>Yes Hilmar, RAID 5 is the best, but it's not a cheap solution. The inexpensive cards do everything with software, using your CPU every time you save or retrieve files. How many resources do they use? I don't know. In the case of a desktop computer it might not be much though.

Thanks; I didn't know the details. I knew it was used a lot in servers, but I had no idea about the price range.

>If I wanted to make sure my files weren't lost in case of a drive failure I think I'd use a two drive RAID 1 solution. You can get a 150 GB HD for 150 CAD which is not a lot of money.

You mean, without the RAID 0 part, right? The RAID 0 would be used for additional performance, but combining RAID 1 and RAID 0 would be a lot more expensive, and, as you say, generate heat as well.

> Heck, if I wanted to play it safe, I would have one of the mirrors on a removable enclosure and swap it every week, that way I also have a backup in case the whole computer goes kaput / up in flames / is stolen / etc.

That is an interesting option for backup, which I hadn't considered before. Since the RAID controller (or software) is supposed to reconstruct the newly inserted disk when you insert it, I suppose you can take your time, and don't need to leave the computer idle while the "backup" runs.