![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
dgingeri
2[H]4U
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2004
- Messages
- 2,830
I have one enterprise server level 3ware 9650SE-8LPML 8 drive RAID controller available. Recently tested good. Has BBU interface, 2 year old battery, and extra cable and mount for remote battery connection. (It's a board connected to a slot cover plate that allows the battery to sit in a separate slot from the controller to get it away from the heat and make it last longer.) Also includes 1 breakout cables to connect up to 4 SATA drives. 256MB cache, PCIe x4 (1.1) interface for up to a 1GB/s transfer rate, hardware raid 1, 10, 5, and 6.
Excellent Windows support up to Windows 7 and Server 2008r2, and supported in Linux. Does not work in VMWare's ESXi, Windows Server 2012, or Windows 8.
It's great for mechanical hard drives, but sucks for SSDs. It doesn't seem to be able to handle the IOPS and fast response time of SSDs, so it far underperforms with them. It will clobber a chipset RAID controller in mechanical sets in RAID 5 or 10. The cache also helps small write response times tremendously. Even with single mechanical drives or RAID 0 sets, it will outperform the chipset controller.
The best I've had it up to was a 6 drive 1TB RAID 5 at 450MB/s transfer rate. It was a great controller, but I have bought better ones now. The battery is kind of old, but replacements are cheap at around $13-15. It's the BBU interface board that's expensive. I only have 1 breakout cable for it. The other was used with the replacement controller I got. So, you'll have to buy another to control all 8 drives the controller is capable of using.
The controller itself is currently selling on ebay for around $100, and those don't include the BBU module or remote battery bracket, and the lower priced ones don't include breakout cables. The BBU module is another $80, and a breakout cable is around $25. So, $150 for this set is a steal.
Excellent Windows support up to Windows 7 and Server 2008r2, and supported in Linux. Does not work in VMWare's ESXi, Windows Server 2012, or Windows 8.
It's great for mechanical hard drives, but sucks for SSDs. It doesn't seem to be able to handle the IOPS and fast response time of SSDs, so it far underperforms with them. It will clobber a chipset RAID controller in mechanical sets in RAID 5 or 10. The cache also helps small write response times tremendously. Even with single mechanical drives or RAID 0 sets, it will outperform the chipset controller.
The best I've had it up to was a 6 drive 1TB RAID 5 at 450MB/s transfer rate. It was a great controller, but I have bought better ones now. The battery is kind of old, but replacements are cheap at around $13-15. It's the BBU interface board that's expensive. I only have 1 breakout cable for it. The other was used with the replacement controller I got. So, you'll have to buy another to control all 8 drives the controller is capable of using.
The controller itself is currently selling on ebay for around $100, and those don't include the BBU module or remote battery bracket, and the lower priced ones don't include breakout cables. The BBU module is another $80, and a breakout cable is around $25. So, $150 for this set is a steal.
