P-ATA RAID: 3Ware 7000-2 or Promise SX6000?

[Matt Staroscik]

I have posted recently about my fight with an Adaptec 2400A. Short version: 
I am losing! It's time to consider plan B, so I am researching other RAID 
hardware choices.

I am looking for a bootable, true hardware P-ATA RAID controller that will 
let me create a RAID-1 mirror to safeguard my boot volume. This will be for 
my home web/email/file server, so I do not require blistering speed. I also 
do not require the ability to rebuild the array while the system is up -- 
using the card's BIOS will be fine, I can take the downtime. In fact I 
PREFER to do all RAID management in the BIOS.

I do require compatibility with Maxtor DiamondPlus 9 160GB drives 
(6Y160P0), because I already have them. I also need a FreeBSD command-line 
tool to tell me how healthy the RAID is. Ideally I would get a card with 
support for more than 2 drives so I can add more mirrored storage down the 
road.

Cost is always a concern, of course, but reliability and ease of use are 
more important.

While the Adaptec 2400A caused me all kinds of problems under load, it 
otherwise had great features. The BIOS utility was easy to use, FreeBSD was 
able to boot from it, and there were FreeBSD tools to check the RAID 
status. It worked great, except for those kernel panics. ;)

I have narrowed it down to 2 choices. (if I am overlooking anything, please 
LMK!)

3ware 7000-2
Pros: Less expensive, twe driver in GENERIC kernel.
Cons: Supports 2 drives only so I have to buy another one if I want to add 
more RAID-1 storage; no option to add hefty cache
Open issues: I have read a lot of posts hinting at incompatibilities with 
some HDs, and problems rebuilding arrays. What's the deal? And is it 
bootable? Haven't seem explicit verification of that. Does the BIOS let you 
do complete RAID management?

Promise SX6000
Pros: Much more capable with support for 6 drives and loads of cache RAM.
Cons: Expensive
Open Issues: FreeBSD bootable? Does the BIOS let you do complete RAID 
management? which driver and are there known issues?

Currently I am leaning towards the 7000-2, but MANY thanks for your input 
on this matter!

Best,
Matt