> There was some nice performance comparison betwean linux compatible > sata raid cards and areca performed really well. If my memory serves > me well it was significantly faster then 3ware. > Can't find the url now :(. So i have no arguments to support it now. > But certainly areca it's worth a try. > ftp://ftp.areca.com.tw/RaidCards/Documents/Performance/ARC1120_Single_Card_Performance.pdf This is their own benchmark I think for one of their PCIe cards. ftp://ftp.areca.com.tw/RaidCards/Documents/Hardware/HWCompatibilityList_011706.pdf They appear to do their own testing so things look positive for Areca I guess. I am not sure that they are software raid implementations...if you ask me they look more like hardware raid cards. The adaptors ARC12xx all come with onboard memory, 128M for 4/8 port cards and a SO-DIMM slot that supports up to 1G for 12/16/24 port cards, which can also be battery backed-up. This looks more like an alternative to 3ware and not to HP/Promise bios on an adapter 'raid' cards.