Info: Does your Core 2 Duo motherboard support RAID? - Overclock.net

*Chozart* · 09-22-06

Recently, there are a good number of new, and pretty popular, motherboards that do not support RAID over the southbridge, and in some cases do not support RAID at all. This issue occurs somewhat regularly now, since many budget model boards that support Core 2 Duo lack RAID support on the southbridge.

While looking around on Newegg, I found that motherboards with the following northbridge support RAID. Also, listed are the possible southbridges that are combined with the northbridge:

VIA P4M800PRO – VIA VT8237R; VIA VT8237R Plus
VIA P4M890 – VIA VT8237R Plus
Intel 945P – Intel ICH7, Intel ICH7R
Intel 945G – Intel ICH7
Intel 946GZ – Intel ICH7
Intel P965 Express – Intel ICH8; Intel ICH8R
Intel G965 Express – Intel ICH8; Intel ICH8R
Intel Q965 Express – Intel ICH8R
Intel 975X – Intel ICH7 DH; Intel ICH7R
nVidia nForce 4 SLI x16 – nVidia MediaShield
nVidia nForce 570 SLI – nVidia MCP51

Here is what matters: the various RAID arrays supported by the different southbridges:

VIA VT8237R – RAID0 and RAID 1
VIA VT8237R Plus – RAID0 and RAID1
Intel ICH7 – No RAID
Intel ICH7 DH – RAID0, RAID1, RAID0+1
Intel ICH7R – RAID0, RAID1, RAID0+1, and RAID5
Intel ICH8 – No RAID
Intel ICH8R – RAID0, RAID1, RAID0+1, and RAID5
nVidia MCP51 – RAID0, RAID1, RAID0+1, and RAID5
nVidia MediaShield – RAID0, RAID1, RAID0+1, RAID5, and JBOD

Thus, the southbridges that lack any form of RAID support are the Intel ICH7 and the Intel ICH8. The Intel ICH7 is the southbridge used for all Intel 945/946 based motherboards that support Core 2 Duo, and thus none of those motherboards offers RAID support on the southbridge. As far I could find, none of these motherboards have a secondary SATA/RAID controller, so with these boards, you are out of luck. Examples of motherboards with Intel 945/946 chipsets are the Biostar 945P-A7A (8.0) and the Gigabyte GA-945P-S3. Update: There is now a board with the 945P chipset in combination with the ICH7R. The Asus ASUS P5LD2 R2.0 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 945P seems like a decent budget board, although its price brings it close to the cheapest Intel 965 Express boards.

The ICH8 is often used on motherboards with any version of the Intel 965 Express chipset. Thus, many boards with the Intel 965 Express chipset lack RAID capabilities on the southbridge. However, these motherboards often have a secondary controller on the PCI that supports RAID. The RAID options on a secondary controller are often limited to RAID0 and RAID1. Examples of motherboards with the Intel 965 Express chipset, the ICH7 southbridge, and a secondary controller are the Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 and the Asus P5B. In some cases, building a RAID array on the secondary controller can be cumbersome, for example, with the Asus P5B. For that motherboard, the secondary controller only has one onboard SATA connector, while the second SATA connector is external.

All motherboards with a southbridge other than the ICH7 and ICH8 support some form of RAID. On the budget side, there is the VIA VT8237R solution, which supports RAID0 and RAID1, but likely this budget chipset will have other limitations (overclocking). If RAID is a necessity, either look for a more advanced Intel 965 Express motherboard, or for an Intel 975X based motherboard (make sure it supports Core 2 Duo). Good examples are the (soon to be released in the US, and available in the UK) Gigabyte GA-965-DR4 and the Asus P5B Deluxe, both with the Intel P965 Express chipset and the ICH8R southbridge. Also, any of these Intel 975X motherboards will support RAID.

Finally, if RAID is a necessity for your Core 2 Duo system, take a good look at the specifications of your prospective motherboard!