XFX's Revo64 Serial ATA RAID card
 

SUPPORT FOR MULTI-DRIVE arrays in core-logic chipsets has made RAID more accessible to enthusiasts and mainstream users alike. Of course, high-end motherboards have supported RAID for a while, but these days it's difficult to find even a mid-range mobo that doesn't support multi-drive arrays. Heck, RAID can even be found on budget motherboards costing well under $100. And there are plenty of RAID add-in cards, too.

The market may be brimming with multi-drive goodness, but that doesn't mean that there isn't room for something new. You see, most affordable RAID solutions, be they add-in cards or motherboard implementations, are software-based solutions and lack dedicated onboard memory. Most stick to supporting a mix of RAID levels 0, 1, 10/0+1, and 5, as well. We haven't seen much in the way of RAID 3 or hardware acceleration, and that's where XFX's new Revo64 comes in. Based on technology from Netcell, the Revo64 combines byte-level striping with hardware-accelerated parity calculations and onboard memory to provide a potentially potent mix of performance and fault tolerance with as few as three hard drives. What's more, the Revo works its magic without requiring drivers, giving the card instant compatibility with newer versions of both Windows and Linux.

At first glance, the Revo64 looks too good to be true, especially considering its affordable street price. Does it live up to the hype? Join us as we explore the technology behind XFX's Revo64 and take an in-depth look at its performance.

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