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Looking for a RAID controller - Perc 5i opinions

T

tankman1989

Gawd
Joined
Aug 21, 2009
Messages
588
I'm looking at getting a Perc 5i to use as a SATA II RAID controller for 2 SSD drives running in RAID 0. I'm choosing this card because I can get a used one for about $40 and it looks like anything new that is similar would cost A LOT more. The only thing about this card is that I'm not sure about the cables that I need. It doesn't seem to have the normal SAS/SATA interface that other RAID card have.

I'm still trying to figure out how it will cost me $250 for a hardware RAID card (or more, up to $400) when I can get a used card for next to nothing. Is this just because there are a lot of used pieces on the market?
 
You need these cables:
SFF-8484 to 4 x SATA Cables

The used card you're talking about in this case, the Perc 5/i, has been out for quite awhile. People are dumping them because they don't support drives larger than 2TB and sometimes doesn't even work with some newer 2TB drives. In addition, performance can be lacking sometimes with the max reads being around 300MB/s to 400MB/s give or take.
 
tankman1989 said:
I'm looking at getting a Perc 5i to use as a SATA II RAID controller for 2 SSD drives running in RAID 0. I'm choosing this card because I can get a used one for about $40 and it looks like anything new that is similar would cost A LOT more. The only thing about this card is that I'm not sure about the cables that I need. It doesn't seem to have the normal SAS/SATA interface that other RAID card have.

I'm still trying to figure out how it will cost me $250 for a hardware RAID card (or more, up to $400) when I can get a used card for next to nothing. Is this just because there are a lot of used pieces on the market?
Click to expand...

What motherboard and CPU are you using. For RAID0, depending on the motherboard/chipset/cpu it is likely that you would get better throughput by using your onboard SATA raid (if you have it) than using the perc.
 
try the IBM m1015, it supports 2TB+ drives, and is a steal on ebay around ~60-70, it isn't that great for raid 5, but since you want raid 0 should be fine.
 
Thanks for all the replies everyone!! I have an Asus P5Q-E with a Q6600 (2.4Ghz Quad core). I'd like to upgrade the Mobo/CPU but I think I'll do this after the RAID 0 Array.

I actually might get 2 Intel X25-M SSD 80GB's that are the same as the one that I have. I'd go with a RAID 5 but I don't know how the performance would be with that compared to a RAID 0 3 disk array.
 
tankman1989 said:
Thanks for all the replies everyone!! I have an Asus P5Q-E with a Q6600 (2.4Ghz Quad core). I'd like to upgrade the Mobo/CPU but I think I'll do this after the RAID 0 Array.

I actually might get 2 Intel X25-M SSD 80GB's that are the same as the one that I have. I'd go with a RAID 5 but I don't know how the performance would be with that compared to a RAID 0 3 disk array.
Click to expand...

On that board, you have no need to go with an additional raid board for RAID0. I would suggest going with 2 120GB SSDs as opposed to 3 80GB, it will cut your points of failure down. As always when dealing with RAID in general (and RAID0 in particular), have a good backup plan in place separate from the array(s) you plan!
 
mwroobel said:
On that board, you have no need to go with an additional raid board for RAID0. I would suggest going with 2 120GB SSDs as opposed to 3 80GB, it will cut your points of failure down. As always when dealing with RAID in general (and RAID0 in particular), have a good backup plan in place separate from the array(s) you plan!
Click to expand...

OK, thanks for the suggestion. That makes the decision easier. I'm going to go with 2 120 or 2 160GB drives. Thanks!
 
I just got a Perc 5 i with cables (sas to sata) and 256mb for £45 delivered. It runs hot so active cooling is a must, im currently modding a few heatsinks to go on mine
 
Pjalchemist said:
I just got a Perc 5 i with cables (sas to sata) and 256mb for £45 delivered. It runs hot so active cooling is a must, im currently modding a few heatsinks to go on mine
Click to expand...

Wow, that is a bit odd. I have this card in 6 servers and there is no cooling on it. It is in the front of the server (poweredge 1950 & 2950) where it does get some air flow from the fans. Might it be defective?
 
tankman1989 said:
Wow, that is a bit odd. I have this card in 6 servers and there is no cooling on it. It is in the front of the server (poweredge 1950 & 2950) where it does get some air flow from the fans. Might it be defective?
Click to expand...

That is because that card is made to be placed into real servers, with proper design and enough airflow as to keep it cooled within spec.
 
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