Areca e-Sata RAID Boxes: ARC-4020C or ARC-5020

[theinv]

hi,

I am thinking of buying one of the areca external e-sata raid boxes from this website.

http://www.tekramonline.com/External_RAID_Boxes.html

My choice will be between the ARC-4020C and ARC-5020. On the ARC-5020 description, it says it has built-in RAID controller. Does that mean I don't need to buy a separate PCI-e RAID card? Also, why is it cheaper than ARC-4020C?


My pc doesn't have a e-Sata port, which one do you recommend?



Thanks!

[Blue Fox]

The 4020C comes with a PCIe 1x eSATA card. It handles the RAID functionality. Without the card, it is just an enclosure with a port multiplier. The 5020 has a built in controller card and can be hooked up via USB or eSATA (any card will work). I would get the 5020 and get an inexpensive controller card, but it is really up to you.

[theinv]

Thanks Blue Fox.

I found this on the 5020 spec.

eSATA (RAID 0) : Up to 212MB/s (read); Up to 184MB/s (write)

eSATA (RAID 5) : Up to 210MB/s (read); Up to 176MB/s(write)

(Tested by Silicon Image 3124 PCI-X, it depends on host controller performance)


spec url: http://www.areca.us/support/download/5BaySubSystem/Manual_Spec/ARC_5020_Specification.zip



It says the transfer rate depends on the host controller, so I think I probably need a decent card to get good transfer rates even though it will work with all cards.

Currently, I am using a sil3132 pci-e esata card for my other external sata raid box. The raid 5 write performance on the sil3132 is very poor. It is not hardware raid. I only get 4MB/sec for raid 5. So maybe the 4020C is a better option for me since it comes with the Areca ARC-1202 card. The ARC-1202 card has 2x esata ports and supports up to two boxes. I can use it for both the 4020 box and my existing box.

Actually, I have been looking at the ARC-1202 card for a long time, but I don't see any retailer carries it. It is good to see that now they sell it with the 4020C box.

[Lazn_Work]

Thanks Blue Fox.

I found this on the 5020 spec.




It says the transfer rate depends on the host controller, so I think I probably need a decent card to get good transfer rates even though it will work with all cards.

Currently, I am using a sil3132 pci-e esata card for my other external sata raid box. The raid 5 write performance on the sil3132 is very poor. It is not hardware raid. I only get 4MB/sec for raid 5. So maybe the 4020C is a better option for me since it comes with the Areca ARC-1202 card. The ARC-1202 card has 2x esata ports and supports up to two boxes. I can use it for both the 4020 box and my existing box.

Actually, I have been looking at the ARC-1202 card for a long time, but I don't see any retailer carries it. It is good to see that now they sell it with the 4020C box.

Ah, but you are using the 3132 for RAID, the 5020 does it's own RAID, so it's max throughput will be determined by your eSATA port, but not the RAID write speeds.