Recommend me a hard drive

[pOwErEd By NOS]

I am running out of storage right now and am looking at getting a new harddrive. I have been thinking about gettting the new Seagate 300GB. I will be using it in a RAID 5 array at the end of the year when I build my new computer. I want something that is relitively fast, cool, quiet and the 5 year warranty is a bonus. Let me know if you think I should/shouldn't get something else. Also does anybody know what the formated size actually is? One last question I know you need atleast 3 drives for RAID 5. Can you use 4 or 5 drives in RAID 5?

 

[defakto]

You can use 12 drives in a raid 5, or, i've seen scsi controllers that will do 45 drives.

 

[DougLite]

I am running out of storage right now and am looking at getting a new harddrive. I have been thinking about gettting the new Seagate 300GB. I will be using it in a RAID 5 array at the end of the year when I build my new computer. I want something that is relitively fast, cool, quiet and the 5 year warranty is a bonus. Let me know if you think I should/shouldn't get something else. Also does anybody know what the formated size actually is? One last question I know you need atleast 3 drives for RAID 5. Can you use 4 or 5 drives in RAID 5?

RAID-5 will give you (n-1)*x capacity, where n is the number of drives in the array (-1 because of the redundant data that allows a drive to fail and the array to remain online) and x is the capacity of the smallest member of the array (or of any drive if they are all the same size). You may use any number of drives >= 3, up to your system limitations, covered next.

The only limitations on the size of the array are: A) 2TB NTFS partition cap (only applies on Windows) B) The maximum number of drives your controller will allow to be in an array and C) Many controllers impose a 2TB cap on array size. More expensive controllers will raise the limits on B and C.

As for what drives to consider, the only other drive that meets your capacity and warranty requirements is the Maxtor MaxLineIII. I cannot comment on the noise profile of either of these units other than to say they both have FDB motors. I have heard that seek noises on the 7200.8 are much sharper than they are on 7200.7. Maxtor definitely has an edge on performance with the 16MB buffer, and should be at least considered for this reason.

Some other considerations when implementing RAID-5: How will you be backing the data up, and how do you plan on doing rebuilds? Rebuilds on an array of 1TB+ can take an entire day to complete - there is a chance that one of the drives may fail during a rebuild because another member failed, and then your array (and data ) is toast, so RAID-5 is no replacement for backups, especially on an array that big. Unfortuantely, the only half way practical way to backup that much data is tape Also, you will want a suitably beefy PSU and a line-interactive UPS or simple standby UPS and line conditioner for such a beastly system.

 

[ozziegn]

I am running out of storage right now and am looking at getting a new harddrive.

check your PM box.

 

[SirKenin]

I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting a Seagate for sure. five 300 GB drives would rock. As long as they aren't WD Caviars you should be fine.

However, the DiamondMax10 with 16MB cache is also a viable option, giving speeds close to the Raptor without the expense.

 

[pOwErEd By NOS]

As far as backups and redudancy goes; a RAID setup is better than what I am running now...no backup.

I am planning on running a beffy PSU with my next system and have been looking at getting an UPS.

I saw the review on anandtech today. I am considering the Maxtor DiamondMax 10 drive now.