Adaptec's Series 5 Unified Serial Controllers

RAID Controller Overview

The market offers multiple, powerful solutions for Unified Serial storage requirements. The following table lists all available options, including the new Adaptec Series 5. Please also have a look at the following articles for more details:

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ManufacturerAdaptecAdaptecAMCCARECA
ModelRAID 5805RAID 38053Ware 9690SA-8IARC-1680
Internal connectors2x SFF 80872x SFF 80872xSFF-80872xSFF-8087
External connectorsnanana1xSFF-8088
Cache512 MB DDR2-400 ECC128 MB DDR2 ECC512 MB DDR2-533 ECC512 MB DDR2-667 ECC
ProfileLow ProfileLow ProfileLow ProfileFull Height
InterfacePCI Express x8PCI Express x4PCI Express x8PCI Express x8
RAID Level Migrationyesyesyesyes
Online Capacity Expansionyesyesyesyes
Multiple RAID Arraysyesyesyesyes
Hot Spare Supportyesyesyesyes
Battery Backup Unitoptionaloptionaloptionaloptional
RAID 5 init30 min1h 12min1h 6min18min
RAID 6 init44 min1h 02min1h 16min18min
FANnononoyes
Supported OSWindows XP, Server 2003/2008, Vista, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES), SCO OpenServer, UnixWare, Sun Solaris 10 x86, FreeBSDWindows 2000, XP, Server 2003, VistaRed Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)Novell NetWare 6.5SCO OpenServerUnixWareSun Solaris 10 x86FreeBSDWindows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, RedHat EL 5, OpenSuSE 10.2, SuSE Enterprise (SLES) 10, Fedora Core 6Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Linux, FreeBSD, Novell Netware 6.5, Solaris 10x86/x86_64, SCO Unixware 7.x.x, Mac OS x(not bootable)
Other FeaturesCopyback HotspareCopyback HotspareRow 15 - Cell 3 Row 15 - Cell 4
Warranty3 years3 years3 years3 years
Price$650$575$700$1,000
ManufacturerAttoICPLSIRaidcore/Ciprico
ModelExpressSAS R348ICP 5085BLMegaRAID SAS 8888ELPRC5252-8
Internal connectors2x SFF 80872x SFF 80872xSFF-80872x SFF 8087
External connectors1x SFF 8088n/a2xSFF-8088n/a
Cache256 MB DDR2 ECC256 MB DDR2 ECC256 MB DDR2-667 ECC-
ProfileLow ProfileLow ProfileLow ProfileLow Profile
InterfacePCI Express x8PCI Express x4PCI Express x8PCI Express x4
XOR EngineIOP 348800 MHzIntel 80333800 MHzPowerPC500 MHz LSISAS1078software
RAID Level Migrationyesyesyesyes
Online Capacity Expansionyesyesyesyes
Multiple RAID Arraysyesyesyesyes
Hot Spare Supportyesyesyesyes
Battery Backup Unitoptionaloptionaloptionalnot required
RAID 5 init23min57min17min2h 42min
RAID 6 initn/a57min17minn/a
FANnononono
Supported OSWindows Vista, Server 2003, XP, 2000Mac OS X (10.4.x)Linux (Fedora, Red Hat and SuSE)Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, VistaRed Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)Novell NetWare 6.5SCO OpenServerUnixWareSun Solaris 10 x86FreeBSDWindows 2000, XP, Server 2003, VistaRed Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 4,5SuSE 9.3, 10.1, 10.2SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)Solaris 10SCO UnixWindows 2000, XP, Server 2003, VistaRed Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 4,5SuSE 9.3, 10.1, 10.2SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)Fedora Core 5,6
Other FeaturesDVRAIDCopyback HotspareRow 35 - Cell 3 Controller Spanning
Warranty2 years3 years3 years3 years
Price$1,095$650$850n/a
Patrick Schmid
Editor-in-Chief (2005-2006)

Patrick Schmid was the editor-in-chief for Tom's Hardware from 2005 to 2006. He wrote numerous articles on a wide range of hardware topics, including storage, CPUs, and system builds.