Adaptec 2410SA Enclosure Kit
The comparison with the Adaptec backplane with the two products from Addonics and Promise is somewhat lopsided because Adaptec only offers the thing in a bundle with the proprietary RAID controller 2410SA - even if the customer does not need a controller with hardware RAID functionality.
But that makes for a generous product package that also makes it possible, thanks to the high-quality RAID controller, to install a hardware-accelerated RAID 5.
The case has a very solid look about it. The same goes for the slots: the control mechanism is sturdy, the locking slider snaps soundly into place. On the rear there is a fan that is a full 90 mm in diameter, which continuously provides the hard drives used with plenty of cooling. The wide diameter keeps the fan's operating noise low.
Both the interior temperature and the functionality of the fan are monitored. If overheating occurs, an LED gives a warning and an audio alarm also alerts you to the fan failure. The "automatic shutdown" function is surely the crowning touch, but only works in connection with the RAID controller from Adaptec.
The 2410SA with XOR unit from Intel (silver chip) comes with the kit.
The workmanship of the slots is extremely good and leaves a convincing impression. Until now, we have usually only seen this level of quality in SCSI components.
A welcome sight: the fan with 9 cm diameter, which keeps the temperature of the drives steady.
