to sata port 2, the optical drive to sata port 3. In bios, configure all the sata ports as AHCI.
- install windows on the first device ( ssd )
- after instaling windows, format the second device ( hdd ) ( from within windows )
- create a directory on the hdd named ( program files ) or ( programs ) or ( software ) or whatever you feel the directory should be named.
- when installing software, click on advanced options ( on the software installer ) and select change the path on the instalation directory to the one you created on the hdd.

if you want to make this change permanet ( ie, windows will always default to install on that hdd dir, see the link bellow )

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=change+program+files+location+windows+7&l=1

How do I setup a SSD Boot drive and 2 HDD's in Raid 0? Does it matter what SATA Ports I use?

New ROG PC built Nov 2011:
Asus Maximus IV Extreme-Z
Intel Core I5-2500K
(2) EVGA GTX 580 Superclocked in SLI
Corsair 600T
Corsair H100 Liquid CPU Cooling
Corsair AX1200 PSU
Corsair Force 3 128GB SSD for boot drive
8GB Red Corsair Vengeance @ 1600 Mhz 9-9-9-24
1.5 TB Western Digital Caviar Black
Asus 12x Blu-Ray Writer

Built my first PC at age 12, Pentium III @ 450 Mhz.

Retired · ‎07-25-2011

oh awesome sonds easy enough! Do i want to raid 0 those drive? thanks for the quick response

FiNAS · ‎07-25-2011

np! 🙂

Raid0 will almost double your performance for most of the filesizes on disk, but for that, the raid0 members should be ( in order of importance 😞

- same technology ( all sdd, or all hdd )
- same speed ( all 7200rpm, or all 5400rpm, or same ssd chipset and size )
- same size
- same brand and firmware revision

raid0 of a ssd and an hdd is a very bad thing to do in my opinion, plus, the total size of the array would be double that of the smaller device, something that for sure you don't want!

Retired · ‎07-25-2011

ok awesome good to know! thanks for the insight. im new to building but I wanna make sure for what I bought Im doing everything that needs to be done for my first build so I feel justified spending all this cash hahaha! 🙂 Indeed im happy with my choices I just cant wait to put this thing together.

FiNAS · ‎07-29-2011

Hi Jewie27,

You have two options:
- configure sata ports1-4 in bios as Raid, and connect the two 1.5TB drives to sata port1 and sata port2
- configure sata ports5-6 as IDE and connect the ssd to sata port5

or
- configure sata ports1-4 in bios as Raid, and connect the two 1.5TB drives to sata port1 and sata port2
- configure sata port7 ( the one that is run by the asmedia sata chip ) as AHCI and then connect the ssd to that port.

Second option is better, because it will enable the operating system to forward TRIM commands to the ssd. TRIM support allows for optimum performance and durability of MLC ssd's.

By the way:
a) to enable RAID on the amd controller one must first select ports 1-4.
b) if ports 1-4 are configured as RAID, ports 5-6 can only be configured as RAID or IDE ( both modes don't support TRIM commands )
c) so, because of a) and b), raid and AHCI modes are not supported at the same time on the AMD sata controller.

jewie27 · ‎07-29-2011

printing this one out for my upcoming build. i'm waiting for bulldozer to drop.

New ROG PC built Nov 2011:
Asus Maximus IV Extreme-Z
Intel Core I5-2500K
(2) EVGA GTX 580 Superclocked in SLI
Corsair 600T
Corsair H100 Liquid CPU Cooling
Corsair AX1200 PSU
Corsair Force 3 128GB SSD for boot drive
8GB Red Corsair Vengeance @ 1600 Mhz 9-9-9-24
1.5 TB Western Digital Caviar Black
Asus 12x Blu-Ray Writer

Built my first PC at age 12, Pentium III @ 450 Mhz.

Hard Drive Help ( Software Install Issue )