Most reliable high capacity HDD's??

Discussion in 'PC hardware help' started by mgray69, Oct 1, 2008.

Page 1 of 2
  1. mgray69

    mgray69 Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2004
    Messages:
    56
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    I'm looking for 1TB or more to put into enclosures. Been reading reviews and every manufacturer seems to have it's fair share of problem models.

    I usually trust names like Seagate, or Hitachi. I don't mind paying for the quality and reliability.

    What do you guys think?
     
    mgray69, Oct 1, 2008
    #1
  2. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Messages:
    33,335
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    118
    Western Digital Greenpower or Seagate Barracuda. The former use less power and run much quieter and seemingly cooler as well, so are less likely to fail in an external-box environment. I'd go with the WDs personally.
     
    sammorris, Oct 1, 2008
    #2
  3. mgray69

    mgray69 Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2004
    Messages:
    56
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Thats some good info, thanks.

    Seems the WD is the most popular....anything wrong with the Seagates?
     
    mgray69, Oct 1, 2008
    #3
  4. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Messages:
    33,335
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    118
    No, but not all external enclosures are equal, some let drives get quite hot, and Seagates get very hot indeed, and are also much noisier.
     
    sammorris, Oct 1, 2008
    #4
  5. mgray69

    mgray69 Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2004
    Messages:
    56
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Alright thanks again...but can I keep buggin ya for some opinions?

    What are some good enclosures you can recomend? Since you mentioned heat, should I be looking at ones with built in fans? Is an aluminum case perferable over everything else?

    Basically, if you can suggest some features I should look for or stay away from?

    Better yet, is there a buyers guide for these things that I've missed here? I did a search, but didn't find much, not even many threads talking about this.
     
    mgray69, Oct 1, 2008
    #5
  6. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Messages:
    33,335
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    118
    I like the IcyBox IB-351 enclosure. Generally avoid anything without vents and/or fans, and avoid anything that looks cheap, because odds are good it'll break.
     
    sammorris, Oct 1, 2008
    #6
  7. core2kid

    core2kid Regular member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2007
    Messages:
    2,430
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    46
    For external drives, the WD Mybooks get unbearably hot as well. You don't feel it from the outside but after being on for a couple hours, if you were to open the case and take out the drive you would literally need to let it cool before you could touch it. I know from my 500GB WD Mybook. The WDMybooks are also painfully slow at write.
     
    core2kid, Oct 4, 2008
    #7
  8. creaky

    creaky Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2005
    Messages:
    27,900
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    96
    I wouldn't let a WD MyBook thingy near my machines personally, but i do rate WD drives highly.
    Here's the hard drive enclosures i use -

    [​IMG]

    http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_jump.cfm/570836/3453526 I've got 5 in regular use with 3 to be unboxed when i can afford 3 more drives to add to them.
     
    creaky, Oct 4, 2008
    #8
  9. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Messages:
    33,335
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    118
    WD MyBooks = bad. WD Caviar drives in proper enclosures = excellent.
     
    sammorris, Oct 4, 2008
    #9
  10. core2kid

    core2kid Regular member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2007
    Messages:
    2,430
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    46
    What is a budget enclosure you suggest for a 500GB WD Mybook drive?
    The only reason I bought that drive is because it was $60.
     
    core2kid, Oct 4, 2008
    #10
  11. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Messages:
    33,335
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    118
    IcyBox IB-351s are my favourites.
     
    sammorris, Oct 4, 2008
    #11
  12. mgray69

    mgray69 Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2004
    Messages:
    56
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    That doesn't come with a fan tho...I woulda thought you guys would all have ones with fan's since that seems to be the most reliable route???
     
    mgray69, Oct 4, 2008
    #12
  13. creaky

    creaky Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2005
    Messages:
    27,900
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    96
    Mine do, see my previous post/pic..
     
    creaky, Oct 4, 2008
    #13
  14. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Messages:
    33,335
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    118
    The IB-351s use vents, they actually cool drives just as well as the cheaper fanned enclosures, without the noise. :)
     
    sammorris, Oct 4, 2008
    #14
  15. mgray69

    mgray69 Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2004
    Messages:
    56
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Hey Creaky, any place to purchase those other than e-bay? Who manufactures them? Does the fan come on automatically, or do you have to manually turn it on/off or leave it on all the time?

    Also says they only support IDE....which brings me to my next question....in terms of internal drive in enclosures, what's the performance/reliability with IDE vs. SATA?
     
    mgray69, Oct 4, 2008
    #15
  16. creaky

    creaky Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2005
    Messages:
    27,900
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    96
    IDE - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Allcam-Enclosure-Aluminium-Controls-Silver/dp/B000RAFFEY
    SATA - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Allcam-Enclosure-External-Aluminium-OneTouck/dp/B000V8KQE6

    See the pics, there's a power switch and a switch for the fan. (And pretty lights aplently).

    I've only ever used one E-SATA enclosure, it's a pain in the behind. So much for the hotplugging that E-SATA is supposed to offer, mine always required a reboot before it would 'see' the drive. So i bought an E-SATA to SATA converter cable, then i was able to mount the drive internally and connect it to the E-SATA connector (i had one drive bay free internally but no free SATA connectors). Problem solved, drive works perfectly now.

    I don't leave enclosures on for long, mine are all backups of internal drives so they're only on long enough to make changes/add new files etc. But they're totally reliable and fairly quiet. USB2.0 is plenty fast enough for me, i think USB2.0 is rated at something like 480Mb/s, SATA-II is rated at 3GB/s. I've never bothered to check what SATA-II rated speeds relate to in actual MB/s speeds, suffice it to say they're very fast indeed, but as i say i'm happy enough with USB 2.0 speeds, USB2.0 is quick enough for video streaming, for instance.
     
    Last edited: Oct 4, 2008
    creaky, Oct 4, 2008
    #16
  17. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Messages:
    33,335
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    118
    I liked using external S-ATA, not to be confused with e-SATA, this method was using an internal S-ATA cable outside a case. Hotplugged perfectly fine, data speeds at 70MB/s rather than 30 that USB offers. Other than for copying large files though, you don't get any other benefits, and USB is much more widespread. With an external drive there's no real reason to have S-ATA over IDE, but you can get bigger drives using S-ATA, and possibly cheaper ones too.
     
    sammorris, Oct 5, 2008
    #17
  18. creaky

    creaky Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2005
    Messages:
    27,900
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    96
    Yeah i routed my cable from the E-SATA port to the inside and it works perfectly; i will have to chuck the SATA enclosure on eBay and i won't buy any more in future.
     
    creaky, Oct 5, 2008
    #18
  19. mgray69

    mgray69 Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2004
    Messages:
    56
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Just a side question since you guys seem to know your stuff; what is the maximum size XP can handle, either internal or external? Is 1tb ok?

    Thanks
     
    mgray69, Oct 16, 2008
    #19
  20. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Messages:
    33,335
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    118
    "Plenty". A 1TB drive will work fine.
     
    sammorris, Oct 16, 2008
    #20
Page 1 of 2

Share This Page