http://www.maximumpc.com | MAY 08 | MAXIMUMPC 51
FINAL ANALYSIS
You have all the data, but we’re taking it one step further: Here’s what you should buy!
At the end of the day, the RAID equation
is pretty simple. You’ve seen the numbers
and the analysis, so let’s take a big-picture
approach before you rush out and plunk
down money at your retailer of choice. The
two motherboard-based RAID controllers we
tested are perfectly acceptable solutions if
you want a little speed boost in a RAID 0 envi-
ronment, especially since it costs you nothing
extra. In fact, depending on the motherboard
you have, you may very well see a measurable
difference between that and an entry-level
host-based card.
If you’re planning to run RAID 5, ignore
everything we just said. You will want to
have an add-in controller because if the
two products we tested are any indication,
motherboards just up and die when it comes
to RAID 5 performance. You can pick up a
host-based controller on the cheap and see
a performance boost—provided the card
supports RAID 5. In this respect, we have
only the RocketRAID 2300 to go by, and
based on our results, we think this relatively
inexpensive host-based controller card earnsits keep. But don’t assume that you’ll get
comparable performance from a similarly
spec’d/priced alternative. As this roundup
has shown, RAID-controller performance
varies wildly. You might luck out and score a
decently performing product, but you might
also select a card that just falls to pieces on
your confi guration of choice.
The surest way to avoid any pitfalls,
especially if you’re planning on testing out
multiple RAID confi gurations, is to pick up
a good discrete card. Don’t go after the
most expensive one you can fi nd. As we’ve
learned here, performance does not neces-
sarily scale with price.
That said, we found great success
using Adaptec’s 5405 card in a RAID 0
environment. It was the fastest card in all
of the benchmarks, and it offers substan-
tial performance benefi ts over a similarly
confi gured motherboard RAID environ-
ment. You can connect a bevy of hard
drives to the card, and it comes with the
most bountiful RAID options of any device
here. If you don’t mind an excruciatinglylong initialization period, this card is per-
fect for those who want to dabble.
If you’re just looking at RAID 5 perfor-
mance, however, we have to tip our hat to
HighPoint’s RocketRAID 3510. It’s less expen-
sive than Adaptec’s 5405, albeit also less fea-
ture-packed. But when it comes time to throw
down, the card squeaks out the performance
win over Adaptec’s 5405. The 5405 beats the
RocketRAID 3510 in RAID 5 write speeds.
But it’s still not enough to overtake the Rocket
Raid’s speedy reads.
The numbers say it all: We saw only a
14-second difference between the two cards
in our real-world encoding test. If you can
stomach that loss and want a card with a ton
of RAID options, get Adaptec’s 5405. If you
just want RAID 5 performance and a card that
can also hold its own in RAID 0, opt for the
cheaper RocketRAID 3510.
But whatever you do, avoid LSI cards.
Two out of two failures across two separate
motherboards and a fl urry of different hard
drives does not a happy storage enthusiast
make. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!THE BENCHMARKS
RAID 0
STRIPE SIZE Optimal 128KB Not specifi ed Not specifi ed 64KB 256KB 64KB 64KB 64KB 64KB
HD TACH READ (MB/S) 115.1 132.9 141.7 307.5 162.9 308.2 135.7 135.5 Fail 147.4
HD TACH WRITE
(MB/S)91.0 139.5 135.4 273.4 155.0 359.7 171.6 174.0 Fail 151.5HD TACH BURST
(MB/S)227.1 249.2 191.2 1,111.6 247.2 747.5 218.3 218.3 Fail 234.4HD TACH CPU USE 2% 2% 2% 3% 2% 4% 2% 1% Fail 1%
PCMARK05 TOTAL
SCORE10,706 11,074 10,431 14,164 11,425 16,514 9,845 9,843 Fail 10,803PREMIERE ENCODE
(SEC)908 684 1,152 847 882 782 858 838 Fail 884PROSHOW ENCODE
(SEC)2,046 1,502 2,053 2,017 2,014 2,012 2,015 2,012 Fail 2,020STARTUP TIME (SEC) 39 54 94 45 67 86 39 71 Fail 60
RAID 5
STRIPE SIZE Optimal 64 KB Not specifi ed Not specifi ed n/a 256KB 64KB 64KB 64KB 64KB
HD TACH READ (MB/S) 157.5 158.6 144.2 229.3 n/a 145.8 135.4 133.6 Fail Fail
HD TACH WRITE
(MB/S)21.1 13.3 140.7 171.1 n/a 214.4 116.5 122.1 Fail FailHD TACH BURST
(MB/S)225.8 254.2 190.1 1,139.2 n/a 778.6 214.4 211.1 Fail FailHD TACH CPU USE 3% 2% 2% 2% n/a 2% 2% 2% Fail Fail
PCMARK05 TOTAL
SCORE4,558 4,010 11,051 13,994 n/a 14,666 7,392 7,396 Fail FailPREMIERE ENCODE
(SEC)2,804 3,890 837 767 n/a 781 958 927 Fail FailPROSHOW ENCODE
(SEC)1,753 1,255 2,114 1,966 n/a 2,004 2,023 2021 Fail FailSTARTUP TIME (SEC) 39 42 94 46 n/a 102 40 74 Fail FailEVGA NFORCE MSI P35 HIGHPOINT HIGHPOINT ADAPTEC ADAPTEC AMCC 3WARE AMCC 3WARE LSI LOGIC LSI LOGIC
680i NEO 2 FR ROCKETRAID 2300 ROCKETRAID 3510 1430SA 5405 9650SE-4LPML 3650SE-24M8 8208ELP 8888ELPBest scores are bolded.
MOTHERBOARDS HOST-BASED CARDS DISCRETE CARDSTHE BENCHMARKS