Adaptec vs Areca vs HighPoint

[IanB]

Check this out http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16816115026

The only one I could find. So I'll forgive you.
Looks yummy, huh Serra?

ETlight

The question is, is it completely hardware or software controlled? It's got a VERY big heatsinked chip on it, which certainly suggests some kind of onboard processing...

Actually I was seriously looking at this model for a while, it's a very good price for an 8-port compared to the high-end cards, and in Tom's comparative review of RAID cards a while back http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/pci-ex...view-1927.html the external-socket only version of this (RR2322) distinctly came out tops against Areca et al for RAID 1/0 as far as I could tell, even if they decided to ignore that and recommend others because it appeared to need a proprietary external drive cage (avoidable with a different cable, easily acquired). Yeah - checking that link the article is now removed, and Tom's blocked the Wayback Machine from archiving it too.

The glitch for me on this card and the RR23xx series has been the NewEgg review on that page you linked saying:

Cons: terrible software. the review titled "Worked well for a while" is true in that the RAID app eating up massive CPU cycles. I've build more than a dozen rigs with RR2320, RR2310, and RR2300 - only the RR2300 doesn't have this problem (but it's only 4 port, and PCI-E x1)
Other Thoughts: I've already contacted Highpoint about the CPU cycle issue, and no one seems to care. Bad Customer Support, slow/no response to support inquiries. Go for a 3ware if you have the $$.

Not sure what to make of that, but it put me off more than a little as the guy making it seemed fairly competent.