Cheap RAID controller + HDD Cage

[N3RO]

Hey guys,

I'm looking for a dedicated RAID controller for my next system for a decent price.

Should be dedicated because I plan to migrate the RAID setup to another motherboard later if would be needed.

I'm looking for:

- RAID5 support (or even RAID6);
- >4 HDDs;
- hot-swap;
- management software like HP RAID ACU.

Need an hot-swap cage too like this one from Xigmatek (aprox. 30€):

http://www.xigmatek.com/console/uploadfiles/Image/product/3in3Hot-SwapHDDcage/3in3hotswap-hddcage-fb01b.jpg

http://www.xigmatek.com/product.php?productid=152

Any help would be appreciated!

Thank you

[Petra]

I don't usually hang around in this section but if by cheap you mean US$50-US$130, then you may want to consider the old Dell PERC 5i or PERC 6i. They're both LSI cards, the 5i can do RAID 5, the 6i can do RAID 6, my 5i seems perfectly happy being managed through the LSI MegaRAID Storage Manager application, and both the 5i and 6i support up to 8 drives. One of their major drawbacks, however, is that neither of these cards support physical drives larger than 2TB.

Someone else could probably chime in with better suggestions.