I understand. The current failure rate is high for the consumer models. And the enterprise models have been affected to a lesser extent. Inaccessible data is a major problem, but seems to be limited to drives from Dec. '08 manufacture dates from what I've been able to determine. (I don't know the lot #(s) affected).
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Fast 1TB Hard Drive
- Thread starter Chaos123x
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PowerPaw
macrumors member
Western Digital also do an enterprise version of the Black known as the RE3. Take a look at 1TB hard drive reviews on Tom's Hardware.
At the end of the day its going to be down to personal preference. Once you stick the drive in your machine you will probably be more concerned about reliability, noise, heat and warranties as the top end drives in this category all perform relatively well ;-)
At the end of the day its going to be down to personal preference. Once you stick the drive in your machine you will probably be more concerned about reliability, noise, heat and warranties as the top end drives in this category all perform relatively well ;-)
head on over to barefeats.com they do a lot of performance testing that relates to video, photo and gaming. I think their current stance is that the Samsung is the speed leader closely followed by the WD black. They recommend these two drives the most (for speed). I have found hitachi very reliable just not quite so fast.
I've been burned a few too many times by seagate. Maybe they only make good enterprise gear.🙁
Chris14
macrumors regular
Hi there,
I'm looking to replace the hard drive in my aging 2006 17" iMac.
Currently has a feeble 160GB hard drive, and I am looking to upgrade to a 1TB one. I am in New Zealand so prices are in NZD. Currently I am debating between these:
$199NZD - Samsung 1TB SATA hard drive 32M
$183NZD - Seagate 1TB SATA2 (32MB) Model ID: ST31000340AS
$180NZD - Western Digital Caviar 1000GB SATA 7200rpm 1TB
Which should I go for?
I am obviously tempted to go for the cheaper one... will it still last and be reliable?
I'm looking to replace the hard drive in my aging 2006 17" iMac.
Currently has a feeble 160GB hard drive, and I am looking to upgrade to a 1TB one. I am in New Zealand so prices are in NZD. Currently I am debating between these:
$199NZD - Samsung 1TB SATA hard drive 32M
$183NZD - Seagate 1TB SATA2 (32MB) Model ID: ST31000340AS
$180NZD - Western Digital Caviar 1000GB SATA 7200rpm 1TB
Which should I go for?
I am obviously tempted to go for the cheaper one... will it still last and be reliable?
It's easy to find benchmarks for 1TB drives, what happended to just google-ing it ?
Tom's Hardware is one place to check.
As for speed, I very much doubt one can tell a difference between current drive models.
If you want speed, a Velociraptor or Raid0 array will be and feel faster than any 7k2 drive.
xgman
macrumors 603
Again, I have all three. The Seagate (rma) is sitting in a drawer. Why, because I was going to use it for an archive drive of photos, music, backups, but why would I choose this drive to possibly risk my irreplaceable data when so many are reporting failures including myself? It defeats the purpose of backup. It happens to be a fast drive non the less, but the risk to me kills that. You can't go wrong with either the seagate or wd one as far as performance, but yes I would prefer an enterprise level drive if I had the choice. They are usually more expensive.
UltraNEO*
macrumors 601
Your talking about Enterprise drives.
Of course they're gonna be better! However, they are usually built to a higher standard, often with higher grade parts and that all adds to the price!! Doubling the price!!
I have four Western digital Blacks (high quality consumer drives) on my system as a RAID array. So far, they've been a damn site more reliable than the any of my Seagate's! Out of six drives, four have failed and been replaced over a period of six months!! That's bleedin poor if you ask me! 😡
There is a definitely a difference between consumer and enterprise drives. 😉
I just took a quick look, and the ST31000340AS can be had for $119.00, and the enterprise version (ST31000340NS) can be had for $170.00. So at least here in the US, it's not double the price. 🙂 Personally, I'd rather spend the extra $50.00 for the improved UBE alone (1E15 on enterprise). 😉 It also has the side effect of allowing me to put any drive on hand into a RAID array if I wish. 😀
I'm not sure on UK pricing, but is it actually 2x consumer $ there? 😱 😕
UltraNEO*
macrumors 601
Ahh... I thought you meant very recently, as IIRC, you moved back to the UK. 😉
I've absolutely no idea on Japan's pricing. 😕
No kidding ?
But what's your point, has anyone asked how to run some data center with a gazillion drives in it ?
If one doesn't do exactly that, I doubt using enterprise level drives makes any sense, poor advice, imho.
One of my drives failes, I take it, dump it, replace it, simple as that.
Granted, I only use about a dozen HDDs, only half of them with important data on them, and keep dual/triple backups at all times.
What single reason is there to use anything but consumer drives in such a case ?
UltraNEO*
macrumors 601
leaving again in a couple of months...🙂
Yay!! NO more POLICE STATE UK!
Communist soon! I bet...
shipping stuff again! 😡
You don't need to have a gazillion drives to want stability. As drive capacities and platter densities increase, the likelihood of failure increases.
Recent QC (Seagate, but not exclusively) issues with consumer drives may also make it more attractive.
No, they aren't the cheapest drives available, but I don't see how recommending enterprise drives is a bad idea. At least not to people who place a value on the security of their data. Have you checked the cost of data recovery lately? NOT cheap. 😉
If a user doesn't care about data loss, and doesn't mind the aggravation, get the consumer drives. Easy. 😀
sidewinder
macrumors 68020
I don't get it. This coming from a person that apparently has no problem buying a desktop computer with server class components and associated extra cost. How could you not see a good reason to spend a little extra on the most failure prone component in the system?
Would you buy a Ferrari and put K-Mart brand cheap tires on it?
S-
Read the posting, and you will find out I actually am doing backups. 😉
Saving the 70-100% mark up for enterprise drives will buy you a lot of space for those backups - and be a lot safer, too.
An enterprise grade drive gives you what - 10, 15% more data security ?
Make it 500%, and it will still not be even close to what a seperate backup drive will provide.
If one doesn't back up his data to a seperate HDD(s), it doesn't matter how reliable the drives are .
Harddrive quality doesn't secure your data, backups do, and it's utter nonsense to suggest otherwise.
Imho, 😉 .
See above, it's about backups.
The tyres are the fast drives I put inside; as tyres go, I don't expect them to last forever .
Well, that's really bad analogy anyways...
And HDDs don't just fail all the time, only very few times, and if one is prepared it only takes a tool and a restart to get back on the road.
Because you have that spare tyre, errh , backup, ready at all times.
what about 1.5 TB SEAGATE 7200 NCQ SATA2 32MB ST31500341AS???
Can this be put in a mac pro which was bought in 2006?
Will all my games finally be in one Drive?
Will there be just 1 Folder for all my HD movies and HD tv Shows?
Will there be enough room for all my pRon? (obviously i'd need petabytes)
seriously though...
Can this be put in a mac pro which was bought in 2006?
Will all my games finally be in one Drive?
Will there be just 1 Folder for all my HD movies and HD tv Shows?
Will there be enough room for all my pRon? (obviously i'd need petabytes)
seriously though...
jacg
macrumors 6502a
Don't buy a LaCie unit. I got shipped a dead one and they would not replace it. They said I had to return it for repair. Two months later I got it back, scratched up and with no box, manuals or accessories.
By this time VISA had tried their hardest and even the reseller had tried to overlook the dodgey business agreement that I have somehow entered into (which meant I had no consumer rights). So it was a total of three months later I got a new drive. Of course I'd had to buy another one by then.
Worst customer service I've ever had, thanks to a slow, inefficient ticket system staffed by people incapable of reading (apparently). Rant over.
By this time VISA had tried their hardest and even the reseller had tried to overlook the dodgey business agreement that I have somehow entered into (which meant I had no consumer rights). So it was a total of three months later I got a new drive. Of course I'd had to buy another one by then.
Worst customer service I've ever had, thanks to a slow, inefficient ticket system staffed by people incapable of reading (apparently). Rant over.
I wasn't meaning in lieu of a backup system. Look at it this way; If someone deals with enterprise drives, a backup system should be an absolute given. No drive is safe enough to eliminate the need for proper backups. Period.
The reason is, even with backups, you can get caught without a copy of every single file you need. I.e., a drive failure occurs while performing a backup. 😱 It can happen. For those who's data is important enough, the additional order of magnitude for the UBE on enterprise drives is quite appropriate.
It's up to an individual to determine how much risk they're willing to live with. Nothing is failure proof, and to think so is inviting disaster.
If you ever get caught in a situation like this, and have to spend $40+k on data recovery services, you might change your mind. It's also a reason for swapping drives before they fail. Even before they begin to show signs of becoming DOA. (Replacement cycles).
Yes. 🙂
I was avoiding this though, as RAID wasn't the issue. Only the possible need for the additional UBE (Unrecoverable Bit Error). 1E15 for enterprise, and 1E14 for consumer grade models.
sidewinder
macrumors 68020
One of the major differences between enterprise and consumer grade drives, that is often overlooked, is the increased tolerance to rotational vibration. The more drives and fans installed in a system, the more important this becomes.
Mac Pro systems hold 4 drives, 2 optical drives, and several fans. That's could add up to a lot of vibration. A 43% premium over a $119 drives seems little to pay for a drive designed to work in the environment the Mac Pro creates.
Rationalize your choices how ever you want. But the fact that you have a backup does not make it logical to buy consumer class drives when enterprise class drives are the better choice. On a 4 drive system we are talking $204. Amortize that out over three years.....$68 per year. Penny wise, pound foolish.....
S-
Mac Pro systems hold 4 drives, 2 optical drives, and several fans. That's could add up to a lot of vibration. A 43% premium over a $119 drives seems little to pay for a drive designed to work in the environment the Mac Pro creates.
Rationalize your choices how ever you want. But the fact that you have a backup does not make it logical to buy consumer class drives when enterprise class drives are the better choice. On a 4 drive system we are talking $204. Amortize that out over three years.....$68 per year. Penny wise, pound foolish.....
S-