The 5 Best SA HBA Cables (2023 reviews)

10gtek sa hba cable is the epitome of what a great cable should be. Cables look top notch and have enough flexibility to wire thru cable holders inside the server. It works for connecting an older mini-sas controller to a newer mini-sas hd backplane.

Why We Like This:

Issues with data loss or reduced speeds
Great cables, really help to save space in the new build
Delivers what they promise

Best With vmware Esxi: LSI SA HBA Cable

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Lsi makes beautiful and great cable with classic and smartly choosen materials. It supports Windows 10 and windows server along with many flavors of Linux, Solaris and FreeBSD. It provides 8 SATA ports and, unlike the other SATA boards, is actually bandwidth provisioned for these drives (overprovisioned actually for 6 Gbps SATA drives) with PCIe 3.0 x. It can drive 8 sata drives at 12gbps across both ports. It will do 12Gbs from the drives through the controller and onto the bus.

This controller works faster than the perc710p that currently loads the os. It fits properly, the driver is simple enough to locate and load. It provides increased connectivity and maximum performance for high-end servers and appliances within internal storage, or connecting to large scale storage enclosures. It is compatible with previous sas and pcie generations through automatic negotiation, and provides sas data transfer rates of 6gbps and 3gbps per lane, and sata data transfer rates of 3gbps per lane.

Why We Like This:

Works well in a 2u case with windows server 2016 storage spaces
Include full height and lowprofile brackets
Simple installation with no firmware update required

Best For extra Hard Drives: Startech SA HBA Cable

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Compared with other cable in this category, the startech sa hba cable has a convenient design. It is indeed a hardware raid with its own raid bios. It comes with two pigtails that plug into the two mini-sas ports through a single x4 pcie slot, enabling combined total throughput up to 20gbps. It is great for extra hard drives and hot swap. It includes marvell storage utility software for monitoring raid status from within windows.

It uses 2 lanes, for a max of 8gbit / sec. It can be used in a Ubuntu software raid 5 environment. It includes marvellous storage utility software for monitoring raid status from within windows.

Why We Like This:

Supports sata port multiplier for additional ports
Style cabling and reliable drive connections
Good addition to add sata 3 ports to older systems
Worked plug and play with windows 8 and did not require any additional drivers

Best With Mostall: 10Gtek Internal PCI Express Card

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The 10gtek internal pci express card gives the top-tier cable a run for their money by offering flagship specs at a much more affordable price. This one requires a slot for the graphic pci/pcie card slot. It provides high-performance internal storage connectivity for servers and workstations. It is based on 10gtek sas 2008 controller that integrates the latest enhancements in pcie 2.0 technology and 6gb/s sas technology. It includes a full-height bracket and low-profile mounting bracket that creates a universal fit for any server.

This card has current drivers for W10 and Linux. It provides eight lanes of 6gb/s sas connectivity and is matched with eight lanes of pcie 2.0 5gb/s performance. This helps with tidiness and chassis airflow.

Why We Like This:

Works great, easy to install, no drivers needed
Good choice for low-end home nas
Works well if you need to connect 4-8 hdds
Worked perfectly for an unraid server sata ports expansion

Best With PCI E: LSI Logic SA HBA Cable

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If you often find yourself scrambling for appropriate and satisfactory cable, lsi logic sa hba cable is your solution. It provides high performance for internal drive connectivity in 1u/2u servers and workstations. It is designed to be used in a server, so in desktop cases you'll want a fan blowing some air over that heat sink. The card supports 256 SATA or SAS devices and has plenty of bandwidth to handle many drives. All the internal cables have enough slack to reach the back instead of the middle of the case. Switching plugs between this and the motherboard sata slots have no issues with either Windows RAID or Storage Spaces.

There are also slot-adapters available, which permit you to put an x8/x16 card into a physical x4 slot.

Why We Like This:

Come with both normal and low profile brackets
6 gbits for better io performance
Simple, effective easy sata port expansion for home server
Perfect hba adapter for zfs on linux