Recommendations for good external hard drive solutions?

[superboyac]

OK, I think I've finally settled on my backup solution.  Here are the details:

My current tower has four 5.25" bays, all of which are being used in the following order:
--main hard drive in special fixed cooling enclosure
--2nd hard drive in a removeable bay/tray enclosure
--DVD player
--DVD recorder
(I have two DVD drives because I didn't have a burner when I built the computer in 2001)

So, here is what I will have to buy:
--two SATA 500GB hard drives (I think I prefer Seagate's new 7200.10 line)
--The new Snap-In mobile rack from Addonics
http://www.addonics...._rack/aesnapmrsa.asp

--I probably need some kind of SATA PCI card or something since my computer doesn't support SATA at this time.

The reason why I like Addonic's snap in rack is because I can just slide the bare drive in and out.  One of the new drives will be kept in there for the most part and backup the other two main drives.  Then, once a month, I will bring the other new drive (from some offsite location) and switch the drives in the rack and backup the other two drives again.  I like that I can just use the bare drive.  Since I have no more available 5.25" racks, I will remove the DVD player, which I don't need anyway.

For backing up, I will actually use some kind of synchronization software like DirSync.  The reason why I do this instead of imaging is because I actually want the files useable on a standalone basis on the drive.  There are no program files being backed up, just program settings, music, documents, etc.  I don't really care if my OS crashes or programs crash since I can just reinstall them.

So that's my solution for now.  I like it, but it's also somewhat temporary.  One day, I will build a new computer (mine is 5 years old already), and I will have something more sophisticated, like an external enclosure with multiple bays or something.  But since I'm not a gamer or graphics person, I think this computer can last me a couple of more years, until I can afford a newer system.

Any thoughts are appreciated, especially if you see something very wrong with my solution.

[cranioscopical]

I think I prefer Seagate's new 7200.10 line

FWIW I have one of these in and running because I just began a program to replace smaller drives in the box I use most. Response/transfer is fine, and the noise level's no problem (in an Antec P150 case). I can't help but think you'll be pleased if that's what you buy -- good value for money, too. (What a contrast there is between the noise levels of older and newer drives! One of my old machines, a PIII that's still doing sterling service as a back-up, has four 10,000 SCSI drives in a very large tower case. When that one's on it sounds like a Harrier jump-jet spooling up.)

[superboyac]

Thanks cranio, the value of the Seagate drives is really why I'm getting it, and I like their 5-year warranty.  I know Carol here has a slight problem with Seagate's temperature, but I haven't had any problems with Seagate so far, or Western Digital.  I don't really need anything really special for what I'm doing, but that 7200.10 line seems to have good value overall.  And I heard there will be some good sales after Thanksgiving on the 500GB drives.

[superboyac]

OK, I'm getting close to purchasing my backup drives, I wanted to explain my reasoning for my solution.

Currently, Fry's is offering the 500GB Seagate 7200.10 SATA II drive (16 MB cache) for $180.  I'm going to get two of these for the backups.  I almost went with the Samsung drives (equal specs as above), and it was only $150 per drive, but only a 3 year warranty compared to Seagate's 5 year.  I know that Seagates run hot (as Carol mentioned) and that they may be louder than the Samsungs, but the warranty is really the deciding factor.  The reason is, since I'm backing up my information on two separate drives, it is unlikely that both will break or go down at the same time, so even if something happens, I'll be able to recover my data.  Therefore, if data recovery isn't an issue, I'd much rather have a longer warranty (almost twice as long) so that if something does happen, I can replace the drive for free.

Anyway, that's my choice, if any of my assumptions are incorrect, please let me know!  I'll probably miss the current Fry's deal, but I'll get the next one when the prices are $180 or lower.  By the way, in order to swap the drives in and out of my computer, I'm going to use this SATA mobile rack:
http://www.cooldrive...om/quswsamorafo.html

[app103]

I finally decided on the enclosures I want ...

http://www.tigerdire...ls.asp?EdpNo=1286816

I'll be getting 2 of these. 

[f0dder]

app103: if you're going for a tray solution like that, why not go for internal instead of USB? Better performance etc...

Anyway, definitely go for a metal enclosure (much better heat transfer than plastic), and watch out for fan specifications... some of them have tiny but extremely loud little fans >_<

[superboyac]

I finally decided on the enclosures I want ...

http://www.tigerdire...ls.asp?EdpNo=1286816

I'll be getting 2 of these. 

-app103 (December 18, 2006, 01:56 PM)

Hi app103, I have the internal version of that Kingwin drive.  It hasn't done me wrong yet.

[app103]

app103: if you're going for a tray solution like that, why not go for internal instead of USB? Better performance etc...

Anyway, definitely go for a metal enclosure (much better heat transfer than plastic), and watch out for fan specifications... some of them have tiny but extremely loud little fans >_<

-f0dder (December 18, 2006, 06:02 PM)

I don't have room in my desktop pc's case for an internal one. I wish I did. And the other will be used with my daughter's  laptop. No chance of being able to use an internal one with that. 

I don't really care about the sound of the fans...not like it will be plugged in long enough to become annoying. Mine is just for copying files between 2 pc's and making backups. My daughter might care about the sound though.

Hi app103, I have the internal version of that Kingwin drive.  It hasn't done me wrong yet.

-superboyac (December 18, 2006, 06:28 PM)

Glad to hear I may have made a good choice. I am not that good at hardware shopping. 

[superboyac]

I wonder about Seagate's Barracuda drives - they are very nice drives (quick and quiet) but I can't help wondering about the temperatures they reach. It is great having quiet drives but they seem to acheive this by insulating them so that the sound can't get out - unfortunately this means the heat can't either.

So, I just bought two Seagate 500GB drives from fry's this weekend ($120 each!).  Carol is right, the drives get hot!  Not just warm, but like "ouch" hot.  I did a little reading online, and apparently the hot temperatures are well within the operating temperature of the drive, so that's good.  Besides, I do have that 5 year warranty.  Of course, there's the issue of data recovery, which I'm taking care of by backing stuff up (which will be the topic of my next blog).

On a related note, I was at Vegas last week for business, and at one of the expos, there was a Seagate booth, and I had a nice talk with one of their guys.  They have a line of drives (7200.2, 7200.3) which was strange because the newest consumer line is 7200.10.  I didn't really get a good answer on why they named it such, but it sounded like some internal marketing disputes.  Anyway, the .2 and .3 lines aren't advertised or sold in retail stores like the 7200.10 lines, but they are the same drives with modifications done to reduce noise, heat, and be more efficient.  They are for applications like data storage (video, audio) where speed isn't such a big issue, so they are designed to be quieter and cooler.  Anyway, I would've bought them if the 7200.10 weren't so cheap at Fry's.

PS I saw a server rack that had 42 hard drives in it (all in the space of about 3 or 4 RU's).  It had a fan blowing over it like a freakin jet engine!

[superboyac]

Well, I think the first item to get is this WD Raptor drive.  Newegg has a rebate for it which makes the price $200 for the 300GB model.  In my list, I have the 150GB model for $170, so it makes sense to upgrade that to 300GB for only $30 more.  Unless I change my mind, I'll buy this in a couple of days.

[tomos]

Well, I think the first item to get is this WD Raptor drive.  Newegg has a rebate for it which makes the price $200 for the 300GB model.  In my list, I have the 150GB model for $170, so it makes sense to upgrade that to 300GB for only $30 more.  Unless I change my mind, I'll buy this in a couple of days.

-superboyac (December 29, 2008, 01:39 PM)

did you get the wrong thread there superboyac or am I reading too quick!

[superboyac]

Whoops!  You are correct.  I thought I wrote this, but couldn't find it on the other thread!

[grishconner]

I will get Seagate because of the 5 year warranty and best service for me and my company.
Let's review more about this hardware. I alway review it and cheap price before buying.

Comparatively few have Firewire and even less have eSATA. But if it's just for use in your own home then it'll surely be the fastest external solution.