genesissi
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SATA Raid Controller
This might be an obvious question, but, I simply need confirmation.
I am looking at purchasing a SATA RAID controller, but, am unsure of its compatibility with my motherboard.
Here are the links for reference:
Motherboard - SUPERMICRO H8DCE-O Dual Socket 940 NVIDIA nForce4 Professional 2200 Extended ATX Server
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813182081
SATA Raid Controller - 3ware 9500S-4LP 64-bit/66MHz PCI2.2 SATA Raid Controller Card RAID 0/1/5/10 JBOD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16816116025
The Raid card states that it has a PCI interface, yet the photo seems to show a lot more for connecting.
Q? Will this card simply plug into a normal PCI slot on the board with an extra portion not plugging in?
Thanks for your support in advance.
I am looking at purchasing a SATA RAID controller, but, am unsure of its compatibility with my motherboard.
Here are the links for reference:
Motherboard - SUPERMICRO H8DCE-O Dual Socket 940 NVIDIA nForce4 Professional 2200 Extended ATX Server
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813182081
SATA Raid Controller - 3ware 9500S-4LP 64-bit/66MHz PCI2.2 SATA Raid Controller Card RAID 0/1/5/10 JBOD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16816116025
The Raid card states that it has a PCI interface, yet the photo seems to show a lot more for connecting.
Q? Will this card simply plug into a normal PCI slot on the board with an extra portion not plugging in?
Thanks for your support in advance.
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ASKER
For information purposes, do you know the performance comparison between a RAID card in a PCI slot versus onboard RAID software?
The reason I am looking for the hardware card is I want to utilize RAID 5 and the onboard does not support that.
Thanks for all the feedback, it helps in the decision.
The reason I am looking for the hardware card is I want to utilize RAID 5 and the onboard does not support that.
Thanks for all the feedback, it helps in the decision.
There are a lot of resources available - just google "hardware vs software raid".
Here's a start:
http://www.raidrecoveryguide.com/hardware-software.html
Here's a start:
http://www.raidrecoveryguide.com/hardware-software.html
There are very few onboard RAID5 solutions, and performance-wise they are not as good as the dedicated cards. The PCI performance varies, but the best performance is gotten using PCI-X or PCI-e slots. It also depends on the quality of the controller card - the 3Ware cards are very good. For example, the HPT 1820A I have (which is a cheap RAID card) in a PCI-X slot has a throughput of about 50MB/sec using 4 Samsung 250GB drives. The same drives in an Areca 1220 has a throughput of 250MB/sec.
All nforce4-equipped motherboards have onboard RAID solutions. But I will not contest that a dedicated controller may be faster. Genesissi, your board *should* support Raid 5 out of the box.
ASKER
I ended up purchasing the Areca ARC-1210 interestingly enough. It had a sufficient volume of reviews that, included driver aside (download updated driver from website), were nearly unanimous in their approval. Continued appreciation for the input and support.
Good luck, I am sure you will be happy with that solution!
Chris B