Add 2nd HD to new 2.5-G5 - New Maxtor 300GB SATA ... please advise

[photo-video]

Hi all,

I just bought my first Mac and I need some advice and guidance. I installed the new Production Suite and I need additional HD Space especially for Final Cut Pro.

I have the standard 160GB drive that comes standard with the system. I was thinking about adding the new Maxtor DiamondMax 10 - SATA 300GB internal drive.

Here are the key features and specs: (from the Maxtor website)
FEATURES
- Second-generation Serial ATA with 1.5Gb/sec interface speed
- Native Command Queuing
- 16MB cache buffer for 250 and 300GB drive
- Fluid dynamic bearing motor for quiet operation
- Improved reliability with:
- Shock Protection System™
- Data Protection System™

High Performance
- DiamondMax 10 supports Native Command Queuing (NCQ). NCQ intelligently reorders read and write commands to improve performance.

Delivering reliability
- DiamondMax 10 drives deliver high reliability and data integrity using the Maxtor-developed Shock Protection System™ (SPS) and Data Protection System™ (DPS)
- SPS and DPS give the drive enhanced protection against operating and non-operating shock.

There are two different things I can buy, a kit and just the drive. I found the drive at Dell Small Business with a 20% discount so the drive comes at only $204 dollars.

link to Dell Small Business (http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/ProductDetail.aspx?sku=A0391552&Page=productlisting.aspx&spagenum=1&items_per_page=25&orderby=final_price%20DESC&sortdirection=&image_flag=True&show_summary=True&category_id=5727&brandid=&mnfsku=&SearchType=&Pageb4Search=&ModelSelection=&iCompatid=&selectiontypeids=&l=en&c=us&cs=04&SubmitSearch=&servicetag=&reset=True&k=&mnf=1494&prst=&prEnd=&InStock=&refurbished=&fe=)

I think the difference is that the Kit comes with software called MaxBlast but if I understand correctly, that's only for Windows systems. Do I need any special software to format the drive on Mac OS X? Should the drive by itself be all I need or do I need the kit?

Any input, advice, and/or recommendations would be appreciated .... new Mac owner here!!

Thanks!

[tomf87]

You just the need the Serial ATA drive. Disk Utility in OS X can take care of partitioning.

[BornAgainMac]

I have 2 drives on mine and had no problems. It was easy to install and I have a dedicated drive for DV video. I only got the older 250 GB drive for $199 about 6 months ago. Eventually, I may swap out the 160 GB drive with a larger drive and use the 160 as a spare with plain vanilla OS/X if I need to bring the unit in for repairs someday.

[mischief]

See dulicate thread for step by step. :rolleyes:

[tomf87]

With two posts, it sure is hard to keep up with who is writing what and where, eh? :)