Areca displays new 12Gb/s RAID controller and Thunderbolt 2 enclosures

Computex 2014: Areca Technology displayed their newest high-performance RAID controller at Computex 2014, along with their expanding line of Thunderbolt products. This new 12Gb/s RAID controller, the ARC-1883ix-24, can handle up to 24 SATA or SATA drives but has a few new features that will distance it far from any other RAID controller on the market.

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Most RAID controllers ship with only 1GB of DDR cache, and for years Areca has led the high-performance RAID realm with their adjustable DRAM modules that allow up to 4GB of cache. The new 1833ix series allows up to a whopping 16GB of DDR3 cache on one controller. This necessitates the addition of a 6-pin connection to help power the controller, another first.

There are currently only two prototypes of this controller, and TweakTown has one for a world record attempt during Computex 2014. Stay tuned for more information on that once we begin our tests!

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Areca has also began diversifying thier product line and expanding into the Thunderbolt storage market. Areca has a long history of producing enterprise-class external enclosures, and the move to providing Thunderbolt 2 solutions is a natural fit.

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One of the particular advantages of Thunderbolt 2 is the ability to daisy-chain, much like SAS. Look to these pages soon for a product evaluation of Arecas latest Thunderbolt 2 products from out resident Thunderbolt expert Tyler Bernath.