HighPoint 2720SGL RocketRAID Controller Review – Amazing 3GB/s Recorded With 8 Crucial C400 SSDs

PCMARK VANTAGE X64 HDD SUITE

PCMark Vantage represents probably the most effective method of comparison between SSDs using ‘true to life’ scenarios.  In PCMark Vantage the data simply cannot be manipulated and a result is provided based on the transfer speeds observed in eight simulated typical user activities.  Vantage has become the ‘gold standard’ and is widely recognized by reviewers and storage enthusiasts worldwide for its ability to differentiate between any type of SSD based on a simple premise, transfer speed.

There are eight tests in all and the tests performed record the speed of data movement in MB/s to which they are then given a numerical score after all of the tests are complete. The simulations are as follows:

• Windows Defender In Use
• Streaming Data from storage in games such as Alan Wake which allows for massive worlds and riveting non-stop action
• Importing digital photos into Windows Photo Gallery
• Starting the Vista Operating System
• Home Video editing with Movie Maker which can be very time consuming
• Media Center which can handle video recording, time shifting and streaming from Windows media center to an extender such as XBox
• Cataloging a music library
• Starting applications

With this battery of tests, the previous drivers scores 49097 overall, while the new drivers score an impressive 60828. There are very solid gains across the board in all categories, highlighting the complete improvement in every aspect that the new drivers bring.

CONCLUSION

The HighPoint 2720SGL is an excellent controller with a very impressive feature set, that of which was shown in our initial in depth review of the 2720SGL.

Our main focus in this report was to demonstrate the substantial performance gain through use of the new driver set.  In these results, we unexpectedly found that the new drivers deliver truly unheard of performance from a single RAID controller. It is very surprising that this little RAID controller can outperform some of the most expensive enterprise-class controllers on the market, delivering big with 3+GB/s speeds!

Kudos to HighPoint for updating the drivers so extensively without re-branding and selling the 2720SGL at a premium. This goes against the grain as other companies have made it commonplace to sell identical hardware with ‘tweaked firmware’ for a higher price. Highpoint could have easily done just that, in this case, but chose the satisfaction of customers instead which will prove to go a long way.

This new class of RAID controller, pioneered by HighPoint, is definitely blurring the line between enterprise and consumer RAID controllers. This controller could be equally at home in a server or in a gaming computer.

While this the 2720SGL has RAID 5 and RAID 6 functionality, its lack of cache does penalize it in the write performance of these raidsets. This would be well suited for HDDs with RAID 5 and RAID 6, but lacking the write caching that more expensive RAID controllers have, I would recommend for SSD usage that this product primarily be utilized in RAID 0.

In the end, What it does well, it does exceedingly well. The RAID 0 performance is simply off the charts. The price point of $160 USD was already an excellent deal with the performance originally seen in reviews, however, with new drivers pushing transfer speed to the next level, the price is truly phenomenal!

JOIN US IN THE FORUMS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION AND EXCLUSIVE RAID 5 AND RAID 6 TEST RESULTS!

See Highpoint Controller Prices on Amazon.