X58 and LSI HBA Performance
The LSI SAS9211 Spitfire HBA card was inserted in to the last orange PCIEx8 slot on the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-OC motherboard. The reason is simple: the board has plenty of PCIE bus bandwidth to go around and I wanted optimal performance. Here are screenshots to draw your own conclusions.
Corsair Force 3 120GB SSD
Corsair Force GT 120GB SSD
Kingston HyperX 120GB SSD
Patriot Memory Pyro 60GB SSD
Patriot Memory Pyro 120GB SSD
Patriot Memory Wildfire 120GB SSD
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SSD
Patriot Memory Inferno 120GB SSD
As you can see, the SATA 6Gb/s performances increases noticeably across all the SSDs. The X58 and LSI HBA combination provides each SSD with ample room to stretch. In the end, the scores are very close with the exception of the Pyro 60GB which is expected to be a little slower although much faster than the Inferno 120GB. The HyperX just beats the pack in test averages.
The bottom line here is if you’re looking for the most performance, a full speed X58 and LSI HBA card are what the doctor orders.