intel Z790 RAID Set Motherboard User Guide
- June 13, 2024
- Intel
Table of Contents
intel Z790 RAID Set Motherboard
Product Information
The product is a RAID system that allows users to configure various RAID levels for data storage. The supported RAID levels include RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10. Each RAID level offers different features and fault tolerance capabilities.
To create a RAID set, the user needs to follow the steps outlined in the user manual. The process involves installing hard drives or SSDs, configuring the system BIOS, creating RAID configurations, and installing the RAID driver and operating system.
RAID Levels
| RAID Level | Minimum Number of Hard Drives | Array Capacity | Fault Tolerance |
|---|---|---|---|
| RAID 0 | 2 | Number of hard drives * Size of the smallest drive | No |
| RAID 1 | 2 | Size of the smallest drive | Yes |
| RAID 5 | 3 | (Number of hard drives – 1) * Size of the smallest drive | Yes |
| RAID 10 | 4 | (Number of hard drives/2) * Size of the smallest drive | Yes |
Product Usage Instructions
Preparing the Hard Drives and BIOS Settings
-
Installing hard drives: If you want to create
a RAID array on the SATA controller, install SATA hard drives or
SSDs in your computer. Skip this step if you do not want to create
a RAID array. -
Configuring the BIOS settings:
- Turn on your computer and press
<KEY>to enter BIOS Setup during the POST. - Go to Settings → IO Ports → SATA Configuration and make sure SATA Controller(s) is enabled.
- To create RAID configurations, go to Settings → IO Ports → VMD setup menu. Set Enable VMD controller to Enabled and set Enable VMD Global Mapping to Disabled.
- Depending on the SATA/M.2 connector used, set the corresponding Map this Root Port under the VMD item to Enabled.
- Turn on your computer and press
INSTRUCTION
RAID Levels
| RAID 0| RAID 1| RAID 5| RAID 10
---|---|---|---|---
Minimum Number of Hard Drives| ****
≥2
| ****
2
| ****
≥3
| ****
4
Array Capacity
| Number of hard drives * Size of the smallest drive| Size of the smallest
drive
| (Number of hard drives -1) Size of the smallest drive| (Number of hard
drives/2) Size of the smallest drive
Fault Tolerance| No| Yes| Yes| Yes
To create a RAID set, follow the steps below:
- A. Install SATA hard drive(s) or SSDs in your computer.
- B. Configure the system BIOS.
- C. Create RAID configurations. (Note 1)
- D. Install the RAID driver and operating system.
Before you begin, please prepare the following items:
- At least two SATA hard drives or SSDs (Note 2) (to ensure optimal performance, it is recommended that you use two hard drives with identical model and capacity). (Note 3)
- A Windows setup disc.
- An Internet-connected computer.
- A USB thumb drive.
Preparing the Hard Drives and BIOS Settings
A. Installing hard drives
Install the hard drives/SSDs in the Intel® Chipset controlled connectors on
the motherboard. Then connect the power connectors from your power supply to
the hard drives.
The Intel® B760 Chipset doesn’t include RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10 support for NVMe SSD storage devices.
-
(Note 1) Skip this step if you do not want to create RAID array on the SATA controller.
-
(Note 2) An M.2 PCIe SSD cannot be used to set up a RAID set either with an M.2 SATA SSD or a SATA hard
drive. -
(Note 3) Refer to the “Internal Connectors” section of the user’s manuals for the installation notices for the M.2
B. Configuring the BIOS setting s
Step 1:
Turn on your computer and press
C. Configuring a RAID Array
Step 1:
After the system reboots, enter BIOS Setup again. Then enter the Settings\IO
Ports\Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology sub-menu (Figure 2).
The BIOS Setup menus described in this section may differ from the exact settings for your motherboard. The actual BIOS Setup menu options you will see shall depend on the motherboard you have and the BIOS version.
Step 2: On the Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology menu, press
Step 3:
Under Select Disks item, select the hard drives to be included in the RAID
array. Press the
Step 4: After setting the capacity, move to Create Volume and press
After completing, you’ll be brought back to the Intel(R) Rapid Storage
Technology screen. Under RAID Volumes you can see the new RAID volume. To see
more detailed information, press 
Delete RAID Volume
To delete a RAID array, press
Installing the RAID Driver and Operating System
With the correct BIOS settings, you are ready to install the operating system.
If you want to install an operating system on an M.2 PCIe SSD or a RAID
volume, you need to install the Intel® RST VMD Controller driver first during
the OS installation process. Refer to the steps below:
Step 1:
Go to GIGABYTE’s website, browse to the motherboard model’s web page, download
the Intel SATA Preinstall driver file on the Support\Download\SATA RAID/AHCI
page, unzip the file and copy the files to your USB thumb drive.
Step 2:
Boot from the Windows setup disc and perform standard OS installation steps.
When the screen requesting you to load the driver appears, select Browse.
Step 3:
Insert the USB thumb drive and then browse to the location of the driver. When
a screen as shown below appears, select Intel RST VMD Controller 467F and
click Next to load the driver and continue the OS installation.
Installing Intel® Optane™ Memory and Storage Management
After entering the operating system, make sure your Internet connection works
properly.
Launch the GIGABYTE Control Center (GCC). On the “Not Installed\New Drivers”
screen, select Intel® Rapid Storage Technology driver to install. Follow the
on-screen instructions to continue.
When completed, restart the system.
A. Enabling an Intel® Optane™ Memory
A-1. System Requirements
- Intel® Optane™ memory H10/H20.
- System acceleration with Intel® Optane™ Memory can only be enabled on the M.2 connectors supported by the Chipset.
- Only the system drive partition on the Intel® Optane memory being used can be enabled for system acceleration. The system drive partition must be GPT formatted and have Windows 10 64-bit (or later version) installed.
- An Internet-connected computer.
A-2. Installation Guidelines
Step 1:
In BIOS Setup, go to Settings\IO Ports\VMD setup menu, set Enable VMD
controller to Enabled and set Enable VMD Global Mapping to Disabled. Then
depending on the SATA/M.2 connector you use, set the corresponding Map this
Root Port under VMD item to Enabled.
Step 2
After re-entering the operating system, launch the Intel® Optane™ Memory and
Storage Management application from the Start menu. Click Enable Intel®
Optane™ Memory. When completed, restart the system.
Step 3
Launch the Intel® Optane™ Memory and Storage Management application from the
Start menu and make sure the Intel® Optane™ Memory has been
enabled.
- Do not abruptly remove the Optane™ memory. Doing so will cause the operating system to stop functioning correctly.
- If you want to change/remove the Optane™ memory, you must disable it using the Intel® Optane™ Memory and Storage Management application first.
- After enabling the Optane™ memory, the related BIOS settings will remain even after a BIOS update.
B. Rebuilding an Array
- Rebuilding is the process of restoring data to a hard drive from other drives in the array. Rebuilding applies only to fault-tolerant arrays such as RAID 1, RAID 5 or RAID 10 arrays. The procedures below assume a new drive is added to replace a failed drive to rebuild a RAID 1 array. (Note: The new drive must have equal or greater capacity than the old one.)
- Turn off your computer and replace the failed hard drive with a new one. Restart your computer.
While in the operating system, launch the Intel® Optane™ Memory and Storage Management utility from the Start menu.
Step 1:
Go to the Manage menu and click Rebuild to another disk in Manage Volume.
Step 2:
Select a new drive to rebuild the RAID and click Rebuild.
The Status item on the right of the screen displays the rebuild progress. After the RAID 1 volume rebuilding, the Status will display as Normal.