NoahRane
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What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
Since there is so much going on in another thread I thought I would ask this of the DAW veterans: What hard drives (Brands and Models) are best suited for a DAW like Sonar? Certain specs?
Thanks
Bradford Guy (AKA: Noah Rane) Gigabyte GA-880GA-UD3H
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tlw
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/13 19:05:39
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☄ Helpful
SATAII upwards, 7500rpm upwards, big internal buffer. No "green" technology that slows them down. Acoustically quiet.
I'm getting good results from a 1 TB Samsung F3 with the first 500GB partitioned for projects if that helps.
Sonar Platinum 64bit, Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit, I7 3770K Ivybridge, 16GB Ram, Gigabyte Z77-D3H m/board, ATI 7750 graphics+ 1GB RAM, 2xIntel 520 series 220GB SSDs, 1 TB Samsung F3 + 1 TB WD HDDs, Seasonic fanless 460W psu, RME Fireface UFX, Focusrite Octopre. Assorted real synths, guitars, mandolins, diatonic accordions, percussion, fx and other stuff.
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Jim Roseberry
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/13 19:53:56
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☄ Helpful
1 TB Samsung F3 with the first 500GB partitioned for projects if that helps.
It's hard to beat the Samsung F3 HDs. 1TB drive is $60 Sustains ~130MB/Sec on reads Extremely reliable Quiet The F3's are faster than most SATA-III HDs with 64MB cache
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Player
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/13 21:59:51
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☄ Helpful
I got two of these last spring at Jim's recommendation, and they work great.
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NoahRane
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/13 22:28:58
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Jim Roseberry
1 TB Samsung F3 with the first 500GB partitioned for projects if that helps.
It's hard to beat the Samsung F3 HDs.
1TB drive is $60
Sustains ~130MB/Sec on reads
Extremely reliable
Quiet
The F3's are faster than most SATA-III HDs with 64MB cache
Any vendor in particular you use? I have been going with Tiger Direct or Comp USA.
Bradford Guy (AKA: Noah Rane) Gigabyte GA-880GA-UD3H
AMD PhenomII Black x6 1100T 3.3Mhz
16gig RAM
Windows 7 Home Premium 64
2 1TB Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm 32Mg HDs
3 Seagate GoFlex 2TB Externals
M-Audio Delta 1010 LT
Sonar X1c Producer
Novation 49SL MK2
Alesis Control Pad
Native Instuments Maschine
Tascam CD-RW900SL
KRK Rokit 8 x2
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timidi
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/13 22:44:17
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bentleyousley
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/13 23:27:02
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Jim Roseberry
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/13 23:47:55
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Wow! From the customer ratings on newegg, it appears that about 20% are receiving hard disks of this type that fail immediately or fail within a couple of months of use. What kind of quality control is this? Is a super-cheap price worth taking this much of a risk with your data? Hi Bently, FWIW, I've used scores and scores of these HDs. Wanna know how many I've had to replace?  Two... Reliability has been very good.
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LJB
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/14 02:40:10
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FWIW, I believe the Western Digital Caviar Black drives are also killer. As reliability goes, I have only ever bought Seagate Baracuda and have never had a failure in probably 20+ drives, incl the ones I take to gigs to record.
Ludwig Bouwer, One Big Room Studios.
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Check out my work at www.onebigroom.co.za
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perfectprint
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/14 03:04:10
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Bristol_Jonesey
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/14 04:05:07
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I use Western Digitals in all my desktops. Never had a single problem with any of them, but as stated above, don't opt for the "green" versions.
Another brand to avoid are Maxtor. I've had 3 of these fail over the years, thankfully, none of them were installed in my DAW
CbB, Platinum, 64 bit throughoutCustom built i7 3930, 32Gb RAM, 2 x 1Tb Internal HDD, 1 x 1TB system SSD (Win 7), 1 x 500Gb system SSD (Win 10), 2 x 1Tb External HDD's, Dual boot Win 7 & Win 10 64 Bit, Saffire Pro 26, ISA One, Adam P11A,
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ProjectM
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/14 08:27:39
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WD Caviar Black and Seagate Barracuda are the only ones I use. Tried a few and these are the ones I've come to trust. I have two Caviars and Two Barracudas in my current DAW, Two Barracudas in my office/play/surf/fun PC and a Momentus in the Laptop
(Sonar Platinum - Win10 x64) - iMac and 13" MacBook - Logic Pro X ++ - UA Apollo Twin DUO - NI Maschine MKII - NI Komplete Kontrol S61 - Novation Nocturne - KRK Rokit 6 SoundcloudNegative Vibe Records
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burkek
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/14 08:45:51
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I use Western Digital greens and have never had a problem.
KEv
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Startngo
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/14 12:27:22
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If you don't mind, I'd like to extend this question to include external drives.
Is Glyph the way to go?
Which is better for speed/reliability/low hassles: USB or FW?
I need a bigger drive for samples and maybe to double as a backup for my internal drives - is this not advisable?
Thanks,
--Startngo
Sonar 8.5.3, Windows XP SP3, Dell Vostro 400 Intel Core2 Duo 2.66 GHz Pocessor - 4GB RAM - Two 250 GB SATA HD(7200 RPM) - 256 MB Nvidia GeForce 8600GTS - Acer 21.5 WS LCD monitor - Dell 19" CRT monitor, Emu 0404 PCI interface, Mackie Satellite FW interface, Mackie HR824 monitors, Yamaha NS-10M monitors, Kurzweil PC3, Korg Poly-800, Roland XV-3080...
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Jim Roseberry
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/14 13:36:47
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Is Glyph the way to go? Take the fastest HD you can afford... and put it in a nice eSATA enclosure. That's the best external HD you can buy.
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tlw
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/14 21:39:45
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I've had to return an F3 - failed within 4 days of installation (read/write errors with sectors going bad at an alarming rate).
In the last 5 years I've had three drive failures - two Seagates (used well past their atnicipated meand time before failure) and the F3.
As for the WD Black, I'm using one as system drive. Performance measured by HDTach is very similar ot the F3. The WD has a slight advantage in random seek times and burst rate, the F3 a slightly better sustained data transfer rate. The WD is also a quiet drive.
Sonar Platinum 64bit, Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit, I7 3770K Ivybridge, 16GB Ram, Gigabyte Z77-D3H m/board, ATI 7750 graphics+ 1GB RAM, 2xIntel 520 series 220GB SSDs, 1 TB Samsung F3 + 1 TB WD HDDs, Seasonic fanless 460W psu, RME Fireface UFX, Focusrite Octopre. Assorted real synths, guitars, mandolins, diatonic accordions, percussion, fx and other stuff.
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trimph1
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/14 23:45:00
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I've got 2 2 Tb Seagate Barracudas here..never had any issues with them.
The space you have will always be exceeded in direct proportion to the amount of stuff you have...Thornton's Postulate. Bushpianos
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inaheartbeat
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/15 09:28:12
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Startngo
If you don't mind, I'd like to extend this question to include external drives.
Is Glyph the way to go?
Which is better for speed/reliability/low hassles: USB or FW?
I need a bigger drive for samples and maybe to double as a backup for my internal drives - is this not advisable?
Thanks,
--Startngo
I can't speak for whether Glyph is the way to go. Jim's suggestion of a nice eSata external cab and the best drive you can get would be my path on this. As far as USB or FW I would suggest neither one unless you can use USB 3.0. USB 2.0 would be acceptable for backups but not for sample streaming. FW 800 might work but a much better interface would be eSata if you can put that on your system.
PC Audio Labs mobile i7 MC, 3.46 Ghz i7 990X, 12 Gb RAM, 3 750 Gb 7200 RPM drives, 3 USB2, 2 USB 3 ports, firewire, Windows 7 64 bit Pro, Sonar X3e Producer 64 bit,
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Startngo
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/16 15:32:19
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inaheartbeat
Startngo
If you don't mind, I'd like to extend this question to include external drives.
Is Glyph the way to go?
Which is better for speed/reliability/low hassles: USB or FW?
I need a bigger drive for samples and maybe to double as a backup for my internal drives - is this not advisable?
Thanks,
--Startngo
I can't speak for whether Glyph is the way to go. Jim's suggestion of a nice eSata external cab and the best drive you can get would be my path on this. As far as USB or FW I would suggest neither one unless you can use USB 3.0. USB 2.0 would be acceptable for backups but not for sample streaming. FW 800 might work but a much better interface would be eSata if you can put that on your system.
Jim Roseberry
Is Glyph the way to go?
Take the fastest HD you can afford... and put it in a nice eSATA enclosure.
That's the best external HD you can buy.
Thanks for the advice, but, alas, I have a computer from 2008 and it doesn't have an eSata port on it. Is USB 2.0 and FW400 really no good for connecting an external hard drive to use as a sound library (samples, loops, midi files, etc.)? My computer came with a FW card and I was really hoping to add a Glyph-type drive as a source drive and for project file backups. Anyone have any experience(good or bad) doing it this way (USB or FW)? I would have to dig into the computer, I may have room for another internal drive, but I don't know if it is SATA or even if I have a SATA port to plug another internal drive into it. Thanks, --Startngo
Sonar 8.5.3, Windows XP SP3, Dell Vostro 400 Intel Core2 Duo 2.66 GHz Pocessor - 4GB RAM - Two 250 GB SATA HD(7200 RPM) - 256 MB Nvidia GeForce 8600GTS - Acer 21.5 WS LCD monitor - Dell 19" CRT monitor, Emu 0404 PCI interface, Mackie Satellite FW interface, Mackie HR824 monitors, Yamaha NS-10M monitors, Kurzweil PC3, Korg Poly-800, Roland XV-3080...
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Jim Roseberry
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/16 16:37:39
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Thanks for the advice, but, alas, I have a computer from 2008 and it doesn't have an eSata port on it. Is USB 2.0 and FW400 really no good for connecting an external hard drive to use as a sound library (samples, loops, midi files, etc.)? My computer came with a FW card and I was really hoping to add a Glyph-type drive as a source drive and for project file backups. Anyone have any experience(good or bad) doing it this way (USB or FW)? I would have to dig into the computer, I may have room for another internal drive, but I don't know if it is SATA or even if I have a SATA port to plug another internal drive into it. Do you have a free SATA port (inside the PC)? If so, you can add an eSATA port for ~$10. Get an eSATA bracket... and connect it to a free internal SATA port. As long as the HD controller is in AHCI mode, you can connect a HD... and it'll appear as soon as it spins up. If the HD controller is in IDE mode, you'll need to power up the eSATA HD... then reboot the machine. (The drive will be seen once rebooted) -FW400 will top out in the high 30s MB/Sec sustained transfer (no matter how fast the drive) -USB 2.0 will top out in the mid 30s MB/Sec sustained transfer (no matter how fast the drive) -eSATA will yield the full speed of the drive. Use a fast HD... and you'll achieve well over 100MB/Sec sustained.
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Startngo
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/16 16:53:06
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Jim Roseberry
Do you have a free SATA port (inside the PC)?
If so, you can add an eSATA port for ~$10.
Get an eSATA bracket... and connect it to a free internal SATA port.
As long as the HD controller is in AHCI mode, you can connect a HD... and it'll appear as soon as it spins up.
If the HD controller is in IDE mode, you'll need to power up the eSATA HD... then reboot the machine.
(The drive will be seen once rebooted)
-FW400 will top out in the high 30s MB/Sec sustained transfer (no matter how fast the drive)
-USB 2.0 will top out in the mid 30s MB/Sec sustained transfer (no matter how fast the drive)
-eSATA will yield the full speed of the drive. Use a fast HD... and you'll achieve well over 100MB/Sec sustained.
Thanks for the info, Jim. I'll have to open the computer and see. Will that port be mounted on a regular rear slot (kinda like a PCI card?) EDIT: I know the SATA ports inside will be on the Motherboard, I'm talking about buying an additional external port to be able to hook up the external drive.
I'm assuming the optical drives are using SATA, too. If all the SATA ports are filled inside, then maybe I can remove the DVD player (and keep the burner - don't really need both of them, I'm guessing). Didn't know the transfer rates were so low for those connections...bummer. I'll see about getting the eSATA port and external case and get one of those Samsungs you recommended or a Barracuda - looks like the whole thing will be a little over $100 - not bad considering the cost of the Glyphs and them not being usable for source material. I appreciate the quick reply! ---Startngo
Sonar 8.5.3, Windows XP SP3, Dell Vostro 400 Intel Core2 Duo 2.66 GHz Pocessor - 4GB RAM - Two 250 GB SATA HD(7200 RPM) - 256 MB Nvidia GeForce 8600GTS - Acer 21.5 WS LCD monitor - Dell 19" CRT monitor, Emu 0404 PCI interface, Mackie Satellite FW interface, Mackie HR824 monitors, Yamaha NS-10M monitors, Kurzweil PC3, Korg Poly-800, Roland XV-3080...
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Jim Roseberry
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/16 17:00:48
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ll that port be mounted on a regular rear slot (kinda like a PCI card?) Yes, the eSATA Bracket would mount in any empty slot space. You'd do well with a Samsung F3, Seagate .12, or WesternDigital Black I've listed the units in order of speed. (F3 is fastest - all sustain above 100MB/Sec) In our experience, the Samsung and WesternDigital drives are less prone to failure. FWIW, If you work with enough quantity, you'll see failure from all the above. Backup your data... and proceed with confidence.
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SCorey
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/17 09:34:22
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burkek said: I use Western Digital greens and have never had a problem.
I use the Western Digital greens for backup drives and I've had two go bad on me. Just goes to show that the backups are just as important as the live data. I make sure to have two backups of everything in case one of the backups goes bad. Which has happened.
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Startngo
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Re:What Brand and Model Hard Drive?
2011/10/17 13:29:50
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Jim Roseberry
As long as the HD controller is in AHCI mode, you can connect a HD... and it'll appear as soon as it spins up.
If the HD controller is in IDE mode, you'll need to power up the eSATA HD... then reboot the machine.
(The drive will be seen once rebooted)
Okay, Jim. I've ordered an F3, the eSATA case and an eSATA bracket from newegg. Do I check in the BIOS or the setup screen (F2 on powerup) to see what HD mode I'm in? If I am in IDE, does that mean the external drive will have to powered up before the computer powers up every time or will it see it after the first time it's recognized, (if it's powered up after the computer or at the same time as the computer)? It looks like I only have 4 SATA connectors on the motherboard and they are all being used, so I will have to disconnect the DVD-ROM drive from the SATA connector (I will still have a different DVD-R/W drive in there) and, I assume, remove the drivers for that drive to get it to work properly. Do I need to worry about boot up sequences or anything else in the BIOS or startup when removing an optical drive and installing the eSATA drive? Thanks again for your information, it's been a big help to me. --Startngo
Sonar 8.5.3, Windows XP SP3, Dell Vostro 400 Intel Core2 Duo 2.66 GHz Pocessor - 4GB RAM - Two 250 GB SATA HD(7200 RPM) - 256 MB Nvidia GeForce 8600GTS - Acer 21.5 WS LCD monitor - Dell 19" CRT monitor, Emu 0404 PCI interface, Mackie Satellite FW interface, Mackie HR824 monitors, Yamaha NS-10M monitors, Kurzweil PC3, Korg Poly-800, Roland XV-3080...
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