The ECS05 from SilverStone is a highly powerful, versatile expansion card for a PCI Express x8 slot (Generation 3.0, backward compatible; can also be used in an x16 slot), which significantly expands the connection options for hard drives and SSDs in the computer and provides extensive RAID modes.

It can manage up to eight hard drives or SSDs with SATA or SAS connections (depending on the type of drive used and the corresponding optional connection cables) from the controller card, with two Mini-SAS-HD outputs (Type SFF8643) available on the board for connecting appropriate, separately purchased cables, such as 1x Mini-SAS-HD to 4x SATA.

The SilverStone SST-ECS05 features the 1.2 GHz "LSI SAS 3008" chip (also known from the LSI MegaRAID 9311-8i), which allows for the configuration of storage media in RAID 0, 1, 1E, or 10. Thanks to the PCIe 3.0 connection with 8 lanes, a sufficiently high bandwidth of a total of 64 Gbit/s is provided for the HDDs/SSDs. An additional alternative low-profile bracket is included with the RAID controller.

Note: No cables are included to connect drives to the two Mini-SAS-HD outputs (SFF8643) of the controller card. These must be purchased separately, for example, in the form of ZUSA-216 from the Caseking range.

Technical details:

• Dimensions: 120 x 23 x 154 mm (W x H x D)
• Weight: approx. 91 g
• Controller: LSI SAS 3008
• Interface: PCI Express 3.0 x8 (max. 64 Gbit/s)
• Connections: 2x Mini-SAS-HD (SFF8643)
• Compatible drives: 8x SAS (up to 12 Gb/s) or SATA (SATA 6G/SATA II/SATA I)
• Supported RAID modes: 0, 1, 1E, 10
• Package contents:
• RAID controller card
• Low-profile bracket
• Driver and software CD
• No cables included.