PCI RAID Card

[..:: Free Radical ::..]

I need to buy a PCI SATA extender / RAID card for my aging PC.
I need one with 2 or more SATA connectors, since my mobo does not have a SATA connector.

I want this on an Intel Original 845WN mobo.
This card will be used only for connecting a SATA/SATA-II hard disk without RAID config.

Please suggest some brands and their approx. price in Delhi/Mumbai.
A friend got a !Next card (recognized as an ITE IT8212 RAID connector --> ITE: Integrated Technology Express, which makes chipsets for such solutions) for Rs. 750

I am looking for a cheap PCI card

EDIT: PCI SATA adapters like the Promise one I have posted below are viable alternatives. Suggestions invited and yearned for .

[ranjan2001]

I am confused,
Why do u need pci RAID card?
Sata cards are available single sata is for 550 (i bought 1 & used with my intel 845 glad mobo) double sata card are for 1200/- I am not sure if they support sata 2.
Checked that Data transfer rate up to 1.5 Gbps (150 MB/s) only so no sata 2 option.

I will try to post images from my old post soon.
http://www.ebay.com.my/viItem?ItemId=180098707505#photo

this is the old thread which might help.
Sata in external case with old comp

[..:: Free Radical ::..]

err.. Ranjan.
I reckon you are talking of external hard disk casings which give a max of 12mbps transfer. Worse, I don't even have USB2.
SATA to IDE converters use the IDE port of the mobo. Speed only as fast as the weakest link of the chain: IDE channel limits transfer rates.
Using a RAID PCI card gives you additional connectors for hard disks, plus greater speed due to low level hard disk access. I wil use the RAID card without a RAID config. Plus I will hang out one of the connector cables out of the cabinet for quick swapping Hard disks.
Moreso, I wll always have the option of a RAID setup.
I hope I don't have my facts wrong. However, a friend of mine demonstrated the above (He showed me avg stable transfer speed with data of 4 GB between two non similar PATA hard disks of 40MBPS !!!!, Think what i'll get with SATA. He quickswaps his hard disks for his PlayStation 2.)

[ranjan2001]

Ok then I do not know about such card, may be someone else can be of your help.

[..:: Free Radical ::..]

Found this one to enlighten every1 about the query:

PCI to Serial ATA (SATA) with RAID Controller
 
SPECIFICATION OF SATA CARD WITH RAID

 

  Serial ATA - 1.5 Gbps (150 MB/s)

   Breaks the 137GB barrier! Works with various brands of large capacity Serial ATA hard disk

 Compliant with Serial ATA 1.0 specification

Compliant with PCI specification, rev. 2.2

 Supports RAID 0 (stripping) for performances and RAID 1  (mirroring) for reliability. (DM-8301R only)

Coexists with Ultra ATA controller and allows you connect up to 2 SATA hard disk

Supports 32-bit wide PCI bus at 66MHz and data transfer rates up to 150MB/s (1.5Gb/s)

Features independent 256-byte FIFOs per channel for host reads and writes

Now, what I am looking for is a simple, cheap internal SATA II RAID controller with 2 or more ports, I don't necessarily want any nifty features like RAID 5, 6 support or support for enterprise class SCSI drives or even eSATA. I wont even be using striping. I'll be using Hard disks in non-RAID mode. I want this only for SATA II support on my mobo. Just something that works properly with windows out of the box and supports large hard disks , SATA-II 250 GB or more...
Some1 plz help.

[g_suresh_mps]

Dear Friend according to the Knowledge of mine

1. the Raid Cards that are compactible with PCI slot Support only SATA1 1.5GBPS Standard (and NOT SATA 2)

2. SATA 2 Raid cards are available but they use PCI EXPRESS x1 slot so

2nd case is not possible on ur Situation ...

[..:: Free Radical ::..]

ok. I'll settle for a SATA card. Any suggestions about pricing, brands, support. TY for the reply.

^^
EDIT: My mistake. Should have emphasised. I meant RAID Connector with SATA ports

[ranjan2001]

Is the sata card different from THe link I posted earlier, is that what you are now looking for?

[..:: Free Radical ::..]

Originally Posted by ranjan2001

Is the sata card different from THe link I posted earlier, is that what you are now looking for?

some info from Wikipedia:

The common heritage of the ATA command set has enabled theproliferation of low-cost PATA<->SATA bridge-chips. Bridge chipswere widely used on PATA drives (before the completion of native SATAdrives) as well as standalone ‘dongles’. When attached to a PATA drive,a device-side dongle allows the PATA drive to function as a SATA drive.Host-side dongles allow a motherboard PATA port to function as a SATAhost port.
Powered enclosures are available for both PATA and SATA drives,which interface to the PC through USB or Firewire, with therestrictions noted above. PCI cards with a SATA connector exist that allow SATA drives to connect to legacy systems without SATA connectors.
Despite its physical incompatibility with other interfaces, SATA is designed to be backwards and forwards compatible with itself [3].The Serial ATA working group will work to ensure that future revisionsof the Serial ATA specification do not impact interoperability offuture generation equipment with present equipment. Unfortunately,there are already documented incompatibilities between particularfirst-generation SATA controllers and second-generation drives. Inresponse, drive manufacturers have equipped SATA/300 drives with afailsafe switch or jumper to force SATA/150 operation

Your eagerness to help is commendable Ranjan, but I don't mean to buy a SATA enclosure, host side dongles(connects to the IDE connector) or a device side dongle ( connects to the hard disk as in conventional external casings).
I mean to buy a RAID SATA (and not IDE) connector card for PCI.
I am given to believe that such a solution only exists for PCIexpress if I want a SATA II disk. But, I do hope that the SATA version for PCI is forward compatible with SATA-II.

Here's a link to some foreign site with some embellished products
http://www.satasite.com/sata-raid-controllers.htm
I only need a cheapo which is safe to use with my mobo.

EDIT: See below for non-RAID SATA adapters. Thanx for guiding me in the right direction.

[ranjan2001]

Thanks, It feels gud if one can be useful in any meaningful way, we all are here to share.

[shantanu]

yes the PCi cards are available with SATA II interface, and they are available with Asus, Zebronics and some other good companies..

but mind it , make your POWER supply a good one.. coz it will drain power from form comp...

the prices start form 500 for local 1.5 SATA 1 interface and 1300 for sata II interface... the prices vary from 1.3k-2.0k depending on brands, even i saw a fujitsu and hyundai makes in market..

[..:: Free Radical ::..]

I have a 550 W Frontech PSU. I hope it should work.
So, I can get a SATA-II PCI RAID card too: Yay
Any good dealers you know of in Nehru Place? I'll be visiting the capitol.

[..:: Free Radical ::..]

All right. I agree I am an overzealous manic personality.
I found out that PCI RAID HBAs (I guess an HBA stands for Host Bus Adapter) may or may not be what I am looking for.

I scoured the net for alternatives.
Here's what i found from Promise.com
http://www.promise.com/product/produ...product_id=138

I mention herein the SATA300 TX2plus
which is quoted to be a 2+1 SATA/PATA PCI Adapter



Please note that this is a Non-RAID HBA i.e it connects to the PCI bus to provide additional connectors for Hard Disks, i.e. a host side adapter (see above)

Cost-effective 2-port Serial ATA, 1-channel Parallel ATA adapter with SATA 3Gb/s drive support for motherboards with a PCI interface

 
           
SATA300™ TX2plus
2 SATA 3Gb/s Ports plus 1 Ultra ATA/133 Channel for support of up to 4 drives
Native Command Queuing (NCQ)
SATA Tagged Command Queuing (TCQ)
Supports Serial ATAPI devices
Flexible future-proof upgrade for users with motherboards that only have a PCI interface
Cost-effective 4-Port SATA Controller
The Promise SATA300 TX2plus 2+1 SATA/PATA PCI adapter offers the premier solution for combining the latest, high-performance SATA 3.0 Gb/s Serial ATA disk drives with existing Parallel (Ultra) ATA drives using the same controller. With the SATA300 TX2plus, users can connect up to two SATA drives and 2 PATA drives, offering users a cost-effective solution for upgrading their existing storage system with SATA 3Gb/s drives.
SATA 3Gb/s Support
While storage system performance is affected by components throughout the storage system, SATA drives with 3Gb/s can deliver significantly faster burst data throughput. Like a faster data cache, the faster burst rate when using the latest 3Gb/s drives should provide a snappier feel when opening small files and conducting the day-to-day tasks that many desktop and workstation PCs are required to perform. 
The controller supports Serial ATA 3Gb/s drives and conforms to Serial ATA II, Extensions to Serial ATA 1.0a specification - including Native Command Queuing and Disk Activity LED headers support. In addition to NCQ, the controller also supports Tagged Command Queuing with drives that can take advantage of this capability. Command Queuing increases I/O performance by intelligently reordering data requests so that the data can be more quickly accessed than if the commands weren't ordered.
Parallel ATA from the Industry Leader
For support of legacy parallel ATA devices, the SATA300 TX2plus supports Ultra/ATA devices up to 133MB/sec data transfer rate. Drawing upon Promise's expertise in ATA, the controller incorporates performance enhancing features such as CRC error checking and separate timing for two devices attached to one ATA channel.The SATA300 TX2plus also supports parallel ATAPI devices.
Advanced HBA Features
The low-profile form factor SATA300 TX2plus PCI adapter incorporates many of Promise Technology's advanced host bus adapter features. The 66MHz PCI bus supports up to 266MB/sec burst data transfer rate. The SATA300 TX2plus also includes large LBA support for drives above 137GB, and its onboard BIOS automatically identifies and configures drive type (Serial ATA, Ultra DMA mode). The controller supports up to two controllers in the same system.

I am not aware whether similar products are available in Indian markets, Promise however being a good name in SATA & RAID products, I reckon that it may be an expensive.

I am sorry to spread FUD before about the whole increased speed thingamajig. It appears that speed increases are noticed in non- RAID setups with such adapters only if you have a very old mobo which don't even have efficient interfaces for ATA 100/133 (That being the case with me).

err.. Anyone tell me how much such cheapos/local products are priced . I do need this urgently.I'll prefer to buy a SATA-II HDD simultaneously (Go away PATA. Please . Yeah, i was that guy over that whole PATA upgrade fuss. Now I know better)

[shantanu]

as i told you before.... a 1.5 SATA 1 is arounf 500-800 depending on brand and sataII 300 is around... 1200 -1800

i confirmed for PROMISE card , its available at GLOBAL computers delhi... @ 2100/-

[..:: Free Radical ::..]

Muchos Gracias!!! shantanu. U'r a saviour.
Where is this Global computers in Delhi?
I've heard a lot about Computer Empire @ Meghdoot building, Nehru Place. I hope I can cut a bargain with the dealer as I'll buy a SATA-II hard disk along with it.

[vivekbabbudelhi]

figure it out that card is a 66mhz pci card or 33mhz pci
if its 66mhz pci compilant bottlenecks are prominent as our mobos support only 33mhz pci cards
66mhz pci cards are supported with server boards

[..:: Free Radical ::..]

^^ Already know that bro.
I have a 6 year old desktop mobo and am under no illusion that I will be having a 33 Mhz PCI. I hope to buy a 66 MHz PCI which should be backwards compatible with 33 MHz one. Will be upgrading in the near future so, I need something to tide over. Any brand / products you know of? Using Intel Original 845 WN

[vivekbabbudelhi]

thats great
i was also looking for pci sata hba for my old msi 845gl but cant get enough so i bought a new 939 a64 3000+ and gigabyte geforce 6150/nforce430 and currently have 2x80gb sata2 in raid0

if you purchase a pci sata card post it on with price so i also can get it for old mobo

[shantanu]

hey radical dude... what did you say... that thing i cant understand... i hope that are good words

[..:: Free Radical ::..]

Originally Posted by shantanu_webmaster

hey radical dude... what did you say... that thing i cant understand... i hope that are good words

gracias = Thank you
Muchos = very much

( "Thank you very much" in Spanish and several Gallic dialects)

Sorry Mods for being off topic.

err. where is Global Computers.