somewhat. the gigabit ethernet will restrict you at that point of course.however, there would be performance gains to be had. for the boost you need i would definitely suggest a hybrid system. a controller with that functionality would be nice. i would not say that it is "risky" for a raid of 50 intels, not by any means. they are enterprise class for sure.
it really isnt about the risks involved, i dont feel there are any
it is an issue of whether or not it is needed in your application. i dont think it is. and also a tremndous amount of it has to do with price v performance ratio.