Highpoint 370 pci Raid controller

[ozone13]

Can anyone give me any working info on this card (eg: how reliable it is, works with xp(??), is it hardware raid or software raid, etc)? I can buy one off a guy for fairly cheap, but want to hear from those that have actually used one.

I appreciate any info you can give me!

 

[Technonut]

I have an IWill Side RAID100 card which has the HP 370A chip, which is what you want, not the 370. I flashed it to the Highpoint BIOS. It is not Hardware RAID, but performs as well as the onboard HP370A found on many mobos. Again, just make sure that the card has the 370A chip.

EDIT: It does work with XP.

EDIT: HP FAQ Link

 

[ozone13]

Originally posted by: Technonut
I have an IWill Side RAID100 card which has the HP 370A chip, which is what you want, not the 370. I flashed it to the Highpoint BIOS. It is not Hardware RAID, but performs as well as the onboard HP370A found on many mobos. Again, just make sure that the card has the 370A chip.

Whats the advantage of the 370A? Are you saying all the 370 (either A or non-A) are software based? When I said I'm getting it cheap, I'm talking $20......would it be more beneficial to me if its NOT 370A just to go buy a brand new card, or is there that much difference?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Technonut]

Yes, they are all software based. The HP370 had some issues that were addressed with the 370A chip. There was an article some time ago about this that I will try to find and link if I have time. I personally would buy a card with the 370A chipset over another with the 370. (That is why I purchased the IWill)

 

[ozone13]

Cool....thanks for your help with this. I am mainly just considering RAID for mirroring, not even going to boot off it (might in the future)...speed would be nice, but not essential in my setup. I am under the assumption that a card that supports Raid 5 is quite a bit more expensive?

 

[Technonut]

From the AnandTech IDE RAID Comparison

Of the three software RAID cards tested, the Iwill SIDE RAID100 and its Highpoint HPT370A chip provided the best RAID 0 performance, offering a bit more speed than the competing chips. On the RAID 1 side, it was the MegaRAID 100 and the AMI MG80649 chip that resulted in the best array performance. Finally, when it came to hardware RAID 5, both cards performed similarly in real-world tests. We would recommend the Promise SuperTrak100 over the Adaptec AAA-UDMA for a few reasons, including the larger standard cache size and extra drive capabilities.

EDIT: If you want a good (expensive) card, look into what 3ware offers.

 

[ozone13]

Jeez, those raid controllers are EXPENSIVE! We use Mylex and Adaptec at my work, and I never realized how much they were. :Q

Thanks for your help....I'm going to go check some places online for best prices.