Surplus OEM RAID cards (e.g. Dell, Lenovo, HP, et. al)

[tcsenter]

I'm am seeking fairly modest to basic add-in SATA RAID controller specs to use for a couple basic servers (the mobo I'll be using only has 4 non-RAID SATA ports):

- PCI-E (1x or 4x)
- SATA 3Gb or 6Gb
- 2 or 4 ports (don't require more than 4 drives but if it has more ports it doesn't hurt anything to leave unutilized)
- Hybrid software RAID 1 or 10, don't need hardware XOR engine and IOP
- Windows OS driver support (don't care about Linux)

I would go the "retail" route like $15 ~ $20 cards that use the value-segment Asmedia, Marvell, or Silicon Image chips, but you can't get the newest drivers or opROMs from the branding company even if you beg them, and the user reviews seem "iffy" often complaining of poor tech support who insist "those are the latest drivers" even when you prove them wrong, many glitches, problems with UEFI BIOS (and again, tech support amounts to little more than "well keep trying different motherboards or drives until you find one that works with our product"). At least with the big OEMs they validate their cards and drivers in multiple configurations and server/workstations, track bug or compatibility reports, offer driver and opROM updates as opposed to these "Syba" or "StarTech" brands who appear to just buy generic Chinese stuff, slap their brand on it and that's about it.

Anyone recommend suitable RAID controller cards that can be had relatively cheap like the Dell PERCs and whatever Lenovo or others call their products? Hope to spend less than $30! TIA

 

[PliotronX]

PERC H700 gets my vote, these things are getting so dang afforadable! 512MB-1GB cache, cross flashability to LSI 9260, 6Gb SAS, 64TB LUNs, all for between $100 and $200! We've been furnishing older PowerEdge systems with them that either have the POS 6/iR or to improve 6/i configs (particularly with SSDs and >2TB drives). Driver support out of the box for anything newer than Vista IIRC.

Also found a good use for those 5.25" bays:

 

[nanaki333]

you get what you pay for... i would spend a bit more and get an areca. i've found 4 port hardware used areca cards for $17 on ebay though. they're sata2 3.0Gb with 128MB or 256MB cache i think.

 

[sdifox]

H310 can be had for like 75 if you are doing ssd array. Just have an UPS so your write back is protected.

 

[tcsenter]

PERC H700 gets my vote, these things are getting so dang afforadable! 512MB-1GB cache, cross flashability to LSI 9260, 6Gb SAS, 64TB LUNs, all for between $100 and $200!

Heh, yeah a little less than that, hoping to find a bargain on some surplus (or system pulls) but after looking, any decently recent stuff (not older than circa 2009 or 2010) appears to start around $50. I really don't need SAS HBA or have to deal with the multi-drive cabling, either. Performance (throughput) doesn't need to be super fast it's only a small office server that will have max of six or seven users (only two or three simultaneously). I can backup the system automatically after hours every day when there is no utilization other than maintenance tasks.

I would go a different route for the server but I got a deal on a couple Dell Optiplex mobos with Intel Q77 chipset. Like practically for free and they work fine with 2nd or 3rd Gen Core i processors, 24GB RAM installed, but only 4 SATA ports (non-RAID).

Maybe I'll look into one of those external USB 3.0 two-drive RAID enclosures, or caddy/racks that fit into the 5.25" bays.

 

[PliotronX]

Under a hundred really limits you to generic ASMedia or Marvell controllers. They are all the same so take your pick.