[Cory Mckechnie]

Hmm Jeremy, you’re right. That’s silly of me, I was using the 2T RTN and 2T REC with my old Audiophile 2496, which of course won’t work with this setup. Hmm, any thoughts on a small mixer that I could purchase to make this setup work?
Thanks for pointing that out for me!!
Cory

[Cory Mckechnie]

Thanks Jeremy and Walter. The Kona’s don’t have Coax Digital audio input/outputs for my MiniDisc, but I just realized the MacPro itself has digital audio in/out. Do I just go directly in and out to capture/playback to/from the MiniDisc from the Mac itself?

[Cory Mckechnie]

Thanks to all for your help in this purchasing decision. Based on everyone’s insightful comments and re-considering my needs and budget, I decided to go for the Seagate 750GB BARRACUDA 7200.11-SATA 32MB CACHE 3.5. This will do my needs for my current project and if I need a different solution, I will probably get something from G-Technology. Until then, my Segate drive is on its way.

I should also mention, the decision was made quickly as when I checked out the Dell site, they had they 750GB on for $169.99 so I snapped it up – https://accessories.dell.com/sna/products/Internal_Hard_Drives/productdetail.aspx?c=ca&l=en&cs=cadhs1&sku=A1370886 … you can pick up two 750GB drives for $70 less than the cost of one of the 1TB drive. I think the deal ends today though, so any takers should head on over quickly.

Thanks again all.

[Cory Mckechnie]

Thanks for such an in-depth response Ben, you’ve certainly given me much to consider and I actually think I’m going to take some time and actual re-consider what I need to buy.

My first instinct is to go with the G-SATA and use the drives separately and manually backup to the second drive as needed, but the fact that the SATA card doesn’t work with Leopard at this time really takes that option away (I just ordered one of the new Mac Pro’s just released which will obviously come with Leopard).

The G-Speed ES is out of my price range, so that’s not an option and while I don’t need mobility, I just kind of liked the idea of having an external solution. I have two older Western Digital Caviar 120GB SATA drives that will take up two of the remaining three drive spaces in the new tower.

I might actually be best to get a 500GB or 1TB internal SATA drive and use whatever savings on something else that will be needed to get this new system up and running … there’s certainly never a shortage of goodies to buy when your re-building an edit suite 🙂

Thanks again for all the help … now I guess i’ll go have a look at internal SATA drives and see what’s available 🙂

Cory

[Cory Mckechnie]

Hi Ben, I was actually looking at the G-SATA. I’m only working with DV footage and I believe the SATA option is actually faster than Firewire (confirmation on this point would be helpful). I read that you can set the G-SATA up as either Raid 0, RAID 1 or even treat the drives independently. From a cost standpoint, I’m even wondering if I treat the drives separately (again, only using DV footage I think this would be fast enough in a non-RAID 0 setting) and I’ll increase my storage from 750GB to 1TB (as I believe the G-RAID2 MUST BE set up as a RAID 0).

Also, I’m assuming that the G-SATA option would work with my newly ordered Mac Pro, but I should probably clarify that before ordering.

Walter, I read your review on the original G-RAID and was wondering if you liked the G-RAID2 or the G-SATA equally?

Thanks again for everyone’s help. I’m glad I didn’t order the MyBook before posting as I relieved that I’ll end up getting a much better solution for my needs.

[Cory Mckechnie]

Thanks Arnie, I’m definitely seeing this differently now.

[Cory Mckechnie]

So a RAID 1 isn’t good to use? I thought just to have a constant backup it would be recommended.

So if it’s not advisable, I’m really liking the G-Technology G-RAID2. I’d only be able to afford the 1.5TB, but I guess this more expensive option is really that much better than the WD MyBook’s. I’ll also have a look at the Lacie’s and WiebeTech’s, but that G-Technology looks like a really slick solution.

[Cory Mckechnie]

Ben, I actually just checked and the G-RAID2 only provides RAID 0 and I’m looking specifically for RAID 1 (which the Western Digital does). Haven’t checked the Lacie drives yet though. The search for a high capacity, financially viable drive system continues. 🙂

[Cory Mckechnie]

I didn’t go with the Certified, but rather the Qualified. They both have lifetime advanced return so I feel safe in that decision. I believe (but others can answer this more accurately) is that the Certified runs through a few more tests, but the Qualified runs through a few less (but still a lot).
Someone please correct me if I’m wrong on this one.
Cory

[Cory Mckechnie]

Hmm, I’d never heard of the G-RAID. It looks like a very nice product. The data will be very sensitive so I think this might be a better way to go. Although I can’t go with the 2TB solution, I think I might go with the 1.5TB in redundancy to ensure data protection. Thanks for the heads up Ben.