HighPoint Rocket 640L
A budget 4-port SATA 6Gb/s host bus adapter on a PCIe 2.0 x4 card that adds four internal SATA connections for hard drives and SSDs, with AHCI compliance and native Linux and FreeBSD support.
- Budget
- Homelab
- Backups
Works with
- Any x8 PCIe 4.0 or PCIe 3.0 slot that accepts a low-profile card; servers and workstations
- Drives and enclosures with SFF-8643 cabling: 12Gb/s, 6Gb/s and 3Gb/s SAS, 6Gb/s and 3Gb/s SATA targets, including 512e and 4Kn drives and SAS tape devices
- Operating systems: Windows/Windows Server, macOS, SLES, RHEL, CentOS, Fedora, VMware ESXi, FreeBSD, illumos
In the box
ATTO ExpressSAS SAS/SATA adapter and low-profile bracket (per the maker: all finished-goods 1208GT SKUs include the adapter and a low-profile bracket)
Is it for you?
An 8-port internal 12Gb/s SAS/SATA host bus adapter on an x8 PCI Express 4.0 interface, with built-in ATTO PowerCenter Pro RAID (0, 1, 1e, 10) and support for up to 2048 attached targets, sold as SKU ESAH-1208-GT0.
Choose it if these matter
- 12Gb/s per SAS lane over an x8 PCIe 4.0 host interface: dense direct-attached storage bandwidth for internal drive arrays and JBODs
- Onboard PowerCenter Pro RAID 0, 1, 1e and 10 included, so basic protection needs no separate RAID card or software
- Broad OS support including macOS, VMware ESXi, FreeBSD and illumos, which many consumer-grade SAS cards do not cover
- Supports up to 2048 targets and dual-port SAS drives, enough headroom for large JBOD enclosures
Skip it if these rule it out
- Internal-only connectors (2x SFF-8643): external enclosures need a different model such as the H1280 GT
- 8 internal ports with no boot-from-SAS is a niche: buyers who just need one or two SATA drives get no benefit over chipset ports
- ATTO links no Amazon listing for this model from its own site; it sells through its own store and resellers, so the exact SKU ESAH-1208-GT0 must be searched for
- Requires 100 LFM minimum airflow and a low-profile slot; needs break-out cables (SFF-8643) that are not included
Good for: Homelab · Media server · Backups
Which version should you buy?
Selected package: H1208 GT (ESAH-1208-GT0), 8 internal ports.
Selected package
H1208 GT, 8 internal ports
This pageModel: H1208 GT
- What differs
- 8 internal SAS/SATA ports via 2 SFF-8643 connectors; SKU ESAH-1208-GT0.
- Best for
- Inside-the-box drive arrays in a server or workstation.
Related models and generations
H120F GT, 16 internal ports Model: H120F GT
Same x8 PCIe 4.0 design with 16 internal ports via 4 SFF-8643 connectors.
Denser internal arrays needing more than 8 drives.
H1280 GT, 8 external ports Model: H1280 GT
Same design with 8 external ports via 2 SFF-8644 connectors.
External JBOD enclosures.
H1244 GT, 4 external + 4 internal ports Model: H1244 GT
Mixed internal and external cabling, 1 of each connector type.
Mixed internal and enclosure-based storage.
Watch out
- The GT series is PCIe 4.0: older ExpressSAS 12Gb cards without 'GT' in the model name are PCIe 3.0 and slower per lane.
- Check the connector type before buying: H1208 GT is internal-only (SFF-8643); external enclosures need an H1280 GT (SFF-8644).
- Cables are not included: an H1208 GT needs SFF-8643 breakout or fan-out cables matched to your drives or backplane.
Alternatives to consider
HighPoint Rocket 710L
An 8-channel 12Gb/s SAS and 6Gb/s SATA host bus adapter on a half-height PCIe 3.0 x8 card, with two SFF-8643 internal ports that each host up to four drives through certified breakout cables.
- Homelab
- Backups
QNAP QXG-10G2SF-NXE
- Fastest wired port
- 10 Gbps
A PCIe Gen3 x8 network expansion card with two 10GbE SFP+ ports, built on a Broadcom BCM57412 controller, for QNAP NAS models and Windows, Ubuntu and Windows Server machines.
- Multi-gig internet
- Homelab
- Media server
Full specifications (18)
- Model / SKU
- H1208 GT; SKU ESAH-1208-GT0
- Host interface
- x8 PCI Express 4.0 (mechanical and electrical), backward compatible with x8 PCIe 3.0 hosts; low-profile form factor
- Ports
- 8 internal SAS/SATA ports via 2 Mini SAS HD (x4) SFF-8643 internal connectors
- SAS speeds
- 12Gb/s per SAS lane, backward compatible with 6Gb/s and 3Gb/s SAS and SATA targets; up to 15GB/s aggregate bandwidth (maker spec for the GT family)
- RAID
- Onboard ATTO PowerCenter Pro hardware-assisted RAID 0, 1, 1e and 10
- Target device support
- Configurable for up to 2048 target devices
- IOPS (maker spec, GT family)
- Capable of 3 million 4K IOPS
- Cable support
- Up to 1m (SATA), 10m at 12Gb passive copper, 100m active optical
- Protocols
- SSP, STP, SMP, SAT and direct-attached SATA; T10-DIF/PI; advanced format 512e and 4Kn; SAS tape devices with TLR; dual-port SAS for high availability
- Power
- 6.09W (H1208 GT)
- Dimensions
- Low profile: 6.600in length x 2.713in height
- Operating system support
- Windows and Windows Server, macOS, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, Fedora Linux, VMware ESXi, FreeBSD, illumos
- Management
- ATTO360 Storage GUI, scriptable CLI, management APIs via CSMI and IOCTLs, event and trace logging, external locate LED on bracket, onboard temperature monitoring
- Reliability
- MTBF greater than 7,400,000 hours (calculated)
- Airflow requirement
- 100 LFM minimum recommended
- In the box
- ATTO ExpressSAS SAS/SATA adapter and low-profile bracket (per the maker: all finished-goods 1208GT SKUs include the adapter and a low-profile bracket)
- Compliance
- CE, IEC 62368-1, RoHS, FCC Part 15 Subpart B Class A, ICES-003, EN55032/CISPR 32-1
- Warranty
- 3-year standard product warranty
Downloads & support
Setup: Needs the ATTO ExpressSAS 12Gb GT driver for your OS (Windows, Linux, macOS, VMware, FreeBSD or illumos), downloadable from ATTO's support pages; the card also carries PowerCenter Pro management utilities. Install the driver before attaching storage.
- ExpressSAS 12Gb GT SAS/SATA driver downloadsDriver · Windows
- ATTO ExpressSAS SAS/SATA HBAs product page and resourcesSupport
Links go to the manufacturer’s official pages, so you always get the latest, genuine files.
Sources: ATTO specifications · atto.com · ATTO specifications · shop.atto.com · Manual / documentation · atto.com. Photos: ATTO. Specifications checked November 9, 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us.
