[caraboose]

I have $250 I can spend (max of $300) after shipping all in all the absolute max I can spend is $300 (this includes cables and everything).

What I need:
Raid10
Raid50 (or 60)
Raid5 (or 6)
8 SATA drives supported (doesn't need to have actual SATA connectors on the board though)
No Dell hardware

Preferably from a Canadian vendor. New is preferred but used is acceptable if it's a great deal and comes with everything as if it were LNIB.

 

[quadx]

I'd offer my Adaptec 3405, but I can't sell here.

I have no experience with Areca, but I hear good things.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816131003

Scratch that, I'm blind.

Highpoint is the only card on newegg that has 8 SATA ports within your price range. I would not use Highpoint for many reasons - ultimately unreliable IMO.

 

[caraboose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by quadx;13009930
I'd offer my Adaptec 3405, but I can't sell here.

I have no experience with Areca, but I hear good things.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816131003

Scratch that, I'm blind.

Highpoint is the only card on newegg that has 8 SATA ports within your price range. I would not use Highpoint for many reasons - ultimately unreliable IMO.

I do have a HighPoint in my server, and I'm pretty happy with it. It hasn't pooped out in 2 years so far. Only thing that bugs me about it is the fact I need a floppy drive.
I've considered that card, though I'm skeptical on the whole 1e thing....

 

[quadx]

Throughout my years, I've preferred Adaptec and have never been let down.
Promise used to be my low cheap budget cards. It's either high end, or just use the system board.

Quote:

I've considered that card, though I'm skeptical on the whole 1e thing....

? What do you mean?

 

[caraboose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by quadx Throughout my years, I've preferred Adaptec and have never been let down. Promise used to be my low cheap budget cards. It's either high end, or just use the system board. ? What do you mean?

I mean like I'm not entirely sure what Raid 1E is all about, but I broke down, and ordered me another Perc5/i, going to give the card one last fighting chance...

 

[the_beast]

RAID1E is like RAID1 but using an odd number of drives, still with 2 copies of each block per array.

So ABCDEFGHI is written as:

Disk 1: ABDEGH
Disk 2: ACDFGI
DIsk 3: BCEFHI

You still get half the drive space as with RAID1. The biggest disadvantage is you can't transfer it between controllers (most RAID1 arrays can be transferred between many controllers, especially if you split the array and just use 1 drive for your rebuild).

Why the Dell hatred? There really is nothing to match the PERCs on a value front - they outperform many much more expensive cards.

 

[caraboose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_beast RAID1E is like RAID1 but using an odd number of drives, still with 2 copies of each block per array. So ABCDEFGHI is written as: Disk 1: ABDEGH Disk 2: ACDFGI DIsk 3: BCEFHI You still get half the drive space as with RAID1. The biggest disadvantage is you can't transfer it between controllers (most RAID1 arrays can be transferred between many controllers, especially if you split the array and just use 1 drive for your rebuild). Why the Dell hatred? There really is nothing to match the PERCs on a value front - they outperform many much more expensive cards.

I don't hate Dell, I've just had bad luck with them (and the 2 previous Perc5/i's I've had). But this company is a legitimate company so it should be good.