Rummy Posted June 19, 2012 Posted June 19, 2012 Hi all, Just a quick check, get paid in a week or so and looking to pick up one of these two 3TB hard drives, though I just wanted to check something first. I've noticed some mention around t'nets about some hardware not supporting 3TB drives? This appears to apply to boot drives, but the information I find talks about all sorts of bits I don't really understand so I'm not sure. I won't be using it as a boot drive, being so large I don't want to be using it too constantly in case of failure(though I've no idea of factors associated, I'd imagine more use=more risk?). I'll be copying all the data from the current 500GB drive which is in two partitions, and fresh installing windows 7 64-bit and possibly ubuntu alongside each other on that existing 500GB. But I digress. My computer is an Acer M3400 and has a rather handy front loading bay/cage for 3.5" HDDs, so I'll be keeping it there rather than opening up and connecting it inside. Long story short, is there any reason I should be worried about any problems with recognising the whole 3TB, and if so would there be any fixes I'd need to think about in advance? (also unrelated if anybody knows a good solutions to backup my system drives using this other drive that won't cost me money that would also be handy to know but not the main issue here)
Sheikah Posted June 19, 2012 Posted June 19, 2012 Might I suggest something cooler you could do, unless you really need a 3TB drive? Buy a 2TB drive for £70 instead (more cost effective than the 3TB). Then buy a 60GB OCZ solid state drive for £54 and use that as your Windows boot disk. Install Windows to that, and then you have a PC that loads up the OS and any programs you install ridiculously fast (because it has around 500MB per second read and write speed compared to a fairly typical 50-80MB/s speeds of standard hard drives). They're also less likely to fail (no moving parts to knock about), do not require defragmentation and produce next to no sound. Unless you really need that extra TB, the bonus you get from an SSD is really sweet and I wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone.
Ike Posted June 19, 2012 Posted June 19, 2012 (edited) I also recommend getting a SSD. Windows 7 can't even finish the boot up animation (wouldn't recommend using any OS under 7 though, 7 has better support). Prices have plummeted recently. I paid £120 for mine a few months ago. Can get the same one for £90 now That site says your computer supports up to 2TB so I would go with Sheikah's suggestion. Edited June 19, 2012 by Ike
Rummy Posted June 19, 2012 Author Posted June 19, 2012 Might I suggest something cooler you could do, unless you really need a 3TB drive? Buy a 2TB drive for £70 instead (more cost effective than the 3TB). Then buy a 60GB OCZ solid state drive for £54 and use that as your Windows boot disk. Install Windows to that, and then you have a PC that loads up the OS and any programs you install ridiculously fast (because it has around 500MB per second read and write speed compared to a fairly typical 50-80MB/s speeds of standard hard drives). They're also less likely to fail (no moving parts to knock about), do not require defragmentation and produce next to no sound. Unless you really need that extra TB, the bonus you get from an SSD is really sweet and I wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone. This was actually something I was contemplating, but then I started wondering what if it wasn't enough space, especially if I wanted a linux dual-boot setup. How much space does a typical Win 7 install take up? I started checking how large my windows folder was and whilst I didn't wait, it already went up beyond 13GB; then I have program files etc - one large component is my steam library, is it possible to have steam locate all its files on another drive? I was kinda keen for the extra TB, given I'm almost at 500GB used already(though a large chunk will be the above, windows, programs and steam). I always feel reluctant buying hard drives as they seem to be constantly falling! I also recommend getting a SSD. Windows 7 can't even finish the boot up animation (wouldn't recommend using any OS under 7 though, 7 has better support). Prices have plummeted recently. I paid £120 for mine a few months ago. Can get the same one for £90 now That site says your computer supports up to 2TB so I would go with Sheikah's suggestion. I wondered that, though I think that's not support per se, but rather the different capacities that come in various 'models' of the Acer M3400.
Ike Posted June 19, 2012 Posted June 19, 2012 I wondered that, though I think that's not support per se, but rather the different capacities that come in various 'models' of the Acer M3400. Yeah, I know. But at least you know 2Tb will work. 120GB don't cost much more, the I bought is £85 on eBuyer. I would get the larger size one personally.
Sheikah Posted June 19, 2012 Posted June 19, 2012 Yeah I got a 128GB Crucial M4 SSD which in terms of cost is better value than the 60GB ones (it's around 80-90 quid). Windows 7 Pro can be clipped down to 7GB believe it or not, a lot of stuff installed isn't actually necessary. So it's very achievable to have a dual boot of this and Linux on a 60GB. It should be enough space for your Program Files too, in my experience they never take up too much space. Anything you don't have space for like downloads you can just stick on your other HDDs instead.
Rummy Posted June 19, 2012 Author Posted June 19, 2012 Hmm, thinking about it, I might get a 2TB for now, and consider an SSD later down the line. One arguable advantage of the SSD is that being a whole extra drive it'll free up my 500GB for use too.
Rummy Posted June 19, 2012 Author Posted June 19, 2012 Does anyone know roughly how SSDs have been falling in price or have any sources that do?
Sheikah Posted June 19, 2012 Posted June 19, 2012 (edited) Sorry, are you asking how they've managed to drop in price or asking for sites selling them cheap? If the former, I guess because they've been around for a time now, the technology is cheaper to produce and more people are adopting them/more companies producing them. Some info from CNET: Luckily, recent news suggests the need for such dual-drive setups might soon lessen. Digitimes is reporting that large SSD firms such as Kingston, OCZ, Crucial, and Intel are attempting to narrow the market and squeeze out the competition. While for now the price drops have for some SSD hardware brought the price of the SATA3 versions closer to the SATA2 versions, the price drops are expected continue as NAND flash chips become cheaper and more abundant. Best place to get one is either ebuyer.com or Amazon. Edited June 19, 2012 by Sheikah
Rummy Posted June 19, 2012 Author Posted June 19, 2012 Oh, I meant literally like how they have been falling in price; ie price change over time. Curious really, I think I'll be holding off on one for a while depending how they've fallen, though I did read they'll apparently hit a slowing point re: price decrease due to some manufacturing patent issues or something. No idea, but would be nice to see some changes over time nonetheless.
ogola Posted June 20, 2012 Posted June 20, 2012 Does anyone know roughly how SSDs have been falling in price or have any sources that do? You could check ihelpline.com for SSD and their pricing.
Twozzok Posted June 28, 2012 Posted June 28, 2012 If you go for an ssd DO NOT go for OCZ. Apparently they're failing left and right or something?
Rummy Posted June 29, 2012 Author Posted June 29, 2012 Well for now I've gone for the 3TB as originally planned because cost-effectiveness of 2TBs compared didn't really match up over a variety of sites. Will consider picking up an SSD in a few months-a year's time depending how money is and how my system runs(which I'm happy with atm, it'll be hard going SSD and ever having to go back :p). One other thing I was wondering, has anyone had any/much experience with hybrid SSD drives? Like eBuyer has this one which has received some pretty good reviews all round; there's a comparison vid on the ebuyer page too. Obviously not as fast as an SSD, and takes a while to get 'used' to what you use most, but it could be a viable option for anyone looking for speed+size at a semi-decent price, doesn't look too out of what with other 500GB drives considering what you get.
Sheikah Posted June 29, 2012 Posted June 29, 2012 If you go for an ssd DO NOT go for OCZ. Apparently they're failing left and right or something? I think it's been greatly overexaggerated. But to be safe I went for a Crucial M4 which are very well reviewed.
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