Looking for a Raid Controller.

[TheWhiteRose000]

What is a good RAID Controller for the PCI slot.
Not PCI-X, Not PCI-e 4-8x, Just strait PCI.

I've been looking around for one that can handle 4-6 SSD's raided together.

Can anyone help me?

 

[GhislainG]

You could buy a PCI-X controller that's PCI compatible (most are), but a PCI slot doesn't have enough bandwidth to handle 4-6 SSD's.

 

[jitpublisher]

What you are asking doesn't exist, it is pointless to do what you are asking.

 

[TheWhiteRose000]

I figure'd out PCI-X is compatible after I posted this.
xD

Derf Moment.
I was inspired by the SSD awesomeness video to try at least to gain 1gig of speed.
What PCIX controller can you guys recommened that would possibly help me with this goal?

 

[GhislainG]

Look for a PCI-X RAID controller on Newegg, but you'll be disappointed by the poor performance. Why spend $700 or more (an HP P600 meets your requirements) on a controller when you could build a new system that will support your SSD's properly?

 

[MRFS]

You haven't mentioned any specs for your motherboard
or PCI-X compatible expansion slot.

Legacy PCI = 32 bits @ 33 MHz = ~133 Megabytes per second MAX HEADROOM
and that limit applies to the entire bus: if there are multiple cards using that bus,
each must wait for the other to finish.

PCI-E Gen1 = 250 MB/second in each direction per lane (2.5GHz / 10)

PCI-E Gen2 = 500 MB/second in each direction per lane (5.0GHz / 10)


I doubt that you will ever find a legacy PCI controller
with 6 internal SATA ports. This Vantec has 4 internal
and 2 external SATA ports:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815287006&Tpk=N82E16815287006
(BUT ... "Supports SATA up to 150MBps" = only good for rotating HDDs, not enough for modern SSDs)


Good advice above recommends that you build a new system,
e.g. AMD's latest 890FX chipset supports native SATA/6G + RAID:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=Gigabyte+890FX&x=0&y=0


MRFS

 

[TheWhiteRose000]

I doubt I'd go and build a new system.
I've already sunk about 3k into this one.

I'm just going to invest in this.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816131002

83
run it in 32bit, I will probably get 800-900mb's outta it I don't mind.
It should at least be more stable then my onboard too.

I'm using a.
GA-EP45T-USB3P

 

[GhislainG]

If you already have a GA-EP45T-USB3P, then why use a PCI instead of a PCI Express controller? Are both PCI Express x16 slots used? A PCI Express RAID controller would be much faster than a PCI-X installed in a PCI slot which makes it 4-8 times slower. I can't figure out how you expect 800-900 MB/s on a PCI bus (unless you really meant Mb/s, but then why bother with SDD). A 10K SCSI disk connected to a PCI-X controller definitely is faster when the controller is installed in a PCI-X slot.

You could also use the on-board ICH10R which would be a lot faster than the PCI controller. That solution is free.

 

[TheWhiteRose000]

I've doing a SSD sata raid.
I plan on doing a better net card for the PCI, all I got left is one PCIe.
But I need something with 8 sata slots.

xD
I don't mind sacrificing the PCIe if I can find a 6-8 port sata for a SSD raid for it.

 

[GhislainG]

Did you read this article? http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-6gb-raid,2388.html

A quality PCIe x8 RAID controller with 2 mini-SAS connectors meets your requirements.

 

[TheWhiteRose000]

Yes, I know of that video its what inspired me to do this.
But I am trying to do it on a budget.


If there is a way to combind those sata ports with my onboard sata 6 ports I could probably fix things up a bit.

 

[GhislainG]

How many SATA devices do you have in that system, including the SSD's? If you'll buy 6-8 SSD's, then buying a $500 RAID controller shouldn't be an issue. Anyone who buys so many SSD's has deep pockets. You have to look at the solution, not the cost of individual parts.

 

[TheWhiteRose000]

i got 6 sata 2 and 2 sata 3 ports

6 kingston v series ssd 2 1 terrabyte hitachi, and 1 asus dvd burner.
1 tb is disconnected.

 

[GhislainG]

Can you RAID the 6 SSD's on the ICH10R controller? Will you boot from the RAID? Adding a couple hard disks to a PCI or PCIe x1 controller may work. What you're trying to achieve with your hard disks isn't clear to me. Same with the comment about doing a better net card for the PCI.

 

[TheWhiteRose000]

I am working on creating a system with great speed, and durability, by adding a net card and turning off the onboard will ensure that my mobo lives for quite a while and taking stress off the processor to handle other things.

I am working on building a comp that will last a while.
The SSD's raided together if I knew how to run some thru to PCI and onboard at the same time as one big raid I wouldn't be having a issue, fact of the matter is.

I don't know how.
If I could break the ports up and due 3 on the pci and 3 onboard for one big raid that would probably be the best idea but I just haven't figured that out yet.

 

[GhislainG]

I am familiar with servers and I can't figure out how a network card that basically uses the same chip will offload the processor.

You can use software RAID like Tom's did (and the reason why I provided the link). However with 6 SSD's I'd seriously consider the LSI MegaRAID SATA/SAS 9260-8i.

 

[TheWhiteRose000]

That would work for me if not for the fact.
I have.

3 PCI express X1
2 PCI express 16x
2 PCI slots.

Its not compatible for my board.
And the net card I'm getting has its own built in processor.

 

[GhislainG]

Then get a new motherboard that has all of the slots that you need. Using a PCI card with SSD's doesn't make much sense. I don't know what NIC you're getting, but I know that the Killer NIC isn't worth it.

 

[TheWhiteRose000]

xD
I was thinking about getting the killer NIC...
And I don't want to invest in a new motherboard.

Do you know how hard it was for me to find a board that supports the 775 socket? and CrossfireX? with DDR3 ram?

D:

It even has USB 3.0
I love the processor not even the I7's can beat it yet.

 

[MRFS]

Hello! Take it from someone with 40 years of experience:
FORGET THE PCI SLOT, MAN! FORGET IT!!!


You've got an (aging) P45 chipset with 2 x PCI-E 2.0 x16 slots:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128433&Tpk=N82E16813128433
(read the Specifications!)

Expansion Slots
PCI Express 2.0 x16 2 (x16/x0 or x8/x8)


With both in use, you get x8/x8 lanes (eight PCI-E Gen2 lanes for each slot
@ 500 MB/second per lane = 4 Gigabytes/second bandwidth i.e. MAX HEADROOM).


> all I got left is one PCIe. But I need something with 8 sata slots

So, take a look at something like this Highpoint 2720,
which has an x8 lane edge connector in PCI-E Gen2 mode:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816115079&Tpk=N82E16816115079

... very reasonably priced for what you get,
assuming your second x16 slot is currently empty.

You may need to get their SATA "fan-out" cable,
because the 2 ports on that controller are SFF-8087,
and the cables Highpoint sells with that controller
have the same connector at both ends (click on
"Image Viewer" at Newegg). Newegg has the
correct "fan-out" cable here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816115064&Tpk=N82E16816115064

Just be aware that these 4 SATA cables are a bit long; however,
you can get shorter cables with the same connectors at each end
because the SFF-8087 is a very standard cable specification.

"SFF" means Small Form Factor.


Did I say: FORGET THE PCI SLOT???


MRFS

 

[TheWhiteRose000]

I've using them to crossfire my two Raedon 5670's.
So I can use them for raiding too?
I thought they were only for Video cards.

o.0?

 

[MRFS]

This is what you wrote above:

> all I got left is one PCIe.

Now you're saying that both PCI-Express x16 slots are being used.


> I thought they were only for Video cards.

No. PCI-Express is a universal bus standard
that accepts many different types of cards e.g.
network cards, USB expansion cards,
video cards, audio cards, etc.


MRFS

 

[TheWhiteRose000]

Yea the PCIe Is the X1.
It is called PCI express.

Thus abbreviated PCIe, its the X1 kind.

=/

 

[MRFS]

p.s. Intel's PCI Gigabit NIC will work just fine in a
legacy PCI slot, because that slot has just enough
bandwidth for Gigabit Ethernet at 1,056 Megabits per second
raw bandwidth (32 bits @ 33 MHz). These cards from
Intel have been around for eons, and they are quite
reliable and very efficient too.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106121&Tpk=N82E16833106121


We have several of these in our LAN,
and they work very well when connected
via a Linksys Gigabit switch, or comparable unit:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124020&Tpk=N82E16833124020
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124021&Tpk=N82E16833124021

MRFS

 

[MRFS]

x1 at Gen2 can only support 500 MB/second MAX HEADROOM.

Also, some of these P45 chipsets assign less bandwidth
to those smaller slots e.g. only 250 MB/second per x1 lane.

Check your motherboard documentation, and/or call Gigabyte
for clarification.

Also, I doubt that you will find an 8-port RAID controller
for an x1 PCI-E slot -- not enough bandwidth PERIOD!!


END OF STORY.


MRFS