Gigabyte Z370 Aoris Gaming-5 RAID Drive

[ekohn00]

I'm looking to build my first Mac.

I was wondering, if I use the M.2 on my Gigabyte Aorus as my macOS primary drive, can I then set up a RAID 0 or 5 as a separate drive that would be recognized by macOS? I'd like to use the onboard RAID vs adding another PCI Card.

Forgive me if this is posted elsewhere, I read a bunch but couldn't determine if the raid was the primary or additional drive....

thanks.

 

[CinemaPDX]

I'm working on this right now. Seems I just can't boot if I activate mobo raid.

 

[ekohn00]

@CinemaPDX, I appreciate the update. I'm doing a backup right now of my existing RAID (since I'll be using he disks). After doing some rearch I'm not sure if I want to use the MB RAID. I read a few posts that talk about using MACOS for SW raid, speeds might be better. My biggest concern is actually loosing the boot disk and rebuilding. Which RAID (MB or OS) would be best for maintaining downtime when crap happens?

 

[CinemaPDX]

So, here's what I have learned;
1. Don't worry about RAID on your boot disk, it's not as important as you think. Use RAID for your media drives.
2. MOBO RAID on OSX just doesn't seem to work. You'd have to use an Apple RAID card, or better yet, just use and external Thunderbolt RAID.
3. Software RAID doesn't seem to be too bad. If your boot disk is SSD or NVME, you'll probably do okay.
4. BACKUP! Get the cheapest, biggest drive you can for a Time Machine backup. If your RAID fails, at least you will have your files. I like this option because it just copies files, getting around the type of corruption that can happen on a RAID array. Occasionally backup your files to another drive that you keep in a closet, (or in a safe, in a bunker, under a lion, etc...)

 

[ekohn00]

Just some interesting info.....
1. I never use raid on a boot disk. Although I keep apps, personal directory, and everyday stuff on it. I use time machine and iCloud storage on the boot disk just in case an for convenience.

2. thanks for the info on the MOBO RAID....It saved me a few hours of tinkering. I went with Samsung's M2 PRO for my boot, so think I'll just use SW raid for my. Always RAID 5 or something with Parity...
3. Always backup...never know.

Some odd stuff:
I am able to get my older G-Technology TB1 drive to connect (I have a Gigabyte gaming 5 MB and TB3 Card) via apples TB to TB3 connector. However, my promise Pegasus 2 (thunderbolt 2) isn't even seen MacOS. the G-Tech is in raid 0 and pegasus is in raid 5. (It's a shame as I wanted to use the Pegasus as my backup.)