46 MAXIMUMPC | MAY 08 | http://www.maximumpc.com
HOST-BASED
HighPoint
RocketRAID
2300
HighPoint’s entry-level
RAID controller card
is but a mere PCI
Express x1 model—
though in many ways,
this makes it ideal for
a typical motherboard setup. If you have the available
connector on your motherboard, you won’t have to burn
one of your x8 or x16 slots for the card.
The host-based controller supports fi ve different RAID
levels: 0, 1, 5, 1+0, and JBOD. The controller features
four ports, allowing you to connect up to four SATA
drives using standard SATA cables.
We’re mildly concerned that the controller’s lack
of any onboard memory might hurt the card’s perfor-
mance. But that’s more an issue of the card’s price
point—you aren’t going to
see memory packed onto
entry-level products.
$150, http://www.highpoint-tech.comSPECS
CONNECTION PCI Express x1
RAID SUPPORT 0,1,5,1+0, JBOD
PROCESSOR None
MEMORY None
CONNECTION Four SATA portsHOST-BASED
Adaptec 1430SAAdaptec’s entry-level
1430SA card supports
only four RAID levels:
0, 1, 1+0, and JBOD.
Critically missing is
any support for a RAID
5 confi guration—
something all the
other entry-level cards
we’re testing support. While this automatically disqualifi es
Adaptec’s card from the RAID 5 portion of our comparative
benchmarks, it doesn’t necessarily bump the card to last
place. The 1430SA might very well offer the best perfor-
mance for its price in a RAID 0 confi guration—which could
be fi ne for folks interested in only RAID 0, or one of this
card’s other confi gs.
The PCI Express x4-based card comes with no extra
frills. There’s no onboard memory, nor is there a dedicated
processor on the card to
handle RAID requests. You
can connect up to four SATA
drives to the array via four
standard SATA ports.
$125, http://www.adaptec.comDISCRETE
Adaptec 5405If RAID controllers
were cars, you’d
fi nd Adaptec’s 5405
on a luxury lot. This
little device comes
packed with every
feature, accessory, and
upgrade an enthusiast
could ask for.
The 5405 sports an onboard 1.2GHz dual-core proces-
sor to handle RAID functionality—that’s more CPU than this
article’s author has on his laptop. We’re expecting this, as well
as the card’s 256MB DDR2 cache, to spit out massive perfor-
mance. But we’re also curious to see how a card this stacked
will benchmark
The 5405 supports an obscene number of RAID levels (0,
1, 1E, 5, 5EE, 6, 1+0, 50, and 60), making it the clear win-
ner in the options category. The card uses a PCI Express x8
interface for the connec-
tion mechanism and a
multilane port for SATA
connections via a break-
away cable.
$425, http://www.adaptec.comDISCRETE
HighPoint
RocketRAID
3510
One of the most
expensive cards in
HighPoint’s line of
RAID controllers, the
RocketRAID 3510
trumps its lesser cousin,
the RocketRAID 2300, with a few key features. You’ll also fi nd
a multilane connector on the 3510 rather than a four-port SATA
connector, although you get the same effect: The included
breakaway cable supports the same number of drives —four.
More importantly, the 3510 controller comes with a built-
in Intel IOP 81341 processor. The 800MHz proc pulls RAID
actions off your rig’s CPU. We expect this critical difference
to shine in our more taxing RAID benchmarks, as we’ll want
every bit of our CPU’s power going to the rendering test, not
the RAID functionality.
The card also comes
with 256MB of onboard
DDR2 memory and
is fashioned for a PCI
Express x8 connection.
$370, http://www.highpoint-tech.comCONNECTION PCI Express x8
RAID SUPPORT 0,1,5,6,1+0, JBOD
PROCESSOR 800MHz
MEMORY 256MB DDR2
CONNECTION One multilane connectorSPECSCONNECTION PCI Express x4
RAID SUPPORT 0,1,1+0, JBOD
PROCESSOR None
MEMORY None
CONNECTION Four SATA portsSPECS SPECS
CONNECTION PCI Express x8
RAID SUPPORT 0,1,1E, 5EE, 6, 1+0, 50, 60
PROCESSOR 1.2GHz dual core
MEMORY 256MB DDR2
CONNECTION One multilane connectorMAXIMUMPC
CHALLENGEANOTHER