I can live with only four or eight ports.
This opens up alternatives in terms of cards, if you decide to go ahead and get a different card (or a replacement for the one you have, though I'm still not certain it's the card that's defective; still acts more like software/drivers in terms of the file size and Finder issues).
For example, you could look at a hybrid card (internal + external ports). Specifically, the
ATTO R644.
BTW, as a general rule, I usually recommend getting 4x additional ports than is needed initially, as it's cheaper to add disks than it is to replace them when you need to add capacity (puts you into a sort of tick-tock cycle like Intel uses with their CPU designs). One cycle = add disks, the next you replace them.
One of the key items in my RAID card selection is that it is fanless (that was a HUGE consideration in this purchase, as those postage stamp fans make a ton of noise. I actually removed the two fans from my IcyDock 4 bay hot swap enclosure that sits in my optical bay right now for that very reason (and the fact that SSDs generate almost nil for heat even in a Mac Pro).
It depends on the actual fan used.
For example, those used on Areca RAID cards, aren't loud (they don't run at high rpm), but those used in 4 bay Hot Swap/Hot Plug enclosures (4x 2.5" in a single 5.25" bay), spin like mad, and tend to make enough racket to wake the dead.
Noise takes a back seat to cooling in enterprise grade gear (expectation of equipment located in data center/equipment closet/enclosed rack).
These are the criteria I have for RAID card purchasing:
1) Fanless. Fans drive me batty. I used to have a MDD DP 1.2 GHz FW800 G4. It resides with my cousin about eight miles away. I think I can still hear him use it from here.
2) Capable of JBOD/Passthrough. Necessary for a boot volume to be reliable without the RAID headaches.
3) Bootable (if possible). I'd love booting off a wicked fast drive, but the Intel 80GB with no raid card boots in 7 seconds so not a huge "must have" need
4)
Must be x4 or x8 in total accessible link width.
5)
Must have internal ports. A single external port would also be nice as I can use an SFF-8088 -> 4x eSATA (expensive) cable for my external enclosures, but the internal ports are a must. I've limited desk space and internal = easy as pie to deal with and no worrying about turning everything on before the computer.
Areca or ATTO have products that meet these.
It's just the issue with the Finder and file size that's dogging you (as I mentioned, this still leaves me with the impression of a software/driver issue, not defective hardware).
Doesn't mean it's not a PITA, or untenable. That's why I suggested the ATTO.
The RocketRAID cards that use the Marvell controllers (6Gbps models) have each Marvell controller internally at x1 link, and on a PCI-E 1.0 slot, that's 250 MB/sec (500 MB/sec on a PCI-E 2.0 slot). That's no better than what I have now so that's the reason I'm avoiding RocketRAID - their Marvell controllers are internally limited to x1 width each, which means that each port (two for each Marvell controller) gets only 125MB/sec on my machine. That and they couldn't be arsed to put in four pathetically easy vendor/subsystem IDs into their .kext so the RR640 would run in a Mac Pro like the 644 does (640 and 644 are identical from a component standpoint, and differ only in form factor and location of ports).
Many of the cheap 6.0Gb/s SATA/eSATA cards use chips like this, due to the need for low cost and the way PCIe lanes are configured (can't do a 2x lane design).
In the case of Highpoint, I don't trust their products, especially their RAID cards. Though on occasion, they will do the job (i.e. need a cheap eSATA/SATA card to add a disk or two).
I was really hoping the Areca card would work. It's one of the very few that has variable upgradeable cache, and from everything I've seen in the reviews, it's pretty much the fastest thing out there for that price range. Unfortunately, OS X can't seem to handle any read operation larger than 65.8 MB, and can't copy ANY file of any size to/from the RAID card mounted disks. In fact it can't even copy between the disks controller solely by the Areca card.
It should though, and others that use them, haven't run into this issue.
This is why I'm thinking the drivers and/or OS installation may be corrupted, and suggested a clean download of the SL drivers with a new, clean copy of the clone.
I did see that it's recent, but something could have gone wrong (corruption, or piece of something that's causing a conflict).
I can't recommend enough, that you give this a try before giving up and returning everything.
I may bite the bullet and try to get a 3.2 GHz SP 2010 Mac Pro. It doesn't have 6Gbps SATA, but it is up to date, and even if it ships with Lion I can just wipe that and use SL instead. Plus I'll get HDMI audio out on the video card, which only the 2010 firmware supports (it's actually hardcoded either in the OS or the card's ROM to only work on that firmware).
This would solve the PCIe lane configuration, and isn't a bad idea anyway (Gen 1.0 slots are ancient now, and it's a problem for you from what I gather).
But a RAID solution would work in this machine, and I expect the current card you're testing.
If you've access to a PC, test the card in that, and see if it still has the file size issue. I think you'd discover it works just fine.
Even testing Windows on your current machine would reveal if it's a software issue rather than card, but if there's an issue with the system's firmware, that would still be present (hence the recommendation to test in a PC for Windows if at all possible).
My fingers are raw from turning screwdrivers and thumbscrews all week.
That happens. Welcome to my world.
Finally got the connector loose. Thank god I have jeweler's flatblade screwdrivers handy. That's what it took to get into the connector housing to push down on the SAS latch.
Glad you got it loose without damaging the card.
I'm done with the RAID bit.
I know it's been difficult, but don't give up just yet. The reward really is worth it, and you're learning some valuable information (lot more to learn once you experiment with RAID levels and see how the card will react in a failure condition - simulate by pulling a disk in an active, Normal set for example).
Nanofrog: You've been immensely helpful, and for that I'm very grateful. I'll try to pay it forward with areas where I'm suited to help others.
NP.
I'm dead serious though about the SAS connector design. They could build and design a better latching system than this one, and make it on a connector that isn't so frail.
It's not as frail as you might think (suspect you got a bad one, as QC these days is in the dumpster), and it has to be tight to be sure of good contact (keep in mind, the signal voltages of SATA is 600mV; so things like contact resistance due to a poor connection can cause all kinds of hell). Not so much with SAS, as those signals run at 20V.
I keep a backup of my drives, a backup of that backup, and a 2TB HD to back both of my backups at once (for reversioning/regression testing/recovery)...
Glad you didn't have to learn this the hard way during this endeavor.
Unfortunately, it's a common mistake, particularly when RAID is involved. I can't count the number of times I've seen people use RAID with ZERO backup system in place, or post that they've the impression backups are not necessary.
So I respond every time I see such things, in hopes that they don't have to learn by suffering a total disaster first.
I had the same problem with one of my 8087 connectors. I tried my jeweler's screwdrivers, too... but never did get it free. I just left it on there.
Pull the card out if you can, when you attempt to lever it out (get the screwdriver between the shield and the retaining clip, and lift up = pushes the retaining clip down, while lifting <bowing> the shield up simultaneously).
If you don't have a screwdriver thin enough to do this, get one. You should be able to find a cheap set of flat blade screw drivers (or get a single from Sears, if you have one close enough).
Should be able to find what you need for ~$5, so not expensive. You might even spend more in gas than the screwdriver, depending on where you live.
