external Hard Drive
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Posted on Jan 24, 2008 11:37 am
Kaos62
Kaos is only a form of insanity
Member Since: Feb 03, 2005
My PC is getting rather full with files and space is getting thin. SO I am looking at buyinh an external HD, my questions are as follows
Which is the better / faster / more stable connection method USB or Ethernet (I run a small 2 pc network)
Can I run soft Synths off of it and use it to store the temp file whilst recording as well as hosting my VST's etc...
I await with great eagerness your most honoured responses ( where did that come from I must be over 100 years old saying that)
Cheers then
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BeerHunterwww.TheLondonProject.caMember
Since: Feb 07, 2005
Jan 24, 2008 11:44 am Depending on the speed of the network, ethernet would be faster. I'm talking a gigabit network though in which case it would be a little over twice as fast.
I think USB2 is somehting like 480 bps and a gigabit network is well.. a gig or 1,000 bps.
CptTrippsCzar of Turd PolishMember
Since: Jun 20, 2006
Jan 24, 2008 11:48 am Gigabit technically would be faster, but for stability I would go USB. I also would not want to try running it as a temp drive using either interface. Does your PC not have room for another HDD internally? That would be the cheapert and fastest option probably.
Jan 24, 2008 11:51 am Noize and I were just talking about something along this line...we were mentioning those terabyte units you can hook up to your network just like any other network device, I want one...so does he.
If course, speed isn't my big concern as mine would be for backups and not production...so it'd be a nightly/weekly backup processes...
Still, might be worth looking into one of those, it's not an "external drive" it's a network drive device...kinda neat.
CptTrippsCzar of Turd PolishMember
Since: Jun 20, 2006
Jan 24, 2008 11:54 am I would love a network storage drive, but would have to be 100% cabled and that's not possible with my studio room. It is on a wireless card and would benefit me 0% beings that's the computer I would need to back things up from. Very cool devices though. NAS I believe is their name, Network attached storage.
BeerHunterwww.TheLondonProject.caMember
Since: Feb 07, 2005
Jan 24, 2008 12:03 pm Quote:
Still, might be worth looking into one of those, it's not an "external drive" it's a network drive device...kinda neat.
Was that one of those Lacie drives? I think it was Lacie that I was looking at just yesterday.
Jan 24, 2008 12:09 pm can't remember a name on them, just the concept of the product...
Jan 24, 2008 12:27 pm NAS (Network Attached Storage)
Top 5 from PC World (not too far out of date)
www.pcworld.com/article/125072-1/article.html
There is also a product you can use to plug a USB drive into a router to achieve the same end result.
Kaos62Kaos is only a form of insanityMember
Since: Feb 03, 2005
Jan 24, 2008 12:30 pm quick responses as ever, cheers guys.
Tripps, Unfortunately my PC is used both for Studio and Work, I currently have 2 drives cannot add another) and have dual boot-up. After a heavy spring clean I would have enough space on the audio drive for projects I record and I can then move them to the external drive once done for editing and mixing.
dB - I like the sound of those network devices for sHure (pun intended).
BeerHunter - The network runs via a Netgear router and ethernet cards in the PC's
The other PC is my better half who is home-office based
question still remains can I host VST's and soft synth's on an external?
Kaos62Kaos is only a form of insanityMember
Since: Feb 03, 2005
Jan 24, 2008 12:32 pm thanks tony for that I'll have a read, but a bit out of my price range!!!!
CptTrippsCzar of Turd PolishMember
Since: Jun 20, 2006
Jan 24, 2008 01:41 pm Quote:
NAS (Network Attached Storage)
That info is sooooo 33 minutes ago ;)
Jan 24, 2008 01:41 pm hahahaha
Maybe it's the NyQuil, but I found that incredibly funny.
CptTrippsCzar of Turd PolishMember
Since: Jun 20, 2006
Jan 24, 2008 01:43 pm Yeah, the high school girl just came out in me I guess :)
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Jan 24, 2008 10:52 pm The NetGear and the Buffalo Terra station are the only two on that page I would even consider, Maxtor is nothing but crap, I've seen 6 of them give up the ghost in less then 4 months so that leaves them out of my equation.
I am looking at the Terra Station and the Simple Share units. Although the units from Simple Share come with musltiple USB 2.0 hook ups to utilize USB drives for expanding the capacity. And their software is far above that which is supplied by the others. Much better protection and server set up capability.
But as dB stated, my use is more for back ups and possible media storage for access by the whole house. On last count, music storage would account for over 400 gigs all on its own.
Thats not counting media from the studio.
Kaos62Kaos is only a form of insanityMember
Since: Feb 03, 2005
Feb 13, 2008 09:35 pm Just a little update, I eventually bought a NAS drive. 500gb Iomega as it was in the sales over here, I paid equivalent to 210USD.
Now I know Iomega are not the best, but after carefull consideration and reflection This will only be used as storage, which will free up enough space on my hard drives for recording. The installation was painless and it seems to work very well.
Thanks again all for your input, I knew I could rely on you all to help me out
CptTrippsCzar of Turd PolishMember
Since: Jun 20, 2006
Feb 14, 2008 11:11 am Cool deal man :) I personally have never owned Iomega drives but have never really heard anything bad about them either.
For the guys looking for some internal storage Newegg has 750GB sata drives for around $150, and also 750GB maxtor external drives for $180.
Hmmmmm, although a little overkill I think I could fill it in time :)
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Feb 16, 2008 11:01 pm Ya kaos, Iomega is a pretty well respected name in the recording industry for their drive bays and set ups. I used one years ago at another studio when digital was in its infancy. And their Jazz drives are still in use around the world today.
zekthedeadcowEat Spam before it eats YOU!!!Member
Since: May 11, 2002
Feb 16, 2008 11:22 pm I would be very reluctant to have a .75TB drive in anything other than at least a RAID5... data recovery labs must be salivating waiting for those to fail...
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Feb 17, 2008 10:19 pm I have had a couple of 750's running for awhile now, not here though. But they haven't had any issues yet. They are however backed up every night. But they are a constant run drive so they are not shutting down or powering down either. I'm waiting to see how those perform before I jump on a 750 or 1 TB drive myself. But as you stated, a redundant RAID5 would be the best thing to do for safety with those at the moment.
By the way, I have found that the Seagate units are running a good deal cooler mean temp then either the Maxtor, WD or Toshiba drives at the moment. Not sure why, but I am guessing Seagate is investing in drive longevity and performance along with size.
