Looking for a SATA RAID5 PCI-E hardware controller suggestion

[Ryx]

I'm looking for a hardware RAID5 capable PCI-E SATA controller to replace my Highpoint RocketRAID 2320.

The current spec of the system is as follows:

Asus P6T7 WS Supercomputer
Intel i7 950 @ 3.07 ghz
6gb of RAM
350gb Raptor – boot drive
1.5tb Seagate- network drive
8 x Seagate 1.5tb drives in a RAID 5 array via a Highpoint RocketRAID 2320
Radeon 5870
Pioneer 5090 Plasma display @ 1920 x 1080
Corsair HX450W running RAID array and a 1000w supply feeding the rest

It needs to be Win 7 64 friendly, have full hardware RAID, take at least 8 drives and be quick enough for HD movie files to be accessed across the network. The RocketRAID 2320, while claiming to be hardware RAID, is far too processor hungry - in Win 7 just running the card has CPU usage sitting at 15 - 20%, in Vista it is up around 35%. It also seems to be throttling the north bridge on my P6T7 WS Supercomputer (something I barely thought possible) and killing the performance of my newly installed Radeon 5870.

Any advice would be much appreciated - price isn't too much of an issue but I'd be reluctant to go above £800.

 

[Ryx]

Just a quick update incase anyone ever searches for a similar solution - I've switched to a Highpoint RocketRAID 3560 and the performance is fantastic. HD Tune is reporting transfer rates in excess of 500mb/sec while there is no CPU usage at all. This has freed up the north bridge and allowed the 5870 to excel.

The spec of the system is now:

Asus P6T7 WS Supercomputer
Intel i7 950 @ 3.07 ghz
6gb of RAM
350gb Raptor – boot drive
2tb Seagate- network drive
9 x Seagate 1.5tb drives in a RAID 5 array via a Highpoint RocketRAID 3560 (2gb of onboard RAM)
Pioneer 5090 Plasma display @ 1920 x 1080
Corsair HX450W running RAID array and a 1000w supply feeding the rest