PCI raid controller

[Zeus]

Right now i have just one Maxtor ATA133 40Gig.7200rpm harddisk but i would like to double my harddiskspace by getting another identical harddisk.
I want these disks to operate in a raid 0 array but haven't got a raidcontroller on my mobo so i want to get myself one of these PCI raid controllers.
Can anyone tell me what to look for and do i have to go for a brand like Highpoint or Promise or will a generic do as well?
Is is difficult to install and is there anything i should know before making an array?

Any help will be appreciated, thanks in advance

[CCW]

get a card with a highpoint chipset...they are good...prmise make good cards, so do adaptec, down to preference

when set upo array you will need both hdd's blank, if one drive fails you lose all data, dont worry ive had 4 maxotrs in the last 10 months, to 40s and two 60s and had em raid 0 and theyve never failed

you lose al ldata cos its stripped across drives, i.e half and half, should double read performance

[Zeus]

I'm not too concerned about losing data or HDD crashes, i just want some more speed!
Do you mean if set up an raid 0 array i first have to format both my drives?
Can't i just format from my bootable Win 2k CD like in a normal setup and then format? I already have one disk, the one i'm using right now and plan to buy a second one, do i first have to format this old disk w/ a bootup floppy or something?
Performance wise do you notice any difference between Raid and regular config?

[CCW]

Well, itll get formated during the Win2k installation so thatll be ok, they most both be exactly the same drives for best perofmrance, pergformance wise my hdd bandwidth has doubled but so has the chance of the lsos of data its fast though, i had two 40s a little while agao, now got two 60s, the two 60s are slightlty slower because they are bigger disks, RAID is a very nice technology though, you should be getting the same spepd of your disks RAID0 as most entry level U160 SCSI Drives, just not as reliable