Test System Setup

Processor: Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 (Supplied by Intel)

Motherboard: Gigabyte P965-DQ6 (Supplied by Gigabyte)

Memory: 2x 1GB DDR2-1066 Corsair (Supplied by Corsair)

Hard Disk: 2 x 200GB Seagate 7200.9 in RAID 0

Graphics Card: MSI Radeon X1950 Pro (Supplied by MSI Australia)

Cooling: Gigabyte 3D Galaxy 2 (Supplied by Gigabyte)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP SP2

Drivers: Intel INF 8.1.1.1002

In our tests today, we are comparing the RocketRAID 2322 against the ICH8R Southbridge chipset on the Gigabyte P965-DQ6 motherboard as well as the JMicron 2 port SATA RAID controller that is built onto the board.

Both the Highpoint and JMicron use the PCI Express interface to connect to the system. The Southbridge does have advantages with its direct access to the DMI link reducing overall latency.

How will the Highpoint solution compare against its competitors? Let's take a look and investigate the performance numbers.

PCMark

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.1.0

Developer Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com

Product Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com/products/pcmark04/

Buy It Here

PCMark is a multipurpose benchmark, suited for benchmarking all kinds of PCs, from laptops to workstations, as well as across multiple Windows operating systems. This easy-to-use benchmark makes professional strength benchmarking software available even to novice users. PCMark consists of a series of tests that represent common tasks in home and office programs. PCMark also covers many additional areas outside the scope of other MadOnion.com benchmarks.

Thanks to its hardware-based RAID engine, the Highpoint controller manages to outscore the Intel ICH8R controller which uses software to control its RAID setup, requiring more CPU time which results in added latency (slower performance).