To RAID or Not to RAID!

Hardware HDD's & SSD's
1

Here is the story:

I have about 3 TB or data on my computer right now. I was able to purchase three 3 TB 7200 rpm HDD during the black Friday sales. I was wondering what was the best option to increase data storage and security. I am considering RAID 5, but I have read online that UREs can happen during a rebuild.

My questions are:

Should I even RAID?

Which Raid configuration is best to secure data and increase storage?

What happens after a URE occurs, do i just restart the rebuild process or is all of the data lost?

Thanks you! 

2

RAID 5 will be fine. In regards to URE it does happen but no as much as the internet makes out.

Is this on a desktop or a server?

3

This is for a desktop... Im reading a few articles and all of them are scaring the crap out of me with the possibility of a URE during a rebuild.

If i encounter a URE during the rebuild process: what happens? Is all the data lost? or do i need to just restart the rebuild process?  

4

I'm not sure I've never had it happen to me, or any one I know,

If it was me doing this I would either back up the data onto another system and then once I had built the RAID I would transfer it back over, 

OR

Look at building a FreeNas system or a WHS.(I did it the WHS way),

What type of data are you storing?

 

 

5

mainly large media files, videos and pictures of family.

Could you expand on WHs and FreeNAS.
Also, have you hear of Ra\AID Z with ZFS?