Re: SATA II and PCI-X vs PCI for Areca ARC-1110 RAID Adapter

[Matthias Scheler <tron%zhadum.org.uk@localhost>]

On Wed, May 07, 2008 at 11:29:43AM -0400, George Georgalis wrote:
> And will a PCI-X card really work in a PCI slot?

Yes, if it is a proper PCI card. I'm using a PCI-X RAID hostapter (however
icp(4) and not arcmsr(4)) in a 32Bit/33MHz PCI slot in my server without
problems.

> What are the consequences of using a PCI-X card in a PCI slot?

Loss of performance. PCI-X supports higher transfer rates (depending
on clock speed an width). 64Bit 66MHz PCI-X can e.g. transfer 512MB/s
while 32Bit 33MHz can only transfer 128MB/s.

> Will 3.0 Gbit/s still be available?

3.0 Gb/s is the speed used between the SATA hostadpater and the disk
which should not be affected by the PCI bus speed. Considering the
even SATA I with 1.5 Gb/s is faster than 32Bit 33MHz PCI it doesn't
matter in your case really.

        Kind regards

-- 
Matthias Scheler                                  http://zhadum.org.uk/