From: John Carter on
I have an M2N-E with the following disk config:

SATA1 WD 250
SATA2 WD 250
SATA3 WD 500
SATA4 WD 500
SATA5 WD Raptor 74
SATA6 HP DV writer

SATA 1 and 2 are RAID 1 array
SATA 3 and 4 are RAID 1 array

Nforce 570 chipset using the Nvidia RAID Controller

After suggestions of swapping cables, disks, etc., the
verdict is that SATA4 port is malfunctioning.
Why it alone and not both SATA3 and SATA4 are failing, I
don't have a clue since the're both on the same RAID
controller. I'll leave that up to the hardware gurus to
ponder.

For whatever reasons the mobo is acting up, immediate need is the
RAID 1 capability and I don't have the
time now to change out mobo for something else. So I believe
my most viable current option is to purchase a RAID card and connect
just the two 500 GB drives into a RAID 1 array.

I have PCI slots, PCI-E 1X and PCI-E 4X slots available.

My questions are:

Can I add the card as I believe I can? IE are these add-on cards
designed to co-exist with RAID mobo controllers, or are they designed
to add RAID/SATA capability to systems without the mobo capability?

What terminology do I look for if I want to use the PCI-E 4X slot?

Is there a desireable chipset I should look for on these cards?


Thanks for all the assistance, I really appreciate the help.