[Troubleshooting] SATA 3 RAID 0 SSDs - Can't create RAID volume, almost ready to give up.

Hi r/buildapc, you guys are my last hope here, thanks for taking the time.

I'm building my first rig using a RAID configuration (but not first build all together), and I'm having a tremendous amount of trouble with it. I've spent about 22 hours over the last three days trying to get this to work. Here goes:

First: My build

Build Quick Reference:

Mobo: ASRock Z77 Extreme3

SSDs: 2x SATA 3 Phoenix III (120 Gb)

ODD: 1x SATA 2 ASUS Blu-Ray

The Setup:

I'm trying to set up a RAID 0 configuration using two (120 GB) SSDs on SATA 3 (6 GB/s).

The Problem: I simply can't seem to actually create the raid volume to select during windows installation. The process as I understand it is:

Power On -> Enter UEFI -> Set SATA Controller Mode to [RAID] -> Restart -> When the RAID Configuration Utility prompts me, I'm supposed to press CTRL + i to enter the utility and build the volume using my two SSDs. -> Restart -> Enter Windows Setup -> Install RAID drivers and select RAID volume -> Have a really good time with the new PC.

It's the middle step that's killing me, it never prompts me for the RAID Configuration Utility.

TLDR of "The Problem":

I'm never prompted to enter the RAID Configuration Utility to actually create the RAID volumes. Because I can't create the volume, Windows setup only finds a single drive of 120 Gb, even in RAID mode.

What I've Tried:

100% Certainty:

• SATA Controller is enabled.
• SATA Controller Mode is set to RAID.
• My Full Screen Logo and AddOn ROM Display settings are ENABLED.
• I am using a wired keyboard.
• I've updated my BIOS to the most recent version from ASRock (P1.20).

Inferences:

• I do not think either of my SSDs are DOA - Both are detected by the BIOS and if I set the SATA Controller Mode back to AHCI, Windows setup would allow me to install to either of them. This makes me believe that both SSDs are working.
• I have tried spamming Ctrl + i as soon as the pc gets power, thinking I might just be missing the screen. Spamming Ctrl + i didn't help and I tried many times.
• I do not think that there is anything wrong with the SATA ports. I have tried connecting the SSDs to two SATA 2 ports instead, and it made no difference at all - everything looked exactly the same aside from which port the SSDs were detected on.
• I've tried this with my ODD disconnected (it uses SATA 2) - no difference.
• I'm a little concerned that my MB doesn't support RAID on SATA 3, since the problem I'm having is just like RAID doesn't exist... but I did try the SSDs in two SATA 2 ports...

Alright guys I think that's everything. Thanks for reading the novel of a post - any help is greatly appreciated. This thing has broken me pretty bad.