Comparing HP P800 SAS RAID Against Dell PERC 6/i
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controller against the Dell PERC 6/i under Windows 7 64 bit? Which is the
better controller? What matters to me, in order:
1) Least likely to fail (I have had HP hardware RAID controllers
spontaneously lose their entire configurations on rare occasions, typically
when there is a significant disk failure and during the rebuild)
2) Most power feature set under GUI software control (i.e., I don't want to
get into BIOS software to do essential functions)
3) Easiest to use GUI user interface
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Benjamin Gawert
> Does anyone here have direct experience using the HP P800 SAS RAID
> controller against the Dell PERC 6/i under Windows 7 64 bit? Which is the
> better controller?
Better in what? You are aware that you are comparing a 16 port high end
controller with 512MB/1GB of cache (Smart Array P800) with a 4 port
lower midrange controller which costs less than 1/3rd of the price of a
P800, aren't you?
BTW: while both of them run under Windows 7 x64, these controllers and
their drivers are made for *servers* running *server operating systems*
like Windows Server 2008.
> What matters to me, in order:
>
> 1) Least likely to fail (I have had HP hardware RAID controllers
> spontaneously lose their entire configurations on rare occasions, typically
> when there is a significant disk failure and during the rebuild)
The Dell is a LSI design, which are quite good but at times can be
tricky. The P800 is a HP design and I've seen them running highly
reliable even with generic non-HP Seagate and Fujitsu disk drives (they
have some issues with some WDC drives, though, especially Caviar Green).
However, this was in proper HP servers and not in a self-build generic
box made from cheap standard parts.
> 2) Most power feature set under GUI software control (i.e., I don't want to
> get into BIOS software to do essential functions)
>
> 3) Easiest to use GUI user interface
I find the HP Smart Array utilities much better than their Dell/LSI
counterparts as the HP tools have a common anc clear layout while the
Dell and LSI versions change often and are not as reliable or intuitive.
However, this all doesn't mean much of you're not running these
controllers in the environment they are made for. Therefore it would
probably help if you let us know what you actually try to do (what
computer, how many disks of which type, what software etc).
Ben
nubjub
How do you know the p800 will work in windows 7? There aren't any
drivers officially supporting it. Have you had experience with this? I'm
considering getting one for an windows 7 workstation and I'd like to
know if it would actually run.