onboard or external raid controller?

[BlackEdition]

i was just curious, are the raid controllers that are coming onboard today as good as a discrete controller? are they better?

i have never run a raid array, but, i am interested in running one, and i was curious.

thanks!

[tuskenraider]

For RAID0 the onboard will work as good as any add-in controller, there can be a very small advantage with an add-in card for RAID1, but usually not worth the expense. An add-in card will have an advantage with any other RAID level. Note this is in comparison to a "good" add-in card(typically $300+) with it's own CPU or CPU and memory, otherwise the only advantage a $50 RAID controller gives you is the ability to move the RAID array to another computer without having to break it up.

[phil178821]

agree. raid cards are only really worth it if you get the $XXX cards. however, i do see less cpu strain with my SYBA $30ish card vs my onboard gigabyte card; whether that really increase performance; probably not.

[sjvarley]

I run a adaptec 3805 in a raid 6 configuration with a hot spare. It's worth every penny, IMO. It's bulletproof.

[Sjaak]

Don't underestimate the advantage of being able to move it to a different rig, if your motherboard goes bad for whichever reason, you usually lose the array, too. I'd spend the 30 - 50$ on a cheap PCI card if i were you :)

[madhatter256]

RAID6 is far better than RAID5.

That's the thing. RAID5 is what puts all onboard RAID controllers to shame. IF you need to use RAID 5, then get a dedicated RAID controller, preferably from adaptec.

For lower level RAID arrays, such as: RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 1+0, then an onboard is alright as their algorithms are not strenous on the CPU.

[dhc0329]

Even with Raid 0 I see a performance boost. I used to run raid 0 (velociraptor x 2) using the Intel iCHR9 but I had to switch to Areca 1210 because with onboard I ran into latency issue. The system would freeze up for 2~5 sec randomly. I have absolutely no problem with Areca 1210. My system is now super stable and under HD Tunes/Tach I do see some noticeable gain - also in real life, too.

[Illah]

If performance isn't an issue and it's just a backup / NAS machine, do the $XXX cards make any difference? I'm debating between dropping a card in an old box or getting a dedicated NAS box.

I like the dedicated NAS because of its simplicity and lower noise/heat/power use, but a RAID 5 NAS will be $400+, a cheaper RAID 5 card is $50 :)

--Illah

[petteyg359]

If RAID 0/1, a cheap $50 controller will improve over onboard by allowing you to easily move the array between different machines. If your onboard controller dies, there's a large chance your array has died too (very bad if it is for backup).
If RAID 5 or above, you'll want one of the more expensive controllers (Areca 1210, and similar). They have their own CPU and RAM (500MHz/256MB on a 1210), which greatly increases performance. Again, they allow your array to be portable between systems.
If you're just using it to install games on so they load faster, there's no real reason to get a dedicated RAID controller, unless you have money to burn :) In this case, one of the cheaper controllers should be fine.

If you do buy one, do note that PCI-X is NOT PCI-E. PCI-X is a 64-bit PCI slot that can run at 66MHz, 133MHz, or the standard PCI 33MHz. PCI-E is PCI Express (x1/x4/x8/x16).
OT: Effing retarded eVGA and other video card manufacturers labeling their cards "PCI-X"... :bang head

[Mr.Guvernment]

RAID6 is far better than RAID5.

.



Only in redundancy allowing 2 drives to fail, but in performance on writes it is almost %30 slower then raid 5 due to thee extra writes it has to do.


, preferably from adaptec.


preferably from 3ware/LSI/Acrea is more like it, i have some Adaptec raid cards for both SATA and SCSI and they tend to be crap for over all throughput vs competitors cards in the same price range. Also Adaptec is well known for not having great support in their software and just dropping support one day cause they don't want to support it.

[chop_wood]

OT: Effing retarded eVGA and other video card manufacturers labeling their cards "PCI-X".

zomg so true.. grinds my gears.

[Madwand]

A cheap PCI card is not likely to be better than on-board solutions. If you're going to spend additional money, I'd suggest at least a Highpoint 2300.