Hello all,I’m looking for some input into if I’m looking at the best options for an HBA card to expand my storage capacity for my Windows 10 machine. Right now I’ve got 4 drives in my tower, and two drives externally hooked up via USB, as I don’t have enough SATA ports on my motherboard to put everything internal.

I have two PCIE x16 slots open, one with an x8 data lane and one with an x4 (as well as 3 x1 slots, but those I’m assuming are too slow to use for multiple HDDs). I have a Fractal Design Define 7XL, so I can fit a lot of HDDs it into for my future needs, I just need to be sure that I’m set for at least 8 new HDDs before I consider adding either a second HBA card or upgrading to one with more ports.

The below table are the cards I’ve looked at that MIGHT work for me, but I’m honestly not certain on how good the brands are (aside from StarTech and LSI), or whether there are better options out there.

I know that there is a lot of knowledge in this subreddit, and I really appreciate if anyone can steer me in the right/better direction on this.

Thanks in advance for any help!