Here is the deal: Dell c6100 SAS mezzanine card 3Gb version AND cable for $98 with free shipping: New Dell Desktop SAS x3 Controller Board LSISAS1068E with Cable Assembly 63J1K | eBay. Other eBay vendors want $200 to $350 for the card alone, so this is a comparatively good deal, though certainly not cheap for a 3Gb card.
Some detail:
The Dell c6100 has six SATA ports on the motherboard. These are 3Gb ports, but the Intel controller chip is bottlenecked to around 650 or 700MB/S total throughput at best. You can get better performance by switching to a dedicated SAS card.
The c6100 supports two six-port SAS mezzanine cards: One based on an LSISAS2008 chip that supports 6Gb ports, and an earlier one based on an LSISAS1068e chip that supports 3Gb ports. The 6Gb version is of course better, but it is rather rare and costs way too much money.
To switch to SAS, you need the following:
1) One of the two SAS mezzanine cards - part number Y8Y69 for the 1068e card or ? for the 2008 card
2) A custom cable part number HYJ6G
3) A custom riser board part number JKM5M
4) A very necessary metal support bracket that doesn't seem to have a part number and doesn't come with any of the cards. Hopefully your motherboard still has one attached. This arm fixes the mezzanine card to the riser board.
There is also a part number 63J1K that includes the 1068e card and the cable. The $98 deal above is for this part number.
If you are thinking of converting to SAS, PM me first - for the same price I have four sets for sale that include the card, the cable, and the $25 custom riser board. I even have the metal support brackets. You might also want to post a "wanted" message because some other STH members might be willing to part with theirs for even less.
Some detail:
The Dell c6100 has six SATA ports on the motherboard. These are 3Gb ports, but the Intel controller chip is bottlenecked to around 650 or 700MB/S total throughput at best. You can get better performance by switching to a dedicated SAS card.
The c6100 supports two six-port SAS mezzanine cards: One based on an LSISAS2008 chip that supports 6Gb ports, and an earlier one based on an LSISAS1068e chip that supports 3Gb ports. The 6Gb version is of course better, but it is rather rare and costs way too much money.
To switch to SAS, you need the following:
1) One of the two SAS mezzanine cards - part number Y8Y69 for the 1068e card or ? for the 2008 card
2) A custom cable part number HYJ6G
3) A custom riser board part number JKM5M
4) A very necessary metal support bracket that doesn't seem to have a part number and doesn't come with any of the cards. Hopefully your motherboard still has one attached. This arm fixes the mezzanine card to the riser board.
There is also a part number 63J1K that includes the 1068e card and the cable. The $98 deal above is for this part number.
If you are thinking of converting to SAS, PM me first - for the same price I have four sets for sale that include the card, the cable, and the $25 custom riser board. I even have the metal support brackets. You might also want to post a "wanted" message because some other STH members might be willing to part with theirs for even less.
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