Ata Or Sata?

[kabal1234]

So I need yet ANOTHER drive. This drive will be used primarily to back up data stored on my data drive. My MB (nForce2) supports SATA, though it was one of the first to do so, so I can only hope it is stable.

I don't see that this drive will be permanently connected to the machine. Just do a bulk back up, disconnect the drive and store it away in my drawer. I don't want to leave it connected as I am already using 3 ATA devices (2 HDD + 1 CD/DVD) and wish to keep any generated heat to a minimum.

The drive will be at least 120GB

Is the slight increase in cost for SATA justifyable under these circumstances? What would you spring for... SATA or good old reliable ATA?

[francois]

hi'

I have SATA discs, but if I were you I would buy an external drive of a good capacity, like 200gb or so, it's practical and very usefull for backup...

I actually need some storage space and this is what I'll do soon, get a 250gb external drive, and this before a dvd burner which could usefull too

francois

[Firefoxx]

Your goal is to get a large drive for backup and not have it attached permanently, so that narrows down the choices. You could conceivably get an SATA drive and hot-plug it (it's not supported and not recommended, but I've tried it and it works).

If you want to go the external harddisk route (which is more suited for your needs), you should get a firewire enclosure if your mainboard supports it, it's much better for sustained transfers. Remember that you can buy the enclosure and ATA drive separately for much less. Look for an enclosure with good air flow since these drives run very hot and will die quickly without active ventilation. Get a 160GB or 200GB drive, as they are the most cost-effective (as in baht/GB). I haven't seen any enclosures with internal SATA interfaces. A firewire 3.5" enclsoure will set you back around 1,500.

You should get a drive from a distributor that has a good claim and swap policy (I know that Maxwell allows for trade-ins to higher capacities at any time) in case you want to change your mind later.

Have you looked at DVD+-RW drives? An 8x drive will write a 4.4GB disc in around 8 minutes, and discs are pretty cheap (around 20 baht). The drive will cost around 3000-4000, or 7000 for a 16x dual-layer drive.

I personally have two SATA drives and two ATA drives. I would have gone all-SATA if my mainboard had the ports. I have very good airflow and a very robust power supply, so I don't worry about heat and leave it on 24/7.

[monty]

I think current harddrives run reasonable well even in enclosed boxes.

got several maxtor's 120gb holding dvd video (mpeg2) running around 14 hours a day (really playing video 14 hrs a day, meaning sustained datatransfers) for 9 months now without one hick-up...

they get warm, but only to about 45 degrees... this might be a problem for the mechanics in the long run, but up until now I haven't seen one problem...

Firewire is indeed better for big transfers (like copying a whole drive or loads of video) but for regular use like transferring a pack of files you won't see much difference with usb2 (which comes standard on every recent mainboard). If you're not in editing video(and importing dv video straight from your digital camera), the extra expense for firewire won't be worth it. If however your motherboard supports it already you should pay for the small extra a firewire hard drive enclosure would cost!

As firefox said, for back up purposes, get yourself a 120 or 160gb Hard drive and a cheap usb2 external 3.5" case. A good maxtor 160gb with external case can be had for under 5000 Baht. Great value per gb storage...

[kabal1234]

Your goal is to get a large drive for backup and not have it attached permanently, so that narrows down the choices.  You could conceivably get an SATA drive and hot-plug it (it's not supported and not recommended, but I've tried it and it works). 

If you want to go the external harddisk route (which is more suited for your needs), you should get a firewire enclosure if your mainboard supports it, it's much better for sustained transfers.  Remember that you can buy the enclosure and ATA drive separately for much less.  Look for an enclosure with good air flow since these drives run very hot and will die quickly without active ventilation.  Get a 160GB or 200GB drive, as they are the most cost-effective (as in baht/GB).  I haven't seen any enclosures with internal SATA interfaces.  A firewire 3.5" enclsoure will set you back around 1,500.

You should get a drive from a distributor that has a good claim and swap policy (I know that Maxwell allows for trade-ins to higher capacities at any time) in case you want to change your mind later.

Have you looked at DVD+-RW drives?  An 8x drive will write a 4.4GB disc in around 8 minutes, and discs are pretty cheap (around 20 baht).  The drive will cost around 3000-4000, or 7000 for a 16x dual-layer drive.

I personally have two SATA drives and two ATA drives.  I would have gone all-SATA if my mainboard had the ports.  I have very good airflow and a very robust power supply, so I don't worry about heat and leave it on 24/7.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Firefox, are you sure writable dvd media is ~20 baht? I looked on pantiprice and even the el cheapo princo's are 45B.

Your right, dvd burners have come down a lot since last time I looked. A liteon can be had for 4000B. For around 5000B you can have a double layer drive but these appear to be first generation devices...not very reliable... and it looks like media will be hard to find and EXPENSIVE for the short term.

Fitting 8.5GB on a cheap reliable disc with no coasters would be ideal

4.5GB on a single density is tempting.

Buying hard drive after hard drive for only back up purposes is starting to piss me off a little.

Thanks for the responses.

[Firefoxx]

Yes, I'm pretty sure it's only 20 baht. In reality, princos aren't the cheapest, but they're the most recognized of the cheap. I bought a 25 pack of printable 4x DVD-R's (made by optodisc) for 500 baht. They're 25 baht each if you buy one at a time. Another brand was 450 baht/pack of 25. In contrast, I got a 50-pack of Verbatim 8x DVD+R's for $50 at best buy, which comes out to 40 baht each. The shop I bought them from is "sunshine" in IT Mall, top floor. Works fine on my pioneer A08. There are a bunch of bulk pack discs out in front of the store, easy to find. They have the pioneer A08XL for about 7,000 baht. They also sell dual-layer discs for 180 baht, the cheapest I've seen so far (usually see them for about 400-500 baht each). Not very cost-effective to write double-layer right now, so I haven't written any.

Hard drives are still nice for online storage, and they're necessary for things like video editing. However, for backups it would be easier to just keep writing DVD-R's.

Do some research on DVD-R drive models before buying. I was lucky and got a drive which, with hacked firmware, is able to choose any speed with any disc (usually DVD writing speeds are locked to the disc's specs). I'm able to write 1x discs reliably at 8x (or more).