March 31, 2004
Hardware RAID for Power Mac G5
Lately I've been thinking that I should take better care of my data. A hard disk in an old PC of mine died. Fortunately the data on it wasn't important, but it made me think how much data I'd lose if my G5's drive died. I'd like to setup a RAID mirror on my G5 to protect against data loss. Apple has software RAID support in Mac OS X, but I'm wary of software RAID. There are often compatibility and booting issues with software RAID. Also, according to XLR8YourMac.com , using Apple's software RAID to create a mirror can reduce disk performance by up to 40%, which is unacceptable.
As for hardware RAID, there seem to be a number of external Firewire solutions , but most of them are very expensive, and overkill for what I want to do. I'd also prefer internal RAID, since I plan on making the RAID mirror my startup drive. The only product I've seen that fits my needs is the Acard AEC-6890M . It supports hardware RAID 0 and 1 using Serial ATA drives. The problem is that I haven't been able to find many reviews of the card. Also, the company's web page is a bit difficult to navigate, and doesn't inspire total confidence that updated drivers will be available (if needed) for future Mac OS X revisions. I have seen a few good reports on the card on messages boards, though.
Anybody ever dealt with Acard, especially with their RAID cards?
Posted by Dirtae at March 31, 2004 02:55 PMI'm pretty sure I read that that card is not actually hardware raid. It's firmware. I too am still looking for a SATA hardware raid card, found this: www.provantage.com/buy-73WAR01H-escalade-9500s-4-port-pci-profile-sata-raid-card-3ware-4lp-shopping.htm
Posted by: Kevin at May 21, 2004 10:09 PMAnnoyingly, the cheapest AEC-6890M I can find is 160 or 170, but the AEC-6890 (the PC version) is $100 less. Anyone know if the PC version can be used in the mac, either by flashing it or by installing the correct drivers?
Posted by: John Joseph Bachir at June 18, 2004 11:46 AM
