Conclusion...

Given the 29160's tendency to retail for about $100 more than the DC-390U3W ($300 vs $200, on average), we're somewhat disappointed with the Adaptec's performance. We expected the 29160 to perform significantly better than the DC-390U3W to justify its higher cost - what we found, however, was somewhat worse performance. In IOMeter, both cards score virtually the same in all tests under linear and very light loads. And although the 29160 takes a significant lead under light load in the multi-drive tests, it falls behind the DC-390U3W under moderate and heavy load in almost every one of our tests. Both cards turn in similar WinBench performance; however, IOMeter better represents the applications that these cards are targeted towards (high-end workstations and entry-level servers).

With that in mind, we have a hard time recommending the 29160 over the DC-390U3W. The only reason to pay more for the 29160 would be to have a card with the Adaptec name on it. To how many readers does this apply?