Storage Spaces is unquestionably the better option for monitoring, but Windows software RAID can still be a valuable backup solution. If you need to monitor hard drives to ensure they're in good condition, using Storage Spaces is the best way to go - it's more comprehensive and provides more detailed information than Windows software RAID. However, if you just need to know when one drive has failed and needs to be replaced, using Windows software RAID may be a more economical solution.