? for the computer dudes

[Josh]

Don't know if data transfer speed is the #1 priority for you,this unit is a bit slow but you get RAID 1 redundancy for pretty cheap.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Netg...psm/oid/127433/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do#tabs

I plan on getting one as a backup and storage for my photos and MP3.

That looks like a nice unit.

Keep in mind that it is a NAS and not a drive enclosure. This means you are limited in formats you can use on the disk. For example, with a USB external drive, internally it is IDE and since it it connected directly to the PC you control the format (FAT/NTFS/etc). Since the Netgear device is a NAS (network attached storage), it transmits the data via ethernet (so you are talking max around 80Mb) and the actual formatting and maintenance of the drive arrays is done by the onboard controller. The onboard controller doesn't support FAT/NTFS, so you can't just pull the drives out of the enclosure and use them in a PC.

I like those Netgear boxes for reusing old drives but what I just mentioned is a big problem for some people. If it dies you need to replace it with another enclosure.

 

[fritz]

Maxtor makes junk and their ceo should be shot.


When I think of maxtor I think of that grinding sound they all make, the really loud one that usually comes before they fail.

 

[reefman]

i had the same problem with ibm. they were getting so much complaints,they sold their hd sector to hitachi.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Well I used the first IBM made 5M HD uptil the 500G nowadays and the 1T RAID by whoever. I used a lot of these stuffs and I found out that it's not the brand you should worry but, UNFORTURNATELY, the particular model and batch you should worry more. I think all drives at the similar price range performs very similarly. I have used IDE WD drives in couple RAID-5 and some drives will die even during set up. Same goes for Seagate and Maxtor. They can still be used individually but just not in RAID configuration because I chose the cheaper versions not RAID certififed. The electronic components are not the best for the cheaper versions.

Some recent ones to avoid would be the 500G Maxtor external USB version, 2 out of 4 in one batch crash the raid already installed in the system-I think it's a driver issue. From then on, I am hesitant in plugging any large size USB drive into any of the RAID system. Then, 1 of out 3 died in 2 weeks in a second batch of Maxtor. 1 out of 4 400G WD external USB DOA. My colleagues have much better experience when choosing the more expensive versions. SATA 80G WD-3 DOA out of 17. Give you guys the model numbers when I find them. All these drives are bought from Newegg.com - a pretty reputable company and Dell Computer-also quite reputable.