External Hard Drive ( HDD ) thread

J

j8jweb

Active member
I recently bought a new core 2 duo macbook pro, with a 100 gig 7200 RPM internal hard drive. I intend to use the internal drive for all the application installs, i.e. Final Cut, etc.

So now I'm looking for an external hard drive to keep all my media on. I'm not looking for any sort of hefty raid setup at this stage - I can progress to that later if needed -

Looking for a range of robust, fast, macbook-friendly hard drives 300gigs+

All suggestions much appreciated!
 
Go for a G-tech G-Raid. They are not hefty but they're a bit bigger than a single drive enclosure, (about the size of a house brick). It will show up on the desk top as 1 drive but will give you a lot better performance than a single drive. It is raid 0, so there is no redundancy just more speed.
 
G-Drive, by G-Technology. I prefer the 250gig. I have about 6 of them, and dont think you need any bigger.
 
Just got a 500GB Mercury Elite-AL Pro RAID from MacSales last week. I, too, just got a MBP Core 2 and needed an external drive. I got one with FW800 so I wouldn't have worry about my audio interface or ADS Pryo slowing everything down on the FW400 bus. So far, it's stupid fast. I got the 500 because the price difference between it and a 320 wasn't enough to go for the savings. I ended up repartitioning it so I can backup my MBP onto it, too.
 
JasonFox said:
I got one with FW800 so I wouldn't have worry about my audio interface or ADS Pryo slowing everything down on the FW400 bus.
Click to expand...

Jason, I'm not sure if you aware of the fact that there is only one firewire bus in the computer. The 800 and 400 port share the same bus. Also when you chain stuff together it slows everything down to the slowest link in the chain. i.e. FW400.
 
ozduc said:
It is raid 0, so there is no redundancy just more speed.
Click to expand...
I have a difficult time recommending RAID 0 for anything that isn't expendable and where throughput isn't the only concern -- not only do you not get the redundancy benefits of RAID 1, but you are increasing the likelyhood of data loss because there are now more potential points of failure. The loss of either drive will mean that you lose everything on both drives. IMHO, RAID 0 is a really bad choice especially with external drives that get moved around and are subject to vibration, shock etc.
 
I use the maxtor ONE Touch III, 300 gig firewire 400/usb drives from staples.
I got them for $129 on sale a few months back.

Now they are on sale again but for $139.
They have a rubber cover, making them rugged, and the ability to use usb or firewire is a plus.

They work for me, at a price to buy multiple units.
 
Problem with the maxtors is you want to pay an arm and leg to get a FW800. ALSO I must note that Maxotr uses A/B drives (Who knows which you get) BUT G-Technology uses on A+ drives have FW800, and also available are Quad interfaces. But after using FW800, I will never use FW400 again. It is like shooting in SD again :) I have 2 Maxotrs 250s. and have had for 4 years, and no problems yet, but I back them up regularly. JUST IN CASE :)
 
Iomega RAID 0 640 GB ultra max for $350.00 - if its for the office/studio, love this piece, matches my G5.
 
I am using a couple of Maxtor one touch III, 500 gig and one 1000gig(in raid 0, but i have a back up of the files of course...)

I am very happy with them so far, will try the FW800 with my new edit-pc soon...so far i used normal FW(USB2 only.

Dont know how the situation is in the US, but i didnt have to pay an arm and leg to get FW800, most of the big ones got it now.
They are a bit more expensive then some others, but the recent test i have seen about them semms to justify that..!(it was aboutt the 500gig without raid with FW400/800/usb2)
 
Pardon?

I think that's only for the products pictured there. Glyph has been around a long time, starting I think with SCSI drives for the audio production industry. Cees, you must've read my raves before... I've been using Glyphs for years!
 
You are right I made a mistake the release date is for the FW800 version. When I look at the specs it sound familiar to the G-Raid2 (1 or 1.5 TB). What is in your opinion better ? I read good reviews about the stuff G-technology makes.

ullanta said:
Pardon?

I think that's only for the products pictured there. Glyph has been around a long time, starting I think with SCSI drives for the audio production industry. Cees, you must've read my raves before... I've been using Glyphs for years!
Click to expand...
 
ozduc said:
Jason, I'm not sure if you aware of the fact that there is only one firewire bus in the computer. The 800 and 400 port share the same bus. Also when you chain stuff together it slows everything down to the slowest link in the chain. i.e. FW400.
Click to expand...

Really? That blows. So if I'm using a drive in the 800 and something in the 400 everything moves at 400 speed? I can live without using my FW sound, but the Pyro sure comes in handy.
 
Yes, any FW400 device on the computer drops everything to FW400... unless you add an additional FW PCI card (they're cheap...)
 
I'm tellin ya, the Glyph is the way to go. After reading about Coffee's sad drive problem, I peeked at the web site and saw that Glyph now in addition offers 2 years of free data recovery. Not repair, not replacement - DATA RECOVERY! There is noone out there who stands behind their products the way Glyph does. Free overnight replacement of drives for three years. Free data recovery. How could they afford this if their drives weren't bulletproof?

Not to mention that they're wicked fast, ultra-quiet, and highly compatible.

Ah, you must all come to the light!

Also, they've been selling the quad interface drives ("Gt050Q", "Gt060BR", etc.) with FW800 for a while, too... I think the 2007 date is for the removable "GT Key" units with FW800.
 
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ullanta said:
Yes, any FW400 device on the computer drops everything to FW400... unless you add an additional FW PCI card (they're cheap...)
Click to expand...

I'm on a MacBook Pro. I did find that the ports share the same controller that resides on the PCI bus. What I couldn't find is a defininitive answer as to whether that slows down the 800 port to 400 speed. One person claimed the actual FW ports can act independently and, since the PCI bus has a 133 MB/sec max and the total theoretical throughput of the 800 and 400 ports combined is 100 MB/sec, all would be peachy. There seems to be quite an argument over this. Doesn't really matter at this point. I didn't pay much more for the 800 version and it's nice to not have so many devices going through my 400 hub.

Still, it'd seem fairly stupid to put on an 800 port that you can truly only use at 800 speeds when not using the 400 port. But stupider things have happened.

Fox
 
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