Best RAID Controllers of 2025

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RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) controllers are hardware devices used to manage multiple hard drives as a single logical unit for improved performance, reliability, and data protection. These controllers come in different types, including hardware RAID, software RAID, and hybrid RAID. They are commonly used in servers, workstations, and high-performance computing environments. RAID controllers offer a range of benefits, including improved data access times, reduced risk of data loss, and simplified storage management. They are recommended for businesses and individuals looking to enhance their storage capabilities and protect their data.
At a Glance: Our Top Picks
Top 10 RAID Controllers
StarTech.com 4-Port PCIe SATA RAID Controller
The StarTech.com SATA Controller Card allows you to easily add four SATA III 6Gbps ports to your desktop or server. This is particularly useful for connecting additional hard drives or SSDs, enhancing your storage capabilities. With its Marvell RAID controller, you can configure JBOD or RAID modes to suit your data management needs. The HyperDuo feature intelligently allocates frequently accessed files to a faster SSD, improving access speeds. Furthermore, the easy installation process ensures you can set it up without hassle.
StarTech.com M.2 SSD RAID Controller with SATA Ports
The StarTech.com RAID Controller enhances your storage capabilities by adding two internal M.2 SATA ports and two SATA ports via PCIe. This allows you to set up hardware RAID configurations or add extra storage drives easily. It supports various RAID levels, providing flexibility for your data management needs. The wide compatibility with different drive sizes ensures that you can integrate this controller into your existing system without hassle, making it a perfect fit for your storage upgrades.
IO Crest 8 Port SATA III Controller Card
The IO Crest SATA Controller is designed to enhance your storage capabilities with its advanced features. It utilises an ASM1806 PCIe bridge, removing the need for a Port Multiplier, which allows you to enjoy maximum bandwidth per port. With support for communication speeds of up to 6.0 Gbps, you can expect fast data transfers, making it ideal for demanding applications. The controller also supports Native Command Queue (NCQ), improving the efficiency of operations. Additionally, the hot plug and hot swap capabilities ensure that you can easily manage your drives without powering down your system.
LSI 9201-8i RAID Controller Card with SFF-8087
The LSI 9201-8i Controller offers impressive features for users needing efficient data management. With a robust data transfer rate of 6Gbps, you can expect quick and reliable access to your data, enhancing overall performance. The use of IT Mode firmware ensures compatibility with various systems, making installation straightforward. Additionally, the dual Mini-SAS SFF8087 connectors provide flexibility for connecting multiple drives, allowing for expanded storage options. This means you can easily scale your system to meet your growing data needs.
Broadcom MegaRAID SAS 9361-8i Controller
The Broadcom MegaRAID 9361-8i is a powerful RAID controller designed to enhance your data management. With its compatibility for DDR3 SDRAM, you can expect improved performance and efficiency in data processing. This product's robust features ensure that you can effectively manage storage devices, providing better data protection and reliability. By utilising this controller, you can streamline your system's performance, making it an excellent choice for users looking to optimise their storage solutions.
LSI SAS 9207-8i 8-Port HBA Kit
The LSI SAS 9207-8i is an advanced 8-port HBA kit that features 6Gb/s SAS and SATA connections. With eight internal ports, you can easily connect multiple SSDs, HDDs, or tape drives, enhancing your storage capabilities. The PCI Express 3.0 interface ensures high-speed data transfer, ideal for bandwidth-intensive applications. Additionally, the two x4 internal mini-SAS connectors provide flexibility in configuring your storage setup, allowing you to tailor your system to your needs.
Supermicro AOC-S3108L-H8IR RAID Controller
The Supermicro RAID Controller offers a low-profile interface that supports both SATA 6Gb/s and SAS 12Gb/s, ensuring versatile connectivity options for your storage needs. With a data transfer rate of 1.2 Gbps, you can expect efficient data handling, which is crucial for maintaining system performance. It supports multiple RAID levels, including RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60, allowing you to choose the best configuration for your data protection and performance requirements. Additionally, its PCIe 3.0 bus type provides a fast and reliable connection, enhancing overall system efficiency.
LSI Logic SAS9211-8I 8-Port RAID Controller
The LSI Logic SAS9211-8I offers a robust solution as a SAS RAID Controller with a PCI Express x8 interface. This allows for efficient data transfer and connectivity to your system. Supporting up to 256 physical drives, it provides scalability for users looking to expand their storage capabilities. With its advanced RAID functionality, you can enhance data protection and improve performance, giving you peace of mind and faster access to your critical data.
LSI MegaRAID SAS 9260-4i RAID Controller Kit
The LSI MegaRAID SAS 9260 offers four internal 6Gb/s SATA and SAS ports, allowing you to connect multiple drives easily. It also features a Mini-SAS internal connector for added flexibility in drive connections. With 512MB of 800MHz DDRII cache memory, this controller enhances data processing speeds significantly, improving your overall system performance. Supporting RAID levels 0, 1, 5, and 6, it provides various configurations to ensure your data is safe and optimised for performance, giving you peace of mind and efficiency.
HP Smart Array P408i-p SR Gen10 Storage Controller
The HP P408i-p Storage Controller is a reliable RAID controller designed to enhance your computer's storage capabilities. With eight channels supporting SATA 6Gb/s and SAS 12Gb/s, it offers impressive data transfer speeds of up to 1.2 GBps, ensuring that you can efficiently manage large amounts of data. The various RAID options, including levels 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60, provide flexibility for your data security and performance needs. Weighing just 0.454 kg, it is lightweight and easy to handle, making installation straightforward for users.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What are the types of RAID controller?
RAID controllers contain and manage the guidelines or protocols to achieve this task. There are many classifications of RAID. Commonly used RAID types include RAID 0 (Data Striping), RAID 1 (Disk Mirroring) and RAID 5 controller (Striping with Distributed Parity).
2. Do I need a RAID controller?
RAID 5 and 6 will get you significantly improved read performance. But write performance is largely dependent on the RAID controller used. For RAID 5 or 6, you will most certainly need a dedicated hardware controller. This is due to the need to calculate the parity data and write it across all the disks.
3. What is a RAID 5 controller?
RAID 1 - makes a copy of data on at least two disks without parity information, striping or spanning disk space across multiple disks. RAID 5 - distributes data across two or more disks with distributed parity.
4. What is SAS RAID controller?
SAS Controllers have all but replaced SATA controllers on the mid and high-end because they are compatible with both high performance SAS hard drives and high capacity SATA drives.
During our raid controller research, we found 235 raid controller products and shortlisted 10 quality products. We collected and analyzed 8,035 customer reviews through our big data system to write the raid controllers list. We found that most customers choose raid controllers with an average price of £123.15.
The raid controllers are available for purchase. We have researched hundreds of brands and picked the top brands of raid controllers, including StarTech.com, IO Crest, LANPAN, LSI, Supermicro.

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