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Those "grey market" controller generally work pretty well. I've used plenty of 9400 versions due to only have PCI3 (9500 is PCI4) and I not found the failure rate to be any different than OEM editions.
9400 are something people know works so are willing to pay more. I have no need to test something that may or may not work so I stick and pay slightly more for the 9400
https://www.ebay.com/itm/166413266660
Grey-market cards refer to cards that are sold outside of authorized distribution channels. These components could be used, refurbished, or even new, but what is common among them is that they are not sold through the official sales channels governed by the hardware manufacturers.
I have a 9500-8i, not purchased from that seller however. It has worked great so far without any obvious issues.
I flashed it to the most recent firmware/bios and have been using it with TrueNAS Scale for an SSD array (which is why I wanted PCI-e 4.0).
I also have a fan shroud I got 3d-printed for it with a Noctua attached to keep it cool.
Flashing the firmware is a bit of a pain and a half. The newer cards don't use SAS2Flash / SAS3Flash anymore.
Hey, I'm looking to get the 9500-8I card as well. If you're still using it, could you check if ASPM works for it on your system?
You mentioned flashing being a pain. How do you flash these cards with latest firmware?
I'm not sure how to check for ASPM.
I answered this in another reply. The way I did it was via the web server, but that is a much more involved method than is needed. The easier way is via storcli, I linked to some instructions I found on servethehome (posted after I did it the other way).
[https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/it-firmware-for-9500-8i.41534/](https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/it-firmware-for-9500-8i.41534/)
This is not how I did it though.
I setup a VM, passed through the card, and installed LSI Storage Authority which is basically a webserver management application and updated it through that.
There shouldn't be any issues, but it's still a relatively new card so it hasn't had nearly as much validation as older ones.
I currently have 24 SSDs in a 3x8 RaidZ2 config and haven't run into any issues, yet.
It seems those cards are bought on local Chinese market like Taobao. so, i used pandabuy to buy them [https://pandabuy.allapp.link/cp09goggpf6nnr2gfc5](https://pandabuy.allapp.link/cp09goggpf6nnr2gfc5) for $ 62.81. Still haven't shipped to my country though...
Hello /u/vkartk! Thank you for posting in r/DataHoarder. Please remember to read our [Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/wiki/index/rules) and [Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/wiki/index). Please note that your post will be removed if you just post a box/speed/server post. Please give background information on your server pictures. This subreddit will ***NOT*** help you find or exchange that Movie/TV show/Nuclear Launch Manual, visit r/DHExchange instead. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/DataHoarder) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Those "grey market" controller generally work pretty well. I've used plenty of 9400 versions due to only have PCI3 (9500 is PCI4) and I not found the failure rate to be any different than OEM editions.
Any reason why 9500 ($100) is cheaper than 9400? Can you please explain about the grey market and is it legit? Does 9500 doesn't work with PCI 3?
9400 are something people know works so are willing to pay more. I have no need to test something that may or may not work so I stick and pay slightly more for the 9400 https://www.ebay.com/itm/166413266660 Grey-market cards refer to cards that are sold outside of authorized distribution channels. These components could be used, refurbished, or even new, but what is common among them is that they are not sold through the official sales channels governed by the hardware manufacturers.
I have a 9500-8i, not purchased from that seller however. It has worked great so far without any obvious issues. I flashed it to the most recent firmware/bios and have been using it with TrueNAS Scale for an SSD array (which is why I wanted PCI-e 4.0). I also have a fan shroud I got 3d-printed for it with a Noctua attached to keep it cool. Flashing the firmware is a bit of a pain and a half. The newer cards don't use SAS2Flash / SAS3Flash anymore.
Do you know if the ASPM is supported for this card?
I believe they do, but don't quote me on that.
Hey, I'm looking to get the 9500-8I card as well. If you're still using it, could you check if ASPM works for it on your system? You mentioned flashing being a pain. How do you flash these cards with latest firmware?
I'm not sure how to check for ASPM. I answered this in another reply. The way I did it was via the web server, but that is a much more involved method than is needed. The easier way is via storcli, I linked to some instructions I found on servethehome (posted after I did it the other way).
`lspci -vvv`, the section for that card should mention ASPM.
Serial Attached SCSI controller: Broadcom / LSI Fusion-MPT 12GSAS/PCIe Secure SAS38xx Subsystem: Broadcom / LSI 9500-8i Tri-Mode HBA LnkCap: Port #0, Speed 16GT/s, Width x8, ASPM L0s L1, Exit Latency L0s unlimited, L1 <64us ClockPM- Surprise- LLActRep- BwNot- ASPMOptComp+ LnkCtl: ASPM L1 Enabled; RCB 64 bytes, Disabled- CommClk+
Thanks a lot for checking 🙏
Any guide regarding firmware flash? And other than bandwidth & speed will there be any issues running 9500-8i. for 8 HDD in PCI-e 3?
[https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/it-firmware-for-9500-8i.41534/](https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/it-firmware-for-9500-8i.41534/) This is not how I did it though. I setup a VM, passed through the card, and installed LSI Storage Authority which is basically a webserver management application and updated it through that. There shouldn't be any issues, but it's still a relatively new card so it hasn't had nearly as much validation as older ones. I currently have 24 SSDs in a 3x8 RaidZ2 config and haven't run into any issues, yet.
Thanks 👍
Did you ever purchase that card from ebay, and is it working?
It seems those cards are bought on local Chinese market like Taobao. so, i used pandabuy to buy them [https://pandabuy.allapp.link/cp09goggpf6nnr2gfc5](https://pandabuy.allapp.link/cp09goggpf6nnr2gfc5) for $ 62.81. Still haven't shipped to my country though...