ATA133 raid pci card for $23.50 @ compgeeks

[tkchuang72]

I was looking for a SCSI controller card when I came upon this little card. Supported under all OS after Win98. Retail package, brand new. Has Silicon Image chipset. Anyone have experience with this card?

Linky

 

[IgoByte]

Nice price for a PCI RAID controller, but I've never seen this card before.

 

[RONType1]

i think the issue that concerned many was that it was a 'generic' RAID chipset and its stability/reliability with your HD data...

may be hot, may be not!

 

[kenja]

I hadn't heard of Silicon Image before, but it looks like they're still in business, so that's a good sign.

The perpendicular orientation of the ribbon cable connectors might mean clearance problems, especially with strain reliefs on the included cables (which are actually a nice feature).

 

[q2261]

BUMP

 

[Vegito]

better check.. it might use software to emulate raid which are slower than the usual ide raids

 

[kenja]

Well, yeah.

From my link: "For enhanced performance, the SiI 0680 can be packaged with Silicon Image's robust Medley? ATA Software RAID, which optimizes throughput and data redundancy. Supporting RAID sets of up to four hard disk drives, Medley? enables RAID 0 Striping, RAID 1 Mirroring and RAID 0+1 Mirrored Striping.

It comes complete with drivers for Windows 98, NT 4.0, ME, 2000 and XP, while also being operational with the default ATA drivers from Microsoft. The use of FLASH allows easy upgrades to the SiI 0680 BIOS. The SiI 0680 is packaged as a compact, 144-pin 20x20 mm LQFP (Low-profile Quad Flat Pack). "

I think you have to spend a lot more money to get a hardware implementation. You make a good point; this card may well be slower than the typical Promise/ Highpoint/ AMI chipsets, which I assume are at least partially programmed in firmware.

 

[tw1164]

It's worth what you pay for it. I bought one a few months ago, and haven't had any problems.