ARECA ARC-1882I 

Unfortunately the Areca ARC-1882i arrived inside an OEM box containing the card itself, an low profile PCI bracket, two mini-SAS to SATA cables (single connectors), two screws, a quick installation guide and the software CD.

The ARC-1882i is also an 8x PCIe controller and measures 169mm in length.

Unlike the 9265-8i ontop of the dual core ROC 800MHz processor of the ARC-1882i we see both a heatsink and a small (20mm) DC fan (active cooling).

Areca chose to place the SFF8087 connectors sideways and personally i like that more than the vertical configuration used by LSI since these are easier to reach.

The ARC-1882i also has a PCI lock feature to prevent accidental removal.

Aside the perforated PCI bracket at the front of the ARC-1882i we also see an Ethernet port from which you can access the card remotely.

Both cards are almost identical in size so we decided to place them right next to each other so you can all see for yourselves.