I been thinking about this ever since I built my new system but I am not sure where to start.
Here is what I have to work with.
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
CORSAIR Vengeance LP 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
EVGA 02G-P4-2680-KR GeForce GTX 680 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
2x SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC512D/AM 2.5" 512GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Desktop Upgrade Kit
Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
SeaSonic Platinum Platinum-860 860W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS PLATINUM Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply
SAMSUNG DVD Burner 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA
Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
COOLER MASTER GeminII S524 120mm Long Life Sleeve CPU Cooler
Windows 8 64bit OEM
The 600T case I have has plenty of room left for more drives. I currently have only used one of the optical drive bays and three of the storage drive bays. That leaves three 5.25 and three 3.5 drive bays open.
Here is what I am wanting to do. I am looking at adding in a 120/128GB SSD for my OS drive, probably another Samsung 830 if I can find one, 840 pro if not. Then I want to turn the two 512GB SSD's into one big drive, so RAID 0 from what I have been reading. I have yet to even use the Seagate drive but it will remain as a future storage drive unless I can incorporate it into the RAID some how. No clue about this at this point. I am looking to simplify things. Instead of all these drives being used separately I want to treat them as one or two large drives. Data redundancy is not a major concern right now.
So, where do I start? Do I need a Raid controller of some sort or will my Motherboard be able to handle what I want to do.
Is it possible to work the Seagate into the raid in some way to increase the storage capacity or do all the Raid drives need to be the same size and type?
Would I be better off using the Seagate as a back up drive mirroring everything on the two SSD's? If so how do I do this?
My old system has a 500GB HDD, not sure what brand right off hand, that I am considering adding into the system. Mainly I want some of the software off of it then it could be wiped and used however was most beneficial.
I freely admit I am a noob when it comes to RAID's so please forgive the dumb questions I have probably already asked. I should probably go out and find a copy of RAID for Dummies at the local book store. So, point me to some websites that can make this more clear than the mud I have been trying to figure out on my own. All constructive suggestions welcome.