- RAID 0/1/1E/3/5/6 JBOD
- 4 x Min SAS 4i Internal Connectors
- Ethernet External Connectors
Reliable
01/25/2009
This review is from: areca ARC-1261ML-2G 16-port PCI-Express X8 w/2GB Cache on-board SATA II Controller Card RAID 0/1/1E/3/5/6 JBOD
Pros:
Extremely fast and reliable in real world applications.
Bootable in Mac Pro with OS X 10.5 from a RAID set (must flash MacPro_EFI bios on the Areca card)
2GB Cache is pretty amazing. I had 265 at first, I upgraded to 1GB and noticed a tremendous difference. Now I have 2GB and it's pretty snappy in After Effects. I can only say good things about the performance.
Cons:
Occasionally if I unplug some drives and switch the ID, when I reconnect them a drive shows up as "failed". However the drive is fine - I rebuild the RAID 6 and move on. This only happens occasionally and only when I disconnect and reconnect drives.
Also, with a Mac Pro specifically I can boot from a RAID set, however I cannot seem to boot from a Pass Through drive (single drive on the card). Their Tech support says it should – I'll figure it out someday maybe. It will not boot Windows via Boot Camp, however this does not affect me.
A Mac Pro will only support 1 Areca card. Boo-hoo.
Overall Review:
Areca is a bit expensive for the average joe, but a must for any serious pro apps user.
I can't wait til the SSD prices drop – I've got a few empty ports on this. I think pair of 200MB/s SLC SSDs in RAID 0 would make an exceptional scratch drive. But thats still sci-fi futuristic for my budget and work has been slow because of the stupid economy...
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- Eric B.
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Owned For:
more than 1 year
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