PROMISE TECHNOLOGY FAST TRAK TX2650 and TX4650

Promise has long been a manufacturer of affordable controller and RAID cards for power users, enthusiasts, including some entry-level enterprise use as well.  Typically, they launch a low-end product before building the product line with bigger cards with more advanced features, and higher prices. 

The Fast Trak TX2650 and TX4650 are two low-end SAS controller cards with RAID capabilities using a PCIe x1 interface.  As you can see, these are physically small cards, and are much more affordable than other SAS controller cards made by established storage companies.  First, meet the TX2650, the 2-port version:

Here is the 4-port version, the TX4650:

Promise's specifications are as follows:

Promise has again taped out their own SAS ASICs as seen in these two cards.  The specs above show that basic RAID functions are supported, including 5 and 10 in the 4-port model.  No external cache memory is on the PCB, so performance should be indicative of uncached throughput.  As with many SAS controllers, SATA 3Gbps is also supported.  Best of all, staggered spin-up is shown as a feature, uncommon in many other SATA RAID cards, yet truly valuable when budgeting a power supply in systems.

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