Thinking about 2*3TB in Raid 1

[Helltech]

Well, my two 1TB drivers are getting full, not only that but I have an extreme paranoia of losing all my data, I've been wanting a good "backup" solution for a while. Seems to me Raid 1 would be the best since I don't feel like "dealing" with it all the time. I thought it might be a good idea to get 2 3TB drivers. I was looking at the Hitachi Deskstar 7200, and Seagate Baracuda XT

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145472

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148736

First off, I'm not sure if they are even completely compatible with my system. As far as I know, and what research I've done they are.. but I want to make sure. Specs in sig, Vista 64Bit.

Second they both seem to have their fair amount of DoAs, so I was sure which one is better.

Third, the Seagate seems to be deactivated on Newegg, so is the Hitachi really an alright drive?

I've used WD products since I've had a Windows 98 machine. I've only had one on me and fail and it was 7 years old. So jumping ship is something I really don't want to do, but I need the room and it doesn't seem like WD will be making a 7200RPM 3TB drive anytime, and their Green Drives seem to have horrid reviews.

Any thoughts or input would be great.

 

[jamie_1318]

I'd get the Hitachi, they are more reliable than Seagate right now. Seagate has basically had broken firmware since the 500GB 7200.11 drives and I'm not sure if they ironed out all the problems yet.

You should have no compatibility issues with your current system Hard drives do not really have to be compatible with your system because they are Plug and Play standard + they all have the same plugs. Your motherboard has an on-board RAID device that seems to work OK for you as it is.

One problem is Western Digital Green drives won't let you set up raid anyways. They did something weird with the firmware that disables it completely.

 

[jamie_1318]

Windows compatibility is also a non issue although I didn't mention it.

On second thought you may have some problems if you plan to set up the array as a boot Disk. The Rampage II doesn't support booting from the larger Hard drives.

 

[Helltech]

Naw, I'm gunna still use my Velociraptor as the boot drive. Thanks for the input.

 

[danraies]

Newegg has a sale right now on Hitachi 3TB 5400rpm drives for $110 through september 21
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145493
5400rpm drives in RAID1 will be slow but $110 is also a VERY good price. I have a RAID1 with green drives and its not unreasonably slow especially as mass storage (if your velociraptor is a boot drive).

I agree with jamie_1318 about the WD - there is a problem with their proprietary TLER that drops drives from arrays even when they're working perfectly. The "raid edition" WD drives work fine but they're far more than you need to spend. However, I personally have two Seagate 2TB hard drives in RAID1 and I don't have any firmware issues. Hitatchi will work just fine, though - they're good drives. Check out the review Tom's did comparing four 3TB drives:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/3tb-hdd-hard-drive,2982.html

There is an obligatory warning, though: RAID1 is not a sufficient backup. RAID1 only protects against single drive failure. Single drive failure is one of the biggest risks in my opinion, but there are many other bad things that can happen like viruses, file corruption, partition table corruption, accidental deletion, power surges, or if your house burns down. Not to discourage you from RAID1 but there is no substitute for external (preferably off-site) backup.

 

[Helltech]

Oh no, I understand off-site back up would be the best, but single drive failure is all I'm concerned about. I'm not worried about viruses or accidental deletion. If my UPS doest' protect me from power problems I have bigger problems on my hands I think.

I still back up everything to a 2TB external, just not as often as I should. Definitely not as often as I should.....

 

[danraies]

Oh no, I understand off-site back up would be the best, but single drive failure is all I'm concerned about. I'm not worried about viruses or accidental deletion. If my UPS doest' protect me from power problems I have bigger problems on my hands I think.

I still back up everything to a 2TB external, just not as often as I should. Definitely not as often as I should.....

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I use RAID1 myself with all-too-infrequent backups. The RAID is good for peace of mind.

It was like mid 1995 when my family got our first gateway desktop with a 1GB hard drive. I remember my dad saying that there was no way we would ever fill 1GB in our lifetime. Those were the days...

 

[Helltech]

Best answer selected by Helltech.