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The Official PC building thread - 4th Edition
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N_3_Days
Newbie
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25. February 2011 @ 12:08 |
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to ascend above the horizon, as a heavenly body...
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Moderator
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25. February 2011 @ 12:50 |
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We run a few 'off the shelf' network drives at work, D-Link DNS-323's, i don't like them much, they're ok but a tad hit and miss. At the office most everything else of course are servers, we only have the NAS's as 'throwaway' storage ie they're there for dumping huge amounts of stuff onto, but with the proviso that if it's important data it goes onto a server instead. Netgear Stora's are nice though, we set one up for the boss a few months back, it's one of the few NAS devices (of reasonable price) that let you use both drives seperately (some units only allow the drives to be mirrored, which is crap quite frankly). I don't like buying such devices personally, i have loads of caddies and put my own drives in them, but all the ones i have are non-networkable (bought them all before i thought of buying network-capable ones) so you can only network them by setting up shares. But nowadays i don't use caddies (i have a shelf full of no-longer used drives and caddies to figure out a use for!), now i just prefer to have everything on the one PC and have shares setup. I was considering buying a Stora for the kids but seeing as their main house PC is on a lot of the time i just put a large second drive in for now instead.
I'm a huge fan of WD drives but i've not used WD Books so can't comment on them i'm afraid, i think Sam might have used them, someone here has i think..
Main PC ~ Intel C2Q Q6600 (G0 Stepping)/Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3/2GB Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500/Zalman CNPS9700/Antec 900/Corsair HX 620W
Network ~ DD-WRT ~ 2node WDS-WPA2/AES ~ Buffalo WHR-G54S. 3node WPA2/AES ~ WRT54GS v6 (inc. WEP BSSID), WRT54G v2, WRT54G2 v1. *** Forum Rules ***This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 25. February 2011 @ 12:54
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AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
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25. February 2011 @ 13:28 |
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I've not used the network integrated version but I use my 500GB MyBook USB over the network all the time. It runs fairly cool and is vented well. It also takes advantage of USB 3.0 to some extent. I know others here will recommend Western Digital products too.
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 4GHz(20 x 200) 1.5v 3000NB 2000HT, Corsair Hydro H110 w/ 4 x 140mm 1500RPM fans Push/Pull, Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5, 8GB(2 x 4GB) G.Skill RipJaws DDR3-1600 @ 1600MHz CL9 1.55v, Gigabyte GTX760 OC 4GB(1170/1700), Corsair 750HX
Detailed PC Specs: http://my.afterdawn.com/estuansis/blog_entry.cfm/11388 |
Senior Member
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25. February 2011 @ 13:33 |
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I agree with creaky D-Link just isn't the product they use to be and their NAS solution is an example of that.
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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25. February 2011 @ 13:57 |
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I used to own a mybook. I gave it to my brother. It was irritating that it would idle. It took 3 - 5 seconds to come back to life. And since windows has to query the drives constantly(for me), this was unacceptable. He uses it to store his music and family photos now. He likes it. But he doesn't do the stuff with computers that I do :p I need things to be snappy :D
Besides, I prefer internal drives now. I'd really like to get my hands on a couple of those 3Tb drives! I'm aware of the drives needs :p
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 25. February 2011 @ 13:58
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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25. February 2011 @ 14:30 |
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Nah, the only retail external I have is a Seagate, quickly grabbed from Argos as an emergency.
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AfterDawn Addict
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25. February 2011 @ 19:04 |
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Originally posted by sammorris:
Nah, the only retail external I have is a Seagate, quickly grabbed from Argos as an emergency.
I know the reviews of most of the My Book type external drives are horrible. Heat seems to be the main problem. I know Rick has tried a few of them without a lot of success, and he has more external drives than anybody I know. 16 I think! Some brands, Like Lacie and Iomega need to be avoided entirely!
GigaByte 990FXA-UD5 - AMD FX-8320 @4.0GHz @1.312v - Corsair H-60 liquid CPU Cooler - 4x4 GB GSkill RipJaws DDR3/1866 Cas8, 8-9-9-24 - Corsair 400-R Case - OCZ FATAL1TY 550 watt Modular PSU - Intel 330 120GB SATA III SSD - WD Black 500GB SATA III - WD black 1 TB Sata III - WD Black 500GB SATA II - 2 Asus DRW-24B1ST DVD-Burner - Sony 420W 5.1 PL-II Suround Sound - GigaByte GTX550/1GB 970 Mhz Video - Asus VE247H 23.6" HDMI 1080p Monitor
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Red_Maw
Senior Member
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25. February 2011 @ 20:47 |
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Originally posted by theonejrs:
Originally posted by sammorris:
Nah, the only retail external I have is a Seagate, quickly grabbed from Argos as an emergency.
I know the reviews of most of the My Book type external drives are horrible. Heat seems to be the main problem. I know Rick has tried a few of them without a lot of success, and he has more external drives than anybody I know. 16 I think! Some brands, Like Lacie and Iomega need to be avoided entirely!
The only hdd I've had fail on me completely was a WD mybook. I believe the cause was heat too lol.
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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26. February 2011 @ 00:35 |
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Originally posted by theonejrs:
I know the reviews of most of the My Book type external drives are horrible. Heat seems to be the main problem. I know Rick has tried a few of them without a lot of success, and he has more external drives than anybody I know. 16 I think! Some brands, Like Lacie and Iomega need to be avoided entirely!
Well, I wouldn't be too harsh. It's the internals that are what's important. If a wd drive is inside, then jump right in! LOL! Of course the manufacturers never let us know what's inside. Even though we as consumers have a right to know!
I'm rather partial to Nec chipped DVD drives. The way my LG BD drive acts, it wouldn't surprise me if it has one. I may never know though. Don't wanna take it apart :S
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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26. February 2011 @ 09:34 |
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The best way to do an external drive is to buy an internal drive and a good enclosure.
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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26. February 2011 @ 13:03 |
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Originally posted by sammorris:
The best way to do an external drive is to buy an internal drive and a good enclosure.
I'll second that. Even though I've never done it. Definitely buying a dock soon anyhow :D
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
Senior Member
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26. February 2011 @ 14:49 |
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Originally posted by sammorris:
The best way to do an external drive is to buy an internal drive and a good enclosure.
That's what I do and I stay away from any GREEN drives as I don't want them sleeping on me. I also buy RAID/ENTERPRISE style drives that are meant to run 24/7 but have also used desktop drives too. Unlike general conception here I've switched from Seagate hi-performance drives to WD since Seagates' have had serious issues lately, I used to be Seagate exclusively but once again times have changed. I also can't say I love WD drives but at least they aren't going belly-up on me and I'm not losing data. If you want to get by cheap the WD Blue drives are good the Black is better of course with longer warranty as well. I will not use IBM Deskstar drives which are now made by Hitachi since they run too hot and have a shorter life span due to that. I've heard from friends that Samsung drives are OK but that is hear-say of course.
At one time I thought Eagle enclosers were OK for a cheap solution but now after encountering compatability issues and even having one go down on me with little life I would steer clear of them.
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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26. February 2011 @ 14:56 |
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So you wouldn't recommend this one eh?
Eagle Tech 120GB USB 2.0 Black Pocket Hard Drive
One of my work buddies wants it. One of the reviews says there's a WD drive inside :D
Just got a 250Gb Verbatim Clon drive. Seems to be a nice little pocket drive. Runs off of USB power. Even works perfectly from the front HAF932 ports. Transfer speeds are much better than the flash drives i'm used to. 27.5MB/sec on average.
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
Senior Member
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26. February 2011 @ 15:16 |
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Originally posted by omegaman7:
So you wouldn't recommend this one eh?
Eagle Tech 120GB USB 2.0 Black Pocket Hard Drive
One of my work buddies wants it. One of the reviews says there's a WD drive inside :D
Just got a 250Gb Verbatim Clon drive. Seems to be a nice little pocket drive. Runs off of USB power. Even works perfectly from the front HAF932 ports. Transfer speeds are much better than the flash drives i'm used to. 27.5MB/sec on average.
If you want it to be compatible with all systems that's not a good solution and quite often requires both USB connections to run. That enclosure is the one I've had the most problems with but it is a newer version of mine so I can't say that it is 100% bad as they may have changed the chipset since mine. So I would say at best it is a gamble. The motherboard these have the biggest problem with is ASRock were they almost never work consistently, but it does depend greatly what MB drivers you are using.
I didn't know that Verbatum made external hard drive solutions, interesting!
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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26. February 2011 @ 15:20 |
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I'll probably recommend the verbatim drive to him then. Seems to be a nice one. Plus the 7yr warranty ;) He won't like that it's twice the price though. I'll probably recommend the 320Gb though. It's currently only a couple dollars more :S I should have noticed that for my brother :(
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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26. February 2011 @ 16:06 |
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Seagates usually run the hottest from what I've seen.
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Senior Member
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26. February 2011 @ 18:16 |
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Seagates' run hot and that is one of their problems but the biggest problem is quality control, they have none from what I can tell.
Deskstars' run the hottest hands down.
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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26. February 2011 @ 18:19 |
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A build I did for a buddy has a 250Gb deskstar :S I didn't buy it, it came from a Pavilion I rebuilt. Its smart looked extremely good for 20,000K+ hours running time ;)
Windows 7 runs fine enough on it. Never did check the temp on it. But the tower seemed cool enough.
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
Moderator
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26. February 2011 @ 18:26 |
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Green WD drives are great, i have zero problem with them.
I couldn't help myself, i've bought a couple Core2Duo mchines recently, no reason, just 'cos they were cheap. I have no use/need for them, i bought them on the premise that i'll keep them to one side ready for when the kids need a more powerful machine. Bought another tv/monitor, same reason, and before the weekend's out i suspect i'll have bought5 another tv/monitor too.
Main PC ~ Intel C2Q Q6600 (G0 Stepping)/Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3/2GB Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500/Zalman CNPS9700/Antec 900/Corsair HX 620W
Network ~ DD-WRT ~ 2node WDS-WPA2/AES ~ Buffalo WHR-G54S. 3node WPA2/AES ~ WRT54GS v6 (inc. WEP BSSID), WRT54G v2, WRT54G2 v1. *** Forum Rules ***
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Senior Member
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26. February 2011 @ 18:30 |
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Deskstars' are great performers IBM has always made a solid drive up until when they changed their MFG to Hitachi just prior to that they started to have quality problems and they boosted their performance too the new design, which runs very hot. A lot of businesses that relied on the Deskstars' in their arrays switched to WD or Seagate, but most to WD enterprise drives. I'd say Seagate is close to Deskstars for heat but have bigger issues with thier quality. Regardless the heat takes away from their MTBF even though the companies haven't adjusted those stat's for their newer drives as far as I could see.
I cooked an egg on one of their drives years ago. LOL
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Senior Member
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26. February 2011 @ 18:34 |
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Originally posted by creaky:
Green WD drives are great, i have zero problem with them.
I couldn't help myself, i've bought a couple Core2Duo mchines recently, no reason, just 'cos they were cheap. I have no use/need for them, i bought them on the premise that i'll keep them to one side ready for when the kids need a more powerful machine. Bought another tv/monitor, same reason, and before the weekend's out i suspect i'll have bought5 another tv/monitor too.
Are you using them in a server or array with RAID, I doubt it because they would then cause you problems, especially in a RAID configuration. You can make them work in those situations but it isn't worth the effort when you can get a better drive for the same price practically.
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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27. February 2011 @ 03:24 |
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In my opinion, RAID is almost unnecessary anymore. Velociraptor drives are an excellent single mechanical drive solution. SSD's are insane fast. So RAID 0 is out. Unless you like living on the edge :S I suppose if I had two of them, I'd be pretty happy with the bandwidth gain though. But if one were to fail... devastating. I can see the need for the industry to employ Redundant arrays. But for people like me, a sata docking bay is an excellent means for cloning data.
So far the green drives have been near perfect for me. Can't wait to play with a 3Tb+ drive. Depending on my needs, I may wait for the 3tb drives to come down, or wait for something larger to be released. I'd really like to see a 10Tb drive released. That'll probably be SSD though. Or perhaps some new cutting edge technology. I'm sure it'll cost 2 arms and 2 legs LOL
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
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27. February 2011 @ 05:21 |
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Originally posted by Mr-Movies:
Are you using them in a server or array with RAID, I doubt it because they would then cause you problems, especially in a RAID configuration. You can make them work in those situations but it isn't worth the effort when you can get a better drive for the same price practically.
No, no interest at RAID at home at all, and yeah, i know about Green drives and the spindown/RAID issues, i've also read of lots of problems when they're used in some NAS's, though if i recall correctly most of the NAS problems are just down to the drives not being configured correctly, however i vaguelly recall that they'e just not suitable in some NAS devices, i think the spindown can be configured but have a feeling that it's the Advanced format that doesn't get on with the NAS's
Main PC ~ Intel C2Q Q6600 (G0 Stepping)/Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3/2GB Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500/Zalman CNPS9700/Antec 900/Corsair HX 620W
Network ~ DD-WRT ~ 2node WDS-WPA2/AES ~ Buffalo WHR-G54S. 3node WPA2/AES ~ WRT54GS v6 (inc. WEP BSSID), WRT54G v2, WRT54G2 v1. *** Forum Rules ***
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Senior Member
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27. February 2011 @ 15:57 |
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Originally posted by omegaman7:
In my opinion, RAID is almost unnecessary anymore. Velociraptor drives are an excellent single mechanical drive solution. SSD's are insane fast. So RAID 0 is out. Unless you like living on the edge :S I suppose if I had two of them, I'd be pretty happy with the bandwidth gain though. But if one were to fail... devastating. I can see the need for the industry to employ Redundant arrays. But for people like me, a sata docking bay is an excellent means for cloning data.
So far the green drives have been near perfect for me. Can't wait to play with a 3Tb+ drive. Depending on my needs, I may wait for the 3tb drives to come down, or wait for something larger to be released. I'd really like to see a 10Tb drive released. That'll probably be SSD though. Or perhaps some new cutting edge technology. I'm sure it'll cost 2 arms and 2 legs LOL
SSD's are not fast they are slow, but what makes them seem fast is when you turn off redundancy and error checking so Windows 7 boots very quickly due to that. SSD's are expensive and wear out fast. Because of that I personally wouldn't use them unless the environment requires it. Any ROM based OS will boot fast but writing to them is very slow and again you don't get many write cycles. Windows can be hard on hard drives because they hammer certain areas of your hard drive so this wouldn?t bold well for SSD?s.
RAID is still very strong and required for mass storage and performance, just because you don't have need for it is none the less in the needs of others.
If Green drives work for you knock yourself out, I prefer performance, the little bit of energy you save verses the hit in performance isn't worth it for me, I don't want my drive sleeping on me just like I don't allow my OS to sleep either. There is only about $10's difference so I see no reason to buy a Green drive and be limited with what I can do with it.
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Senior Member
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27. February 2011 @ 15:59 |
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Originally posted by creaky:
Originally posted by Mr-Movies:
Are you using them in a server or array with RAID, I doubt it because they would then cause you problems, especially in a RAID configuration. You can make them work in those situations but it isn't worth the effort when you can get a better drive for the same price practically.
No, no interest at RAID at home at all, and yeah, i know about Green drives and the spindown/RAID issues, i've also read of lots of problems when they're used in some NAS's, though if i recall correctly most of the NAS problems are just down to the drives not being configured correctly, however i vaguelly recall that they'e just not suitable in some NAS devices, i think the spindown can be configured but have a feeling that it's the Advanced format that doesn't get on with the NAS's
You can reconfigure a Green drive but then you might just as well get a real drive, so what's the point screwing around.
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