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[OFF] What MP Hard Drive Config?
I have a new Mac Pro that I ordered with the smallest HD via Apple (160gb?) and I’m ready to install a few new hard drives. I’m seeking a recommendation on 500GB SATA (3GB/s) drives for this MP.
Drives I’ve considered are:
1) IBM/Hitachi ($189). This has been my old standard drive that many video folks have trusted…
2) Western Digital RE2 ($197). This may only be a good choice for a RAID.
3) Maxtor’s Maxline Pro 500… Barefeats tests show it has the fastest single drive in their tests…
4) Seagate ($214)… has perpendicular drive technology…All drives have a 5 year warranty. The RE2 is listed as an Enterprise Drive with more than 1 million hours MTBF… FWIW, Promax continues to recommend the Hitachi… I was thinking that I would ultimately fill this MP with 4 500GB drives and possible use a pair as a RAID. I could continue to use the current system drive (although not as fast as the drives listed above) and just get 3 500GB drives…
Any thoughts or recommendations???
Thanks,
Robert
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11 Replies
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My dream, when I get this computer (next generation) is to fill all the bays with 500GB hitachis or even 750GB Seagates (although there is an issue with raiding more than 3 Seagates at this moment, go to barefeats.com and see) and then put the included system drive in the empty optical bay and connect it to the system via the empty SATA connections located on the motherboard.
But, for now, I’d recommend the Hitachi’s. And if you did it my way, you could raid all four drives…
Shane
Littlefrog Post
http://www.lfhd.net -
Robert,
I have (6) Hitachi 500gb drives and they have been running fine for the 3 months I’ve owned them, although they are not as fast as Maxtor’s Maxline drives, which remain my favorites. BTW, Maxlines are enterprise level drives.
DRW
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[Shane Ross] “But, for now, I’d recommend the Hitachi’s. And if you did it my way, you could raid all four drives…”
Okay, these are not the fastest drives and the MTBF rating is lower than some… Yet, I respect your opinion as I do David’s.
Thanks,
Robert
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[David Roth Weiss] “I have (6) Hitachi 500gb drives and they have been running fine for the 3 months I’ve owned them, although they are not as fast as Maxtor’s Maxline drives, which remain my favorites. BTW, Maxlines are enterprise level drives.”
Why did you not buy the Maxtor drives? What source do you recommend? OWC no longer sells Maxtor.
I thought about getting two or three different drives to make my own observations; yet, buying 4 of the same mechanism (or at least two) allows me to RAID them if I desire.
How important is raiding the internal drives for: Aperture; Photoshop; DV50; HDV; DVCPro HD; maybe some uncompressed SD?
BTW: I was not aware that the optical bay could be used like Shane described–anyone doing that?
Many thanks,
Robert
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[David Roth Weiss] “they are not as fast as Maxtor’s Maxline drives, which remain my favorites.”
Was the performance difference noticeable?
Thanks,
RObert
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[Robert Broussard] “Was the performance difference noticeable?”
It was barely noticeable, just a liitle bit less realtime stuff happening when I was editing 10-bit uncompressed.
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[Robert Broussard] “Why did you not buy the Maxtor drives? What source do you recommend?”
The 500gb Maxtors were not available when I needed them. Newegg.com is the best place I know — even though I have pay tax to them here in California their stuff is still cheaper than anyone else usually.
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Do you recommend setting up a RAID internally or just use as single drives?
Thanks,
Robert
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Robert,
If you’re doing anything other than DV, such as uncompressed or HD, you should absolutely stripe at least three drives together and preferably four. You’ve got a Ferarri, striping your drives will help to unleash its horsepower.
DRW
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I second that, you’ll get remarkable speed.
But please keep in mind that RAID 0 has no safety net. On the contrary, the risk of loosing data is multiplied with striped drives, so make sure to always keep a backup.Regards,
Uli
Author of “DVDs gestalten und produzieren”, a book on professional DVD-authoring in German.
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