Where will this get me

I realize this is a tough question to ask but I'm trying to get myself situated before I start building this weekend.
 
Here's the scenario:
Pervious setup:
Antec 4U22ATX450-2 Black 4U Rackmount Rackmount Case
GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS4 LGA 775 Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 Wolfdale 2.66GHz LGA 775 Dual-Core Processor
WINTEC AMPX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
4 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM HDD's in RAID 10
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm
Antec NeoPower 650 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
XFX PVT84JUSD4 GeForce 8600 GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
Windows XP Pro
 
Notes about this setup - The drives were in RAID 10 so obviously there was not a dedicated audio drive. When I first started with this setup it was amazing. Now that I've got several projects on it; I've definitely noticed the system slowing down. Most trouble is coming from long program access times and slightly sluggish reads with high track count projects. I've been able to load up as many plugins as I've wanted to so far other than a few specific system hogs.
 
New setup:
All of these items have already been purchased and others are simply being shifted from the old setup to the new setup.
 
Antec 4U22ATX450-2 Black 4U Rackmount Rackmount Case
ASROCK Fatal1ty Professional P67 Motherboard (I wanted the ASUS P8P67 Pro but it had been on backorder for over a month:( )
Intel i7 2600K
2 x G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer
4 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM HDD's in RAID 1
2 x Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB WD1001FALS in RAID 1
Antec NeoPower 650 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
XFX PVT84JUSD4 GeForce 8600 GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
Windows 7 Professional 64bit
 
Notes about this setup - As noted in the parts listing I will be running the drives in RAID 1 so that I have some level of HDD failure protection. I will have a pair in RAID 1 for the OS, one pair in RAID 1 for samples and the 1TB pair will be the audio drive and will also be in RAID 1.
 
On to the question. My current projects are usually topping out at around 80 tracks per song and I can see and feel my old setup stuggling a bit to keep up. Will I be able to exceed my previous setup with this new configuration or do you think I need to add more audio drives and run in RAID 10?
 
My recordings are getting more and more elaborate and are increasing in track count rapidly. My fear is that I'm going to upgrade and not feel much if any difference. I rather get it right before I start the build so I don't have to mess with any more downtime and upgrade again later with more HDD's or whatever is needed to get the job done. My goal would be able to playback 130 or so tracks and not see my system start to limp.
 
Any advise or comments would be very much appreciated. Thanks guys/girls
 
 
PS I typically record in 48k 24bit

Twigman


What interface are you using?
If you need FW I'd check the chipsets on those boards to ensure they use TI FW controllers.

I'm running 3 firepods at the moment. I'm not sure what the FW chip is and I can't seem to find that info anywhere either. I'm not that worried about that since they should work with VIA as well and if all else fails I'll get a FW card if there is compatibility issues. With any luck I'll be upgrading to Lynx Aurora 16's by the end of the year.

Honestly my main concern is whether or not my system will be able to handle the read requirements that I will demanding from it. I will find out tomorrow I suppose. I'm having a more savvy friend come over to give me a hand. He's got a few RAID cards that we are going to test out and see what works the best.