3.0gbps vs 6.0gbps drive difference for RAID 1?

[pcknt]

Hi,

I just got a Newertech Guardian Maximus 2-drive RAID 1 enclosure and saw that BH Photo is selling the Hitachi Deskstar (0S0286) 3.0Gb/s 3.5" 7200rpm 2TB drive for $129(I think they incorrectly state it as 6.0GB/s but all other sites state 3.0Gb/s).

I also see the HITACHI Deskstar 7K3000 2TB 7200rpm 6.0Gb/s at Newegg for $140+$7.28 shipping.

I will be connecting the Maximus to a Firewire 800(macbook pro) as well as ESATA(PC) to transfer photographic/video data for backup storage to the RAID 1 Maximus as well as to other backup drives in SATA docks.

I've seen google search results that state Hard drives do not saturate even SATA 2 connectors.

Can the Deskstar 7K3000 push more data even on a SATA II pipeline? Should I spend the extra $20 on both drives to get SATA 3?

The Maximus uses Custom Oxford 946 eSATA, FW400(1394A), FW800(1394B), and Ox3100 USB 3.0 Integrated Chipset. I think it is only SATA I/II.

Thanks.

 

[po1nted]

Hi,

I just got a Newertech Guardian Maximus 2-drive RAID 1 enclosure and saw that BH Photo is selling the Hitachi Deskstar (0S0286) 3.0Gb/s 3.5" 7200rpm 2TB drive for $129(I think they incorrectly state it as 6.0GB/s but all other sites state 3.0Gb/s).

I also see the HITACHI Deskstar 7K3000 2TB 7200rpm 6.0Gb/s at Newegg for $140+$7.28 shipping.

I will be connecting the Maximus to a Firewire 800(macbook pro) as well as ESATA(PC) to transfer photographic/video data for backup storage to the RAID 1 Maximus as well as to other backup drives in SATA docks.

The faster drives are not worth it. Your bottleneck is your connection to the PC; Firewire and eSata.

 

[sk1939]

Hi,

I just got a Newertech Guardian Maximus 2-drive RAID 1 enclosure and saw that BH Photo is selling the Hitachi Deskstar (0S0286) 3.0Gb/s 3.5" 7200rpm 2TB drive for $129(I think they incorrectly state it as 6.0GB/s but all other sites state 3.0Gb/s).

I also see the HITACHI Deskstar 7K3000 2TB 7200rpm 6.0Gb/s at Newegg for $140+$7.28 shipping.

I will be connecting the Maximus to a Firewire 800(macbook pro) as well as ESATA(PC) to transfer photographic/video data for backup storage to the RAID 1 Maximus as well as to other backup drives in SATA docks.

I've seen google search results that state Hard drives do not saturate even SATA 2 connectors.

Can the Deskstar 7K3000 push more data even on a SATA II pipeline? Should I spend the extra $20 on both drives to get SATA 3?

The Maximus uses Custom Oxford 946 eSATA, FW400(1394A), FW800(1394B), and Ox3100 USB 3.0 Integrated Chipset. I think it is only SATA I/II.

Thanks.

Most mechanical hard drives indeed do not push enough data currently to saturate a SATA II port. SSD's will, but the traditional HDD's will not. The bottleneck is not the interface (at least not with eSATA), rather it is the drive itself. You could spend the extra $20, but eSATA exactly the same as SATAII (eSATA stands for External SATA after all). eSATA has 300 MB/s of raw bandwidth, while Firewire 800 has 98.25 Mb/s of raw bandwidth. Currently the fastest drive on the market, the Western Digital VelociRaptor 1TB, only has an average transfer speed of 164.07 MB/s. The Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 has an average transfer speed of 117.88 MB/s. In other words, even the Firewire 800 port will not be limiting the drive all that much.

 

[RetiredChief]

First: Sata III HDD is more a marketing ploy, Hey I have the latest interface.
HDD throughput is controlled BY:
.. RPMs
.. Density of the magnetic domains
.. Larger HDDs are faster than small size when above two factors are the same - Greater amount of data in the outer edge of platters where angular velocity is highest.
.. Less but does contrube - eff of the electronics inside ans size of cache (Limited).
NONE of these factors currently allow throughput to saterate SATA II.
OK - ONE Plus for SATA III and that is burst speed - great for small amount of data and is measured in mSec. BIG HOO RAY.

Interface your fastest will be esata. USB3 has a higher spec than esata, However esata is slightly fast in real life than USB3. The rational is like two people speaking the same langauge verse two people speaking a diff langauge and having to use an interpurter (Spelling not my stong suit). Firewire is pretty much dead with the advent of USB3. AND neither will provide the "HDD Spec" I don't believe, it will be somewhat lower.

 

[pcknt]

Thanks for all the valuable advice. I will buy based on your help.