question about hba vs. raid controller

[alternate]

performancewise the difference will enter only if write-cache is enabled, correct? and what about read-cache... which is enabled by default on my adaptec 2130slp scsi raid controller... does an hba have read cache? it doesn't have write cache write?

maybe i don't know what i'm talking about, but it sure is fun to have a raid card... ;) I have a raid card and daisy-chained configuration of eleven drives all in raid-0 that i run my os from... by the way.

system:
asus p5nt ws
intel xeon 3070
2 x 1 gb kingston hyper x sli
2 x evga 8800gtx sli (although 3dmark06 shows almost negligible improvement in score; somwhere bewteen around 10k and around 12k)
adaptec 2130slp raid controller
11 seagate cheetah 15K.4 36 GB in daisy-chain configuration in Xion enclosure (i.e., Xion atx computer case)
cooler master real power kW power supply for nzxt; seasonic s12+ 550w for Xion;
nzxt adamas, and the fit is befuzzling
four idle internal seagate cheetah 15k.4 36 GB disconnected due to instability to blame on some of the backplanes
pondering dual channel adaptec 22320 hba...

[Paul Komski]

Host adapter cards (host bus adpaters if you prefer) can be used for raid and scsi and even for a nic. The same components can be on board. The fact that the chipsets are on board versus being on an add-on card shouldnt affect the functioning of whatever chips are used.