3 hours ago, GreenEyedMonster said:

Does it need a fan added to it?

It probably needs some airflow over its radiator, like every passive cooler.

Depending on your case/fans setup, it might be fine or require a specific fan.

Nice video from Art of Server about LSI power consumption, this one is about -8i models, but he plans to test others in the future:

 

 

Hi all Unraiders!

I want to add 2 SATA ports to my setup. I have 6 SATA ports on the mobo, and need 2 more.

I currently have 5 data drive and 1 parity in my array.

I only have one PCIE 3.0 X1 slot left. The others are all used.

Will this MZHOU controller card work?

Does anyone have any experience with this one I've listed below?

"MZHOU 2 SATA Expansion Card, PCI-E 3.0 GEN3 JMICRON + JMB582 Chip, 6 Gbit/s Expansion Adapter Cards with Low-Profile Bracket"

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B099ZCXJLQ/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_3?smid=A1MK2DD7C33I65&th=1

Thanks!!

6 hours ago, glenner said:

Will this MZHOU controller card work?

It should.

Hi everyone I have Broadcom 9400-8i card currently connected 8 drives in my system but I've seen this card HighPoint Rocket 720L 12G SAS/ 6G SATA PCIe 3.0 HBA Controller

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/highpoint-rocket-720l-hba-controller-pcie-30-x8-16x-12gb-s-sas-6gb-s-sata-channels-4x-sff-8643-ports

I feel like it fits the direction that I'd like to take my build more. For instance I would like to put that into a x4 slot that I have on my motherboard (x16 physical slot) to push most of my hdds to the x4 slot and focus my x8 slots on the fastest network card I can get and also putting a nvme card in the other one

this is the nvme controller I want to use and the

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/8-port-highpoint-rocket-1108a-nvme-card-8x-m2-nvme-ports-pcie-30-x16-2x-fans-intelligent-switch-chip

I don't know if that controller will work.

Hi Everyone. I've read through the thread and I think I understand at least most of it.

I have been running an Unraid server for about 5 years now. But it has just worked and been trouble free. The most advanced thing I have done is to run Plex in Docker. I use it mostly as a media server and a file server for the family. Giving everyone a safer place to store their files. Right now this runs on a 10 year old HP Envy computer that has an AMD A10 7700 that has 10 core. I want to move the server to a Lenovo with a much newer i7. But the case is too small so I was hoping for an external case for at least 4 hard drives.

I'm looking at the solution listed below on Amazon. It is a four bay box that comes with a QXP-400eS-400-A1164 controller card. Am I correct in thinking that this will work without issue? There is also an 8 bay box that comes with a QXP-800eS-A1164. Does the 800 in the part number mean that is can natively handle 8 drives or is that board a multiplier?

Thank you to anyone who knows more about this than I do and is willing to help.

The link may be to the 800. You might have to click on the 4 bay in the description.

https://www.amazon.com/QNAP-TL-D800S-Enclosure-Interface-QXP-800eS-A1164/dp/B086WCRGXV/ref=sr_1_3?crid=UXI727J80ALC&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.enor6rm6F3bLFWDOlnofEemvMifI9UT8DpFUn32jK7Q.oAwF8KTAh3zjUpKAiaS5-4-G0gsM_gDhd0hUk704nOg&dib_tag=se&keywords=tl-d800s&qid=1749679363&sprefix=tl-d800%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-3&th=1

It should work.

Is this a good choice for an 8 bay system?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09FY9FBTN?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1

1 hour ago, Glenj48 said:

Is this a good choice for an 8 bay system?

That looks like the 4 x Asmedia 2 port controller, if that's correct, it's not a good option. In theory it would be OK, but I've seen users with issues with it.

Since you seem to be in the US, did you check the ebay store TheArtofServer ?

12 hours ago, JorgeB said:

That looks like the 4 x Asmedia 2 port controller, if that's correct, it's not a good option. In theory it would be OK, but I've seen users with issues with it.

It is a startech card, here's the data on it.

8 Port SATA PCIe Card - PCI Express 6Gbps SATA Expansion Adapter Card with 4 Host Controllers - SATA PCIe Controller Card - PCI-e x4 Gen 2 to SATA III - SATA HDD/SSD

SATA III (6Gbps) | PCI Express Gen 2 | PCIe x4 Slot | 2x Mini-SAS Connectors | 2x Mini-SAS to 4x-SATA Cables Included

Product ID: 8P6G-PCIE-SATA-CARD

Amazon Rating: (57 Reviews)

• HIGH-PERFORMANCE: Add eight SATA III 6Gbps ports to your desktop computer or server using a PCIe x4 Gen 2 slot to connect SATA drives (HDD/SSD); 8-Port SATA PCIe Card features 2x Mini-SAS connections with Mini-SAS to 4x locking SATA adapter cables incl.

• QUAD CONTROLLERS: This PCI Express SATA 6 card features a PCIe MUX and four 2-Port SATA host controllers; This architecture allows for eight total SATA (serial ATA) 6Gbps ports through a single x4 PCIe slot, enabling combined total throughput up to 16Gbps

• COMPATIBILITY: Supports PCIe Gen 2 & SATA III Specs, and previous generations at lower performance (SATA I/II, PCIe Gen 1); Windows (XP+), macOS (10.6.8+), Linux (2.6.32+); Improved motherboard compatibility with no bifurcation required & no built-in RAID

• EASY INSTALL: Expansion card w/ plug-and-play setup in full or low-profile PCI-e slot (full-profile bracket installed, low-profile incl); Supports storage management systems such as Storage Spaces (Microsoft) , RAID Assistant (macOS), mdraid/mdadm (Linux)

• STARTECH.COM ADVANTAGE: IT professionals choice for over 30 years; This SATA PCIe controller card converter is backed for 2-years by StarTech.com, including free 24/5 North America based multi-lingual tech support

I had ordered it and have it sitting at the house for when I get home next week. I have been fighting the in theory it should just work and am tired of it so I also ordered a 9207-8i 6Gbs SAS 2308 PCI-E 3.0 HBA IT Mode for ZFS FreeNAS unRAID 2*SFF-8087 SATA Host Bus Adapter from Amazon that will arrive by Monday and will put that one in instead and refund the startech card.

7 hours ago, ChatNoir said:

Since you seem to be in the US, did you check the ebay store TheArtofServer ?

I didn't know that store existed. I don't buy much from ebay though.

Dont know if any, have shared the latest driver I could find. for my asm1166 m.2 to 6 sata.

I flashed it earlier this week. from 220419-0000-00 to 241224-0000-00

a 256kb file but shows 512kb on card before and after flash.

because of crashing, sometime from wol.

seems stabil. but only testet for under a week :)

https://station-drivers.com/index.php/en/component/remository/Drivers/Asmedia/ASM-106x-Sata-6G-Controller/Firmwares/Asmedia-ASM-2116-116x-Sata-6G-Controller-Firmware-Version-12240000/lang,en-gb/

Anyone rocking an ASM1166 with all 6 ports in use able to comment on actual real world speed? After dealing with some other issues I seem to have settled on significant bottlenecks. I’ve not read every post in this topic in detail but I’ve so far only really seen discussions around theoretical limits and not many real in-use numbers.

Full transparency - my current build that I’ve done most testing on has USB4 to an ASM2464PD NVME enclosure with an M.2 ASM1166 installed. I’ve tried two different brand NVME enclosures, very limited testing moving the rig to my PC with dedicated M.2 slots, and done everything I can to verify that full bandwidth is hitting the M.2 slot (running with a 990 Pro ssd saturated at nearly 38000mbps - no cable/bandwidth issues there). I’ve tried 4 different ASM1166 M.2 adapters also.

All that said, when running with 6 26TB SATA drives the controller bottlenecks around 700MB/s (5500 mbps) parallel reads no matter what actions I take. This doesn’t seem consistent with Windows based benchmarks I’ve seen of M.2 ASM1166 (LevelOneTechs has a test showing it capable of hitting the nearly 2GB/s theoretical limit), but after debugging for 2 weeks now with nothing to show for it (except two corrupted disks from overheating cards as best as I can tell) - I realize I haven’t seen anyone show off Unraid using one of these at max bandwidth. Before I go crazier, can anyone verify that there aren’t any max bandwidth issues with the ASM1166 and Unraid/Linux?

11 hours ago, zerogkev said:

Anyone rocking an ASM1166 with all 6 ports in use able to comment on actual real world speed?

There's a link in the first post that tests actual speeds for multiple controllers, including that one:

https://forums.unraid.net/topic/41340-satasas-controllers-tested-real-world-max-throughput-during-parity-check/

What should i do/try with this thing? i wonder if its any good?

14 minutes ago, glancy said:

What should i do/try with this thing? i wonder if its any good?

9 ports suggests a port multiplier, but I would need to see the diags to confirm.

3 minutes ago, JorgeB said:

9 ports suggests a port multiplier, but I would need to see the diags to confirm.

couldnt give you one im afraid - its called (on AliExpress) -

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009671727159.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.67ff18026reYj6#nav-description

NEW M.2 NVME PCIE M-KEY to 9Port SATA3.0 Adapter Card Riser SATA III 6Gbps Chassis Server PC Computer Expansion Card for Desktop

About Description: 

 

Feature:

1. 100% brand new and high quality.

2. This is M.2 NVME to Sata 3.0 9 Ports expansion card.

3. Equipped with 9 Sata 3.0 ports, each port provides up to 6Gbps transmission rate.

4. Adopt high quality chip scheme, high speed and stable performance. Not only can meet the high-end transmission standards, but also has good compatibility.

5. Plug and play, convenient to use.

6. Widely compatible with Linux, Win7, Win8, Win8.1, Win10(32/64 bit), etc.



Specification:

Type: NVME to SATA3.0 Adapter Card

Size: 22x80MM

Interface: M.2 M-key NVME connector, 9x SATA3.0

Data rate: 6Gbps(each Sata port)

Apply: For Hard Disk Drive

If someone wants external M.2 over USB4 / Thunderbolt with real speeds 2500+ MB/s I have one interesting tip:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008555989592.html

• I already have 2 pieces. This external box is an honest piece of aluminium, quite thick and heavy.

• But I haven't tested it with Unraid yet. I just tested it with Macbook Air M1

Specs:

ASM2464PD M.2 enclosure compatible with M.2 PCIe Gen 4.0x4 NVMe M Key，NVMe B+M Key 
in sizes 2280/2260/2242/2230 
up to 4TB, 
NOT compatible with M.2 SATA SSDs, M.2 PCIe AHCI SSDs, M.2 PCIe devices. 
Supports system multi OS, Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Android. Plug and play, no drive and power supply required.

See my photo:

• 

See my disk speed benchmarks with Samsung 980 Pro 2TB (M.2 SSD):

• .

other screenshots/photos:

click to see:

• my second order - only 29 Eur when there was some discounts. First one I bought for 45 Eur.

• 

• +

• +

Edited September 1, 2025Sep 1 by bagican

I'm needing to expand from 8 native Sata ports to 8 more now with a future plan of another 8 more a year or 2 down the road. This is on a Z790 chipset with plans for 9-10 years of use.

I'm leaning towards a 9500 series HBA board but can't decide between the 9500-8i with a 12Gbps SAS Expander or jump to 9500-16i.

It seems the 16i has lower power consumption per port but I won't need 8 of them right away. 16i is more than double the 8i price.

8i consumes more power per port but I wouldn't need to hook up 12Gbps SAS Expander for a year or 2 and this combo is cheaper.

Does the 12Gbps SAS Expander consume much power?

First 8 drives will mostly be spinning disk with maybe a couple 2.5" sata ssd.

Do I just plan for the 8 drives expansion now or should I plan for the max of 16 drives?

7 hours ago, JeepGuy said:

First 8 drives will mostly be spinning disk with maybe a couple 2.5" sata ssd.

If it is just some SATA SSDs, maybe they don't need to be on the HBA and can be attached to the motherboard.

That would simplify your use case.

12 hours ago, ChatNoir said:

If it is just some SATA SSDs, maybe they don't need to be on the HBA and can be attached to the motherboard.

That would simplify your use case.

I guess I wasn't very clear. I'm already using the 8 onboard SATA ports. I have a more immediate need for 8 more SATA ports with a long term goal of 16 additional SATA ports to max out at 24 combined 3.5" spinning drives and 2.5" SATA ssd drives in my case.

I’ve finally decided to buy an LSI HBA card. Initially, I felt completely overwhelmed by the many different models. In the end, I narrowed my choice down to two options: the 9207-8i and the 9500-8i.

Now that I’ve chosen the 9500-8i, I started browsing eBay for listings—“Art of Server” naturally came to mind. But I’m trying to understand: what’s the difference between his card (“Art of Server”) and those offered from China? Apart from the price, I can’t spot the difference.

Art of Server: https://www.ebay.com/itm/166743234151?pfm=0
China: https://www.ebay.at/itm/197320111672

i am new to unraid and servers in general. I was wondering if i could get some help.

i have a gigabyte b760m d3hp motherboard and it has 4 Sata ports on it, but i would like 2 more ports as i have a 6 HHDs but the thing is that the gigabyte mobo has - 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, supporting PCIe 4.0 and running at x16. which i plan to use for a GPU.
- 2 x PCI Express x1 slots, supporting PCIe 3.0 and running at x1.
but i have no idea where to buy a pcie expansion card or which one to get.
( i live int he UK)