Good IDE RAID controller?

[Geeky1]

I have now had it with my SATA RAID setup. The SATA --> PATA adapters are flaky as hell, and I'm sick of screwing around with the drives for 30 minutes every time the adapters decide to flake out. I'm in the process of backing up the arrays and destroying them now; the drives will be used individually until I can replace the RAID controller.

So, can anyone recommend a good PATA RAID controller that supports at least 4 drives? I'm looking at the Promise FastTrak SX4000 and SX6000.

//EDIT
I'd prefer a caching controller.

SX4000:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=16-102-012&depa=0

SX6000:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=16-102-006&depa=0

[Gobbles]

you could not pay me to use a promise card....

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=16-116-019&depa=0

used em.. loved em, many of them...

Gobbles

[Geeky1]

How much cache does that thing have on it? The promise card will take 256MB.

[Dexter]

I have put Promise cards in many a multimedia server, and many of my clients who do their own builds use them as well. I have never had a problem, nor heard of one from my clients.

Dexter...

[fatcat]

Highpoint RocketRaid 404/454

I have been using the 404 for a awhile now and have had no problems. The 454 is the same as 404, the just added Raid-5 by default, which the 404 can do with a newer bios, but you might find more 454's availible. Has 4 connections allowing 8 HD's to be attached.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11175&item=5704575063&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=16-115-002&depa=1
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=16-115-016&depa=1

[Geeky1]

The 404 is a possibility, but it has no cache at all, which sucks.

[fatcat]

The 404 is a possibility, but it has no cache at all, which sucks.

True. How much performance increase do you get with say 128mb cache with ATA100 drives Raid-0?

[Geeky1]

I don't know, but I can tell you that my 2-disk Raid 0 arrays using Maxtor 160GB/8MB/7200RPM drives hits ~100MB/s in ATTO as it is.

[mmonnin]

And it should as those drives should it over 50MB/s on their own.:)

[gtghm]

3Ware 7500 series

[Tex]

I don't know, but I can tell you that my 2-disk Raid 0 arrays using Maxtor 160GB/8MB/7200RPM drives hits ~100MB/s in ATTO as it is.

I don't know of anyone that was happy with either of those two promise cards Geeky. Its an old design and the benchs just don't show it as really being a good design. I would rather have one of the lower end promise cards if I chose a promise solution.

If you want to really quit jacking with stuff I vote 3ware also. They have had some problems with some of their boards just like HPt and Promise etc... all have had at one time or another. But they are really head and shoulders above the other ide raid manufactures in lots of ways.

Tex