StarTech.com 2 Port PCI Express 2.0 SATA III 6Gbps RAID Controller Card w/ 2 mSATA Slots and HyperDuo SSD Tiering
The PEXMSATA3422 PCI Express SATA Card helps you improve the overall speed and storage capacity of your computer by giving you multiple 6 Gbps SATA connections for connecting high-performance SSDs (Solid State Drives) and hard drives in a HyperDuo array. Now, you can easily add two mSATA slots and two SATA III ports to your computer through a single PCIe x4 slot.
Featuring HyperDuo technology, the SATA card offers SSD auto-tiering which lets you balance the performance advantages of SSD storage with the cost-effectiveness and large capacity of standard hard drives. By combining SSD and HDD drives into a single volume (up to 3 SSD + 1 HDD), HyperDuo discreetly works in the background to identify and move frequently accessed files to the faster SSD drive(s) for improved data throughput - up to 80% of SSD performance! (Note: The HyperDuo automatic storage tiering feature is compatible with computers that use a BIOS.)
This versatile RAID controller card helps to relieve the internal space constraints often associated with multi-drive configurations by letting you install two mSATA SSDs directly to the card via convenient, latching slots. With dual mSATA slots, as well as two internal SATA ports, the card offers an effective hardware RAID solution, with native RAID (0, 1) support.
The PCIe SATA controller also offers Port Multiplier (PM) support, so you can connect multiple SATA drives to just one port, for a total of 7 drives (up to 4 drives through PM on one port, plus a single drive to the other SATA port and two mSATA slots).
For added versatility, the controller card is equipped with a standard profile bracket and includes a low-profile/half-height bracket for installation in small form-factor computers.
Throughput Benchmark
Drive configuration Throughput Drive size 1 x HDD 112.81 MB/s 2 TB 1 x SSD 490.28 MB/S 120 GB 1 x HDD + 1 x SSD HyperDuo (Safe Mode) 489.28 MB/s 2 TB 1 x HDD + 2 x SSD HyperDuo (Safe Mode) 715.13 MB/s 2 TB Drives Used: SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 Series 2.5" 120 GB (VTX3-25SAT3-120G) HDD: Western Digital Caviar Green 3.5" 2 TB (WD20EARS) Software Used: IO Meter, 256KB Sequential Read, queue depth = 10Backed by a StarTech.com 2-year warranty and free lifetime technical support.
- On-board latching mSATA slots - SSD installation with no screws required
- Supports Native Command Queuing (NCQ) and ATA/ATAPI commands
- Supports TRIM command with compatible SSD and Operating System
- Simple HyperDuo configuration via card BIOS or intuitive GUI console (Windows? only)
- Compliant with PCI Express 2.0 standards
- Port Multiplier FIS-based and Command-based switching supported
- Fully compliant with SATA 3.0 specifications and backward compatible with SATA I/II (1.5/3.0Gbps) drives
- Supports hardware RAID 0 and 1 modes
- 2 mSATA SSD slots and 2 AHCI SATA III (6 Gbps) ports through PCI Express
- Supports HyperDuo SSD auto-tiering, merging SSD performance with HDD capacity