RAID controller under 25 watts

[Boddy]

I'm very new to setting up a RAID controller.

My Dell Optiplex 790 desktop motherboard has a power limitation of 25 watts on PCIe 16 (wired as 4) slot (4.376” High by 6.6” Long). ( It also has another PCIe 16 slot which I plan to use for a graphics card, but this is not essential.)

I’d like to add a raid card to increase SATA 3 ports and so I can clone some 2.5” drives.

Would any of the following raid cards could be suitable?

Which would you recommend?

a) Intel RMS25KB040
4 internal ports. 6 Gb/s. SAS/SATA
(LSI2308) PCIe x8 Gen2.

b) Intel RS25SB008
8 internal points. 6 G/bs Embedded 1-GB ECC DDR3 1333memory.
CachePath SAS/SATA (LSI2208) 8 x PCIe Gen 3 interface.

c) Intel RS2MB044
4 external & 4 internal ports. 6 Gb/s. 512 m/b memory at 800MHz
SAS/SATA (LSI2108)

PS. By default, are RAID controllers able to run IT mode out of the box?
Do I need to check the usual BIOS to confirm if it's in RAID mode or IT mode.

If I need to re-flash firmware to IT mode, is method generic to RAID cards or specific to individual RAID cards.

Could you point me to a thread to some advice about re-flashing firmware, hopefully I won't kill the controller.

Many thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[gea]

You cannot flash hardware Raid 5/6 adapters to a raidless IT mode.
This is only possible with some HBA's that offer a simple rait 1/10 mode like those with LSI 2008 or 2308 chipsets.

If you need IT mode on a new controller, buy the LSI 9207 as it comes with IT mode per default.

 

[Boddy]

You cannot flash hardware Raid 5/6 adapters to a raidless IT mode.
This is only possible with some HBA's that offer a simple rait 1/10 mode like those with LSI 2008 or 2308 chipsets.

If you need IT mode on a new controller, buy the LSI 9207 as it comes with IT mode per default.

Many thanks gea for your valuable feedback.

The first RAID adaptor listed above Intel RMS25KB040 uses a LSI2308 chipset and listed as only supporting RAID 0, 1,1E & 10.

Although listed as no JBOD. Could this card be suitable and flashed to IT mode?

I'm assuming most RAID or HBA cards will run under 25 watts?

 

[Chuckleb]

Be careful of desktop chassis, especially of the large manufacturers who put in slow fans and are tight cases. Raid cards run hot as they were designed for servers. You should install a secondary fan on the card if you are using a hard raid card as they can overheat.

 

[Rhinox]

All PCIe 4x/8x (and 16x low-profile) expansion cards are rated at max 25W. Only 16x full gfx-cards can draw more (up to 75W using just pci-lanes, or max 375W using pci-lanes and 2x 8pin power-connectors).

So there is no need to warry about power consumption. Especially if controller is in IT-mode, and/or "simple" raid level (0/1/10) is used.

 

[Patrick]

One other thing to mention - make sure the Intel card you get is not server-locked to Intel-only chassis. There are some cards that work only in Intel servers. I cannot remember the model off the top of my head but I had one that was Intel-specific and was SAS 2008 or later.

 

[JeffroMart]

One other thing to mention - make sure the Intel card you get is not server-locked to Intel-only chassis. There are some cards that work only in Intel servers. I cannot remember the model off the top of my head but I had one that was Intel-specific and was SAS 2008 or later.

Exactly, most of the Intel branded cards in this family are locked to only be used on Intel Workstation and Server platforms.

 

[Boddy]

Thanks all for your valuable and insightful feedback

I'm considering running a card on my secondary (media) PC as it is better ventilated with intake and exhaust fans and has a PWM fan set up.

Bummer about Intel cards locked, I did see this mentioned in a review on Amazon or Newegg site.

Would a HBA card run cooler and be a better option just to run additional SATA 3 devices (non-raid)?
Any suggestions welcome, Thanks,

 

[Chuckleb]

If you are just looking for additional SATA ports there is no better choice than the IBM m1015 cards. They are SAS cards with breakout cables and can give you as many SATA ports you could ever want with expanders. As an HBA, it won't run hot and can go in any case.

 

[Boddy]

If you are just looking for additional SATA ports there is no better choice than the IBM m1015 cards. They are SAS cards with breakout cables and can give you as many SATA ports you could ever want with expanders. As an HBA, it won't run hot and can go in any case.

Many thanks Chuckleb for your invaluable feedback!!!

I feel much better to be able to use my (faster) OptiPlex PC.

Do you suggest this card will be OK as it is already flashed to IT mode (firmware version P19)?
New IT Mode 9211-8i SAS SATA 8-port PCI-E 6Gb RAID Controller Card US-Seller
Rather than risk toasting the card by flashing it myself.

Will it work okay in a PCIe 8 slot (wired as 4) and still be able to attach 8 SATA/SAS devices, or will reduced wiring create some limitations?

Many thanks again to your (and others) help!

 

[Chuckleb]

Flashing the card is easy and safe, but if you don't want to, this cars is fine. I and my team have flashes over 30 cards without any problems. You will also want SAS forward breakout cables. The convert the SAS port into 4xSATA ports. You will be fine with a 4 lane slot, that is more bandwidth than the drives you are putting on it.