Stupid question about 9260-4i

I'm looking to get a hardware raid card for my WHS to move away from Windows Raid 5. Even though I'll be bottlenecked by gig-e (I'm reading at 160mb/s and writing at 100 with windows raid), the added features like expansion, alarms, and reliability are worth it to me for just $250-300. In the price range, this card seems to be the one to get to use with Samsung 2tb F4 drives (let me know if I am wrong)!

That being said, I've got an embarrassing question. Can the 4i only control 4 hard drives total? So I buy one cable that hooks up to the card on one end and has 4 sata ports on the other end? I don't understand how it can only seem to control 4 drives yet support raid 6? That'd be kind of pointless.

In short, can I use the 4i with eight 2tb drives or will I need to step up to the 8i for that?

Thanks for the help.

computerpro3 said:

That being said, I've got an embarrassing question. Can the 4i only control 4 hard drives total?

Click to expand...

Yes ...
[Unless we start talking about using port multipliers/expanders, which [IMHO] generally create more problems than they actually solve, so let's not go there ]

So I buy one cable that hooks up to the card on one end and has 4 sata ports on the other end?

Click to expand...

Yes ...
[Although IIRC, you shouldn't actually have to buy it, because you get one included with the card]

In short, can I use the 4i with eight 2tb drives or will I need to step up to the 8i for that?

Click to expand...

Short answer ... you need the 8i ...

Another dumb question - why would I get the 8i over the 4i and RES2SV240?

Is this because that would cause problems (as you alluded to)?

computerpro3 said:

Is this because that would cause problems (as you alluded to)?

Click to expand...

That all depends on who you ask ...

Some people love the idea of the expanders (and swear by them), while others won't go near them with a 10 foot pole.

I've probably got a foot in both camps, although I generally lean towards the latter.

If you can help it, you're better off avoiding expanders IMHO ...

I'm actually now thinking of the RS2BL080. It seems to be the same card as the 9260-8i, but it will work flawlessley with the RES2SV240 if I need more capacity in the future. That way I can keep things simple now as you'd recommend, while having the capacity to expand in the future without replacing the controller.

A 12tb Raid 6 array would be more than enough for me for the next couple of years anyway.

In your honest opinion, is there any benefit in going for a modern raid card like the RS2BL080 at around $350 on ebay vs. a Perc 6 for $100?

I realize I'll be losing the modern features like 6gb/s and such, but if I'm limited by gig-e anyway....what's the point?

I could take the $250 I'd save and get a really nice chassis instead....

computerpro3 said:

In your honest opinion, is there any benefit in going for a modern raid card like the RS2BL080 at around $350 on ebay vs. a Perc 6 for $100?

I realize I'll be losing the modern features like 6gb/s and such, but if I'm limited by gig-e anyway....what's the point?

I could take the $250 I'd save and get a really nice chassis instead....

Click to expand...

The biggest problem I can see [off the top of my head], is that the perc6 [and other similar cards] don't support any drives larger than 2TB.

3TB drives are already common now, and it's not going to be very long before we start seeing 4-5TB disks showing up as well.

also rebuild time with parity suck, and you cant use SSDs on them. well you can, but you shouldnt!

If you only need 8 drives now (or need four with an expansion path to 8) and you like the 9260 card then get get the 9260-8i and be happy.

The expander solution is expensive and only makes sense for larger numbers of drives (16-24 or more). For smaller arrays it isn't usually cost effective.

Besides, the expander works as well with the 9260-8i as it does with the -4i (better, actually, because you can dual-link it with the -8i). If you need more drives later you can always add the expander later.

Computurd finish your areca 1882 review, there's no time to advise people on their 9260 purchases any longer

Ok, thanks for all the info. Usually when I try to cheap out it bites me in the ass so I just bought a RS2BL080 (9260-8i) on ebay for $325 shipped brand new in box.

I figure now is the time to build for the future while my data can still fit on one backup drive (that way I don't have to deal with backing up 5TB when I run out of room and need a new array). Might as well just create a futureproof one now and enjoy it for a few years.

I just got a deal at Newegg so I picked up a 9260-4i plus the Intel expander. Works without a hitch. The expander is nearly completely transparent and all the drives function as I would expect. Like you, I'm limited by GigE ethernet so I don't really need the 8 links to the expander, so I went the cheaper route. Can now fill all 16 slots of my case now. I wouldn't hesitate recommending this to anyone looking for a good/cheap solution.

BTW, the retail boxed 9260 did not include any cables.

Go with 4i + RES2SV240. Find open box 4i on newegg for $200, add RES2SV240 ($205 on provantage). For less money than 8i you will have 20 port fast card.