Hmm, this may be the most important issue I'm facing currently (if I'm reading you correctly). When you say no RAID in Bootcamp, does this mean at all? Or did you mean only if I had an existing OS X software raid? If it's the former, guess I'm out of luck as I'm running Windows 7 in Bootcamp. Is that what you meant?
On the existing SATA controller built into the chipset (ICH).
A separate card eliminates this issue alltogether, and why you have to do it that way.
Now there's 2x ways of doing this:
1. Proper hardware RAID controller
2. Fake RAID controller with BIOS (uses software to operate the RAID via a SATA/eSATA card).
The hardware RAID controller is the better way to go, and is worth the additional expense (far better stability when used with the correct drives, and fewer hassles over software issues). Less so in some instances, as you'll be running a stripe set (won't benefit from the recovery options available with other RAID levels that do exist in the card). But you can still transfer it from one system to another (though the OS may need to be reloaded, as the drivers for supporting components on the board are almost certainly to change, unless it's an identical system).
It also gives you additional options, such as changing to an array level not possible in either Disk Utility, or suitable for software based arrays (i.e. parity based arrays = 5/6; look up "write hole issue").
RAID Wiki has it in there somewhere, though you will have to read carefully.
The Fake RAID method's advantage is it's cheaper, and could be used with your existing WD 640GB disks. But it's not as stable (beyond the compromise associated with a stripe set). This is namely due to software incompatibilities that crop up (and they will at some point). This tends to be more of an issue with Macs as well from what I've been able to determine.
I've never been a big fan of FakeRAID controllers, or software RAID for that matter, as it's far more problematic. And in my case, I tend to run parity far more than any other level, which makes a proper card a necessity rather than an option.
No. About 18 months ago I created an OS X software RAID via Disk Utility, but found I had no need for RAID in OS X, and thus un-striped those drives to use as independent HDDs in Windows.
Good, as that actually makes things easier for the physical installation. Just attach the 0.5m SFF-8087 to 4i*SATA cable I linked to the logic board, and one of the SATA ends to the OS X disk (physically install it in the empty optical bay). An adapter is easy and cheap (i.e. eBay is a good source that won't rape you on shipping).
Wouldn't having RAID in both OS X and Windows 7 mean the drives would need to be formatted FAT32? If so, the issue with that is the 4GB file size limit. HD video is typically very large (especially using an uncompressed codec for editing), so a 4GB file limit would prohibit doing much HD video work
No, as each RAID would be independent of one another.
But as you're not going to do this, it's not an issue anyway.
Will wait for your reply and check out your links - thank you, by the way!
NP.
