Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)3ware 9650SE-8LPML PCI-Express x4 RAID Controller Card
Supports RAID: 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, Single Disk, and JBOD
256M Cache (BBU Module is HIGHLY Recommend for write caching)
Connectors: 2x Multi-Lane SFF-8087
Cables: Two SATA Forward breakout cables supplied. (1x Mini-SAS to 4x SATA converter, 0.6M)
Also includes the mounting bracket to switch to low-format mode. This will also work with the BBU attached if you need to mount it in a short slot. The card does get quite warm though so keep cooling in mind.
Support in almost all operating systems (Linux/MAC/Windows) (Built-in Native support in most new versions of Linux flavors making install super simple.)
If it came with the BBU, I'd give it a full 5 stars... I think the 'kit' should... Still, this is a great product at a pretty good price.
Details:
I bought two 3ware 9659SE-8LPML cards for a matching set of large RAID6 servers. The one problem with these cards is they don't come with the BBU (Battery Backup Unit) by default (Part: BBU-MODULE-03) which is highly stressed for enabling write caching (A good UPS could be the other possibility but... if it fails... a bad write could corrupt the drive).
One of my cards failed shortly after initial setup. (It happens, especially with 'some companies' shipping habits... Not a bid deal but something that had to be handled...)
So I had to replace it. Then due to my common luck; the original place of purchase was out so I had to RMA for refund only and hunt for another one. Amazon to the rescue! Granted it cost a tad more than the OEM, however, this is the full KIT, not just the OEM board which I had before. So in reality, it's cheaper considering it comes with two forward breakout cables for the SFF-8087 mini-SAS to SATA drives which cost around $30 each alone. So I should have done this the first time...
This does use PCI-Express x4 due to the 8 channel setup (x8 and x16 is fine also). If you have only PCI-Express x1 capability left, you might need to look at other options.
It only supports SATA 3G (or SAS). If you're building a SPEED critical system, you might want to get the newer SATA 6G version even for SATA 3G drives... It will improve your speeds believe it or not. However for me this was just a long-term file server with a mirror so speed wasn't as critical and this saves quite a few bills. Even so, this is a very fast performer. Just not the king of the heap.
All in all - a known good 8-port RAID card and this one includes the SFF-8087 mini-SAS -to- SATA breakout cables. Nice package. If they added the BBU, it would be perfect...
Using this system with eight Samsung HD154UI 1.5TB drives in a RAID 6 configuration with no Hot Spares (9TB total drive (6 data 2 error); really more like 8.3TB usable but.. we know how that really goes...). I'm running two systems that mirror each other so I'd have to lose 6 drives (3 from each system) at the same time to lose all data. Anything can happen but for a total systems budget of four grand, this is a pretty secure way to get a ton of very secure storage using very inexpensive equipment.
I choose this RAID card instead of the others available due to my history with 3ware (and many other) cards. 3ware makes a good raid card, honestly in my opinion, the best bang for the buck. I hope LSI improves to the 3ware level now that they own 3ware. Let's all wish them the best and hope they do. This comes in an LSI branded box but still is the same 3ware product.
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3ware 9650SE -- AMCC 3ware 9650SE SATA II hardware RAID controllers deliver industry-leading RAID 6 and RAID 5 performance, robust fault tolerance, and multi-terabyte capacities. A PCI Express host interface, Multi-lane connectivity, StorSwitch architecture and sophisticated SATA II features drive this unrivaled performance.
