Page 2 - Setup

Setting up a RAID0 configuration with two NVMe based drives, is actually quite tricky. Apart from that there are quite a lot of limitations these days. It's only possible to realize a bootable NVMe RAID if you're using a motherboard, which is based on Intel's Z170 Express chipset. If it's your plan to create a non-bootable RAID of two NVMe SSDs, then you can also create a software RAID within Windows using a dynamic RAID array. Following we've put together bullet point lists which explain how to create a dynamic RAID array in Windows or how to create a RAID in the BIOS of a Z170 Express based motherboard, which supports NVMe RAID configurations. In that case we're going to look into the settings of the ASRock Extreme 7+ motherobard.

Software RAID - Windows 10

• Press the Windows key
• Type "Computer Management" and press Enter
• Double click storage
• Double click Disk Management
• Right click on one of the unformatted NVMe SSDs
• Choose the option create RAID volume
• Click through the setup guide, create and format your RAID volume and you're done

RAID in BIOS - Z170 Express chipset - ASRock Z170 Extreme7+

In general we're looking for the option "Intel Rapid Storage Technology" to then create the RAID configuration directly in the BIOS.

• Go to Boot tab
• Select CSM (Compatibility Support Module)
• Change the policies to UEFI only
• Save and exit BIOS (press F10 and then enter)
• Go to Advanced tab
• Select Intel Rapid Storage Technology
• You now see all your NVMe drive and you can create a RAID the way you're used to it from onboard RAID controllers
• Create the RAID and reboot
• You now have a bootable NVMe RAID configuration

Page 1 - Introduction

Page 2 - Setup

Page 3 - Test Setup

Page 4 - Performance QD1/4/8/16/32

Page 5 - Conclusion