Koutech RAID ATA133 now $23+free ship Dealsonic

[eOlympus]

Koutech I/O Future PIR133 Ultra ATA/133 RAID PCI Card

Here's the specs:

# Ultra DMA (ATA) 133MB/sec data transfer rate
# Two independent Ultra ATA/133 channels
# Supports up to four (4) IDE devices
# Supports RAID function (RAID 0, 1, 0+1)
# ATA clock independent from PCI bus
# 256 Byte FIFO per ATA channel
# Large FIFO independent
# Supports Ultra DMA 6/5/4/3/2/1, PIO 4/3/2/1/0, DMA 2/1/0 modes
# IDE drive types support ATA, Fast ATA-2, EIDE, Ultra ATA/33, Ultra ATA/66, Ultra ATA/100, and Ultra ATA/133
# Can share interrupt (IRQ) level with most PCI cards
# 32-bit 33/66MHz PCI interface
# PCI specification v.2.2 compliant
# Fully Plug-N-Play compatible
# Supports Windows� 95/98/98SE/Me/NT 4.0/2000/XP, and DOS

http://www.dealsonic.com/ioulatraidpc.html

$23 with free FedEx shipping!

Previous thread:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=40&threadid=923419&STARTPAGE=1

 

[pecel]

Is it gonna work with 200 gig HD?

Since I have 2 200 gig HD laying around here

 

[eOlympus]

not sure but may only support up to 160GB

 

[V00DOO]

I have this Koutech Raid running 2 Maxtor 120GB 8MB Cache at Raid 0. No problem so far.

 

[papaschtroumpf]

Only $1 more at newegg.

Anyone tried running this in RAID 1 configuration (redundant striping) I'd like to know how both read and write performance are impacted in real life. (I don't mind "wasting" 120G since I got the CC drive last week for $7 after tax )
Also, can you still boot from your CD-ROM after installing this card? I read in the old thread that you can't.

Also, any word on linux support (although that's not as importnat to me at this time since this will be my gaming rig).

 

[Boogak]

Originally posted by: papaschtroumpf
Only $1 more at newegg.

Anyone tried running this in RAID 1 configuration (redundant striping) I'd like to know how both read and write performance are impacted in real life. (I don't mind "wasting" 120G since I got the CC drive last week for $7 after tax )
Also, can you still boot from your CD-ROM after installing this card? I read in the old thread that you can't.

Also, any word on linux support (although that's not as importnat to me at this time since this will be my gaming rig).

I was able to boot from my CDROM drive and install WinXP fine using dual 80gb 8mb Maxtors in a RAID0 config.

 

[us]

Originally posted by: papaschtroumpf
Only $1 more at newegg.

Anyone tried running this in RAID 1 configuration (redundant striping) I'd like to know how both read and write performance are impacted in real life. (I don't mind "wasting" 120G since I got the CC drive last week for $7 after tax )
Also, can you still boot from your CD-ROM after installing this card? I read in the old thread that you can't.

Also, any word on linux support (although that's not as importnat to me at this time since this will be my gaming rig).

raid1 is mirroring not redundant striping. Redundant striping is raid 0+1 which you need 4 drives to do.

 

[clay123]

I recently bought one of these from dealsonic. Its not anything fancy but does the job nicely, and inexpensively.

 

[rch4001]

not a bad deal

 

[ElectricLegs]

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/storage/display/3-ata133-comparison.html

These can be found at Pricewatch for $17 delivered. A good deal at either price.

 

[Andy]

Those for you with the Dell 600SC's....this would make the perfect raid card!

 

[weepul]

i know promise cards work with drives > 175GB..

//krunk (^_^x)

 

[ViperV990]

You can boot with the CD drive, as long as it's hooked up to the motherboard's controller.

 

[eOlympus]

someone at another forum who owns the card said he is using 2X200GB mirroring so I believe that it supports at least 200GB hard drives

 

[Gig103]

I need this for the ATA133, not the RAID. Is this possible to do?
Also, if I wanted to, could i throw a dvd-rom on it or is it just for harddrives?

 

[SpideyCU]

You can use this just fine with individual, non-RAIDed drives. However, I can't be sure about this particular model, but a lot of RAID cards aren't happy with optical drives. Your best bet is to leave the CD/DVD drives on the regular IDE controller and put your hard drives on this card, if you were to use it.

 

[Toddlizzle]

Originally posted by: Gig103
I need this for the ATA133, not the RAID. Is this possible to do?
Also, if I wanted to, could i throw a dvd-rom on it or is it just for harddrives?

The RAID is optional. You don't have to use it.

The card also supports CD/DVD devices, but typically it's not best practice.

 

[eOlympus]

Thanks to fraeone:

Silicon Image (the company that makes the chipset) IS a name brand, their chips are in tons of products.

Here's a roundup comparing this chipset to the Promise & the Highpoint. Suprisingly enough, they pick the Sil680 in the conclusion!

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/storage/display/3-ata133-comparison.html

 

[AlexPton]

Somebody asked about Linux support.

DO NOT GET THIS IF YOU WANT TO USE LINUX AT ALL.

I have this card and it works fine in Windows, but Silicon Image is too lazy to write a Linux driver for it (for RAID functionality). For non-RAID this will work in Linux, but then it's just a glorified PCI IDE card.

Silicon Image was also extremely rude to me when I inquired about possible unofficial support for the card. I'm pretty angry about the entire purchase and wish I stayed with one of the more reputable companies such as Promise.

 

[Bad Dude]

How about this Syba for only $19 shipped? It seems to be the exact card as the one here.

 

[eOlympus]

Syba cards may not be flash upgradable so it won't be able to use new BIOS versions from Silicon Image.
The Koutech is flash upgradable.

 

[Bad Dude]

The pics looked identical. Are you sure the Syba is not flashable? How do you know the Koutech is flashable? Do you have one yourself?
Thanks.

 

[eOlympus]

I just flashed my Koutech a few days ago to the newest BIOS. The Syba has a much bigger rectangular chip which may be EPROM, which is not flashable without external hardware.

 

[Bad Dude]

Well I got the Cyba already but what do you mean external hardware?
Thanks.

 

[HoosierDadE]

Thanks. Now that I have the two WD120SEs, this should speed my system up I hope its a very noticeable amount.