It's HDD time!

NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
edited December 18, 2005 in The Big Picture
After a relatively long (1 month or so) time of contemplating, I finally bit the bullet and got meself a brand new Western Digital 250Gb SATA2 hard drive ($105 + $9.99 for SATA cable + tax at the local PC Club). My original Seagate 160Gb was almost full: shooting RAW files, while having tons of advantages, also puts some requests to one's media space. And since nowadays I shoot RAW exclusively (a nice change since slooooow 828 times:-) I was in a dire need for some space to grow:-)
Now I think I'm OK, at least for a year:-):clap
Should also work nice for that "Call of Duty 2" that I'm getting for Xmas... :D
"May the f/stop be with you!"

Comments

  • Eric&SusanEric&Susan Registered Users Posts: 1,280 Major grins
    edited December 18, 2005
    I asked Santa for a new external HD for all the pic storage I do hopefully it will be there Christmas morning.

    Eric
    "My dad taught me everything I know, unfortunately he didn't teach me everything he knows" Dale Earnhardt Jr

    It's better to be hated for who you are than to be loved for who you're not.

    http://photosbyeric.smugmug.com
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited December 18, 2005
    External HDD
    Eric&Susan wrote:
    I asked Santa for a new external HD for all the pic storage I do hopefully it will be there Christmas morning.

    Eric
    I have one of those for a couple of years already.. 200Gb enclosure... It's convenient, no questions, but in general external ones are less reliable than internals. Several of its siblings (at work) died an untimely death with no apparent reason (except possibly for a few power surges). So with this one I decided to opt for an internal HDDne_nau.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • rainforest1155rainforest1155 Registered Users Posts: 4,566 Major grins
    edited December 18, 2005
    Nikolai wrote:
    I have one of those for a couple of years already.. 200Gb enclosure... It's convenient, no questions, but in general external ones are less reliable than internals. Several of its siblings (at work) died an untimely death with no apparent reason (except possibly for a few power surges). So with this one I decided to opt for an internal HDDne_nau.gif
    Inside are all internal HDDs if I'm not mistaken. So it comes down on how you handle them and which case you use in terms of heat. mwink.gif
    How long do you usually have your hard drives in use? I mean I can't speak for the reliability of today's HDDs anymore. Except for my newest 200GB *knock-on-wood* practical all of my former drives have been sent to the maker in exchange for another one. The same goes for my father's PC. Don't get me started about my brother and his luck with IBM drives - he exchanged his 40GB at least 4 times. ne_nau.gif

    Sebastian
    Sebastian
    SmugMug Support Hero
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited December 18, 2005
    Sebastian,
    While you're 100% correct that inside the enclosures are the same HDDs that go inside the case, the very nature of them being external and having different treatment (moved while spinning, losing the power due to the fact that GF/SO needed an extra power socket for her cellphone charger, etc.) leads to a much higher failure rate.
    As to the IBM drives - some guys swear buy them, some guys swear on them...ne_nau.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • Eric&SusanEric&Susan Registered Users Posts: 1,280 Major grins
    edited December 18, 2005
    Knowing nothing about the internals of a computer is why I opted for the external road. Hopefully it won't be a decision I regret.

    Eric
    "My dad taught me everything I know, unfortunately he didn't teach me everything he knows" Dale Earnhardt Jr

    It's better to be hated for who you are than to be loved for who you're not.

    http://photosbyeric.smugmug.com
  • luke_churchluke_church Registered Users Posts: 507 Major grins
    edited December 18, 2005
    Nikolai wrote:
    Now I think I'm OK, at least for a year:-)clap.gif

    Hi Nik,

    So this sounds like a familiar tale... I've just ordered another 0.45TB... 250Gb for storing research data during analysis (250Gb of *temp* files?!?), 100Gb for source code, documentation and Virtual PC storage and another 100Gb for photos...

    And I thought that I was OK when I last upgraded, 15 months ago to 0.6TB.

    Offsite backups are becoming a real pain... And I'm starting to look longingly at RAID arrays. (For that matter I'm looking enviously at your US prices :): )There are times when I have the feeling I'm actually living in a data centre not a home...

    Ahhh well,

    Hope you have a fun Christmas,

    Luke
    Photography: www.lukechurchphotography.com
    SmugSoftware: www.smugtools.com
  • luke_churchluke_church Registered Users Posts: 507 Major grins
    edited December 18, 2005
    Eric&Susan wrote:
    Knowing nothing about the internals of a computer is why I opted for the external road. Hopefully it won't be a decision I regret.

    Whilst I'd agree with Nik on reliability, I think you'll probably be fine. I've used both internal and external disks for years now, and I've replaced more internal ones than external ones (but then, I do have more).

    I would say that the most unreliable award has to go to laptop hard drives. I suspect its more about the way they are treated than anything else. Be kind and gentle to your drive and the chances are you'll be fine...

    But in general don't trust any data storage, it'll only hurt you if you do...

    (I've had a CF card die on me sitting in a camera before, so perhaps I'm just kind of unlucky).

    I hope it all works out for you,

    Luke
    Photography: www.lukechurchphotography.com
    SmugSoftware: www.smugtools.com
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