hdd for storage

[Wiggo]

I can't say that there would be any problem if 2k can see it and use it. As long as you don't plan to boot another OS off that drive just go ahead and see what happens. :smokin:
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[sentme_mail]

anybody knows whats the reason that BIOS cannot detect and win2k is still able to detect it?

[Wiggo]

Sometimes the BIOS won't see past the master drive due to an incompatability between drives or it could be that the BIOS has been setup to ignore detecting the secondary drive. To see if it's the last you just have to check the settings in the BIOS on drive detection. :smokin:
<center>:cheers:</center>

[zeradul]

There you go, with the WD's there is a HUGE difference, gee better get that 5400RPM for the sake of not being retarted (according to someone clearly misinformed)

Clearly mis-informed? He did say a 40 GB, but Lets look a bit closer at that price range.

My favorite drive seller has stopped selling 60 GB 5400's, but at the time I got mine, it was selling for 102$, and a 40 / 7200 was selling for 109$. Thats 20 GB.

The next best seller I would buy from has the 40 at $79, and the 60 at $92. So thats 13 bucks for another 20 GB, and my point was, if it is for STORAGE, it doesn't need to be fast often enough for you to take a very significant space cut.

Think of it like an attic. Would you rater have 150 feet of shelves, or 100 feet, with a big wide hall to speed you on your way to your Christmas decorations each year.

[Ehhe Yebeb]

What kind of places are you buying from? here are quotes from several local stores:


Beecom:
40GB Seagate 5400RPM - $140
40GB Seagate 7200RPM - $150

Gamedude:
Maxtor 40GB 5400RPM - $135
Maxtor 40GB 7200RPM - $135
Maxtor 60GB 5400RPM - $179

EYO:
Seagate 40GB 7200RPM - $165
Seagate 40GB 5400RPM - $162.80



So from just three retailers you can see that there is either extremely little or no price difference at all between 7200RPM and 5400RPM drives. As for having to take a significant storage cut to have the 7200RPM drive, well, the 40GB 7200RPM is 40 bux cheaper than the 60GB 5400RPM, so that does away with that argument too.

[zeradul]

Well, my sources are from American eTailers, so my point might not be effective in Australia. My point is this: If you are buying a NON-OS HD for storage, you should search for the best ratio of GIGS per DOLLAR. Period.

Storage is NOT something that is often accessed at faster than 8 MB per second, and therefore, a 5400 drive will suit your relative speed needs perfectly fine.

[Ehhe Yebeb]

I dunno, i like having that extra 1800RPM just for the sake of having it even if it isnt going to be used much. Well if there is a decent price difference between 5400RPM and 7200RPM drives of the same storage, and you are going to use the drive for storage ONLY, then maybe 5400RPM is a good solution, but when there is little or no price difference, then there is no point in getting 5400RPM.

[zeradul]

We agree.

[brashquido]

If you're only wanting 40GB of storage, there is no real issue between 5400RPM & 7200RPM drives. If you were going for volume, I'd definately recommend getting a 5400RPM drive as the price/size difference makes it worthwhile, as zeradul said.

If you only ever plan to use that disk as file storage, I'd be looking to get a bit more than 40GB. You'll be suprised just how quickly you fill it. I have 300GB on my file server, and there is only about 10GB free :eek: (I have about 65 DVD rips :) ).

You'll get a 40GB HDD for about $140, but for under $30 more you can get a 60GB 5400RPM drive. 50% increase in space for around a 21% increase in price ain't bad. If your only ever going to use it for MP3, DivX, file storage or the like, a 5400RPM drive will do fine. The transfer rate of a 5400RPM drive is way more than what a 100MB network connection can handle anyway, and the difference in access times are measured in milli seconds.

Your choice, but the last server I had had 4 X 30GB ATA-100 7200RPM drives in it and I had to leave the case off it otherwise the HDD overheated and started making that lovely clunker-clunk noise. Granted they were IBM, and I only had one 80mm fan circulating air, but it still was enough to make me look at 5400RPM. I now have 3 X 160GB Maxtor ATA-133 5400RPM drives, and using the Qcheck utility from NetIQ, there is no difference in seek times or throughput from my old server.

Something else to note. I had my HTPC playing a DVD from my 5400RPM drives in my new server at the same time as I was copying data from my old server to it, and restoring data from a DDS-4 tape and there was no slowdown.

*edit*

Yet another thing, the noise reduction is substantial. The first few mornings I walked into my computer room I had to check to see if the server was on they were that quite in comparison to my 7200RPM drives.