Real Word RAID Explored

[Keefe]

Tech Report has posted a MASSIVE article on IDE RAID using the onboard Highpoint controller on the Abit KT7-RAID:

SADLY, RAID'S "KILLS BUGS DEAD" MOTTO doesn't quite translate to computers. While a can of pesticide might be able to wipe out a cockroach problem, there's nothing a RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) can do for your computer in terms of dealing with bugs. What RAID can do, however, is give you a performance boost, or some peace of mind, or both.
For quite some time, RAID was basically limited to high-end SCSI workstations and servers, far out of the reach of most power users. However, in the past couple of years we've seen several IDE RAID solutions that aim to bring RAID's benefits to IDE systems. These solutions, available on PCI cards and motherboards, are popping up everywhere these days. Given its ready availability and theoretical benefits, it's only natural that we give IDE RAID a real-world workout to see how it really performs.

Real World RAID Explored

any of the striping array options certainly speed up data transfer times.
copying lots of small files can actually be slower than with a single ide hdd!!!  if you are moving huge amounts of data around though (say editing video footage) then the gains are well worth it.