Herbert Poetzl wrote: > situation: one of my raid controllers suddenly failed > and I need to replace it with a new one (currently > the raid is offline, and I don't have access to the > data). as I was not very happy with the controller > (an Intel/LSI one, which only caused issues from the > beginning), I want to replace it with a different > model from Adaptec (specifically the RAID 31605), > which seems to have good support and all the features > I am looking for. > Just an aside, but can I ask why a fancy raid controller? I personally LOVE the top end stuff, for example have some very good experiences with Compaq battery backed scsi controllers. But I have had nothing but disappointment with even decent 3Ware controllers and I notice no difference at all over builtin SATA controllers, which coupled with a nice motherboard often mean you can have 8-10 controllers right on the bridge and hence high speed access Battery backup is missing off the onboard controllers though and if you have a DB application (probably not if you are getting 1.5GB disks) then this is a big deal, but otherwise it's not likely to make much difference (hey not teaching you to suck eggs - I'm sure you already know if it will help your workload!) In summary though unless you need the battery backup I would recommend a new motherboard with enough onboard ports to meet your needs - forget what I have but I bought some bits of the office machine and it supports my quad intel thing with I think 8+ sata ports? > and I could > also make good use of three or four of those new > 1.5TB SATA disks from Seagate (ST31500341AS) or the > 1TB models (ST31000340AS) to retire one of my older > disk arrays (150-200 USD/ 120-150 EUR each) > The 1.5TB have quite a price hike, even the 1TB are I think slightly above the sweet spot still? I just bought 5x 1TB drives and the Samsung spinpoints were the best value - not had any problems with them so far, but don't load them much either. Ed W