I'm just getting into the nuts & bolts of computer guts due to an issue I have with a new Dell computer I bought. Originally I bought the computer to set up as a Raid 5 Machine, but found after it was delivered the resident bios did not support this. After several months of testing Raid cards and running into complications trying to set up Raid 5 on them, I'm exploring a possible different path - the reason for the post! Hopefully someone here in this community is educated enough to help!!

Dell of course will not provide me with the manufacturer of the MOTHERBOARD (proprietary info and all), but the Chipset is documented as a nVidia nForce 650i SLI and for the most part the tech specs seem to fit the nForce 650i SLI Motherboard, but it doesn't look like the one I see on THIER site.

So there's the question. According to the nVidia website the 650i SLI will support Raid 5, my Dell 650i SLI (Chipset at least doesn't), only Raid 1, 0, 1 & 0. Who chooses the difference, does the computer OEM write thier own firmware for the CHIPSETS they use? Since I'm ASSUMING the nVidia nForce 650i SLI Motherboard has the same Chipset as mine, shouldn't I be able to UPDATE the Firmware on the Dell and upgrade the machine to be Raid 5 capable? Hopefully one of you out here in the Cyberspace can help educate me!!