Have a look at what OWC have. The usually have a good range of features and prices. There should be one you consider a happy compromise between the two.

They go from about $50 to over $900.

http://eshop.macsales.com/search/Hard+Drive+Controller+Cards

I have a couple of Siig cards for a similar purpose to yours. No hardware RAID on mine though. I have tested one using it to salvage data from failing/failed drives. Its done a good job so far, mounting a few drives that wouldn't work in USB or Firewire enclosures.