HBA in 2023 for R730xd?

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KMPLSV

New Member
Mar 14, 2020
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I have a Dell R730xd, LFF version. It has 2x2.5 bays in back and 12 3.5" bays in front. I'm currently using caddies in front to use several 2.5" 1TB Samsung EVO 850 drives. I may throw some higher capacity (12-18TB) 3.5" HDDs (Ironwolf or similiar) in the setup in the future depending on my needs.

I plan to run Proxmox on bare metal w/ ZFS. My use case is going to be broad at first, as this is my first server. Docker, Plex/Jellyfin/Emby, Sonarr, other VMs, are all things I want to experiment with. I have a solid amount of compute, and I can certainly add a separate dedicated unit for storage down the road if necessary.

My machine has a H710 Mini in it from the factory. Although it has an "HBA mode", research has shown this is not a good idea. So I'm on the hunt for an HBA card. In 2023, with the mix of drive types that I've mentioned, is there a specific brand/model of HBA card that would be recommended? I may not need 12Gbps right away, but if it's not astronomically more expensive than cards with 6Gbps capability, I'd certainly like to have it.
 

neb50

Member
Aug 28, 2018
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HBA330 mini card that can replace the H710 mini and reuse all the existing cabling?
 

KMPLSV

New Member
Mar 14, 2020
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I hadn't considered the H330 mini. I'm looking closely at a Broadcom LSI SAS 9305-16e. I suppose I should've checked out the fairly in-depth guide to HBAs right here on the STH site before I made this post.

Power isn't a HUGE issue, but I don't really have a baseline yet.
 

neb50

Member
Aug 28, 2018
73
23
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There is the H330 mini and also a HBA330 mini. I was able to find the HBA version for the same price or cheaper a couple years ago and you may still be able to. There is also the thread on how to convert a H330 mini to a HBA330 mini if that is the one you end up getting.

The 16e that you are looking at has external ports only and isn't really plug and play for the internal drive expander.