500GB> Hard Drive Space?

[Mr Bob]

I need around 500GB of hard drive space, I could settle for 400gb, but somewhere around 500 would be ideal. I can purchase two drives instead of paying a massive amount of a 500gb drive.

I have been able to find the following deals so far:
- Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200JD 320GB SATA150 - $.362/GB (limit 1)
- Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JS 250GB SATA150 - $.3992/GB (no limit)

I've noticed that quite often a drive will incorrectly read the total storage, and a 320GB drive might only hold 300GB of space. Not sure if there is a set % that every drive is off, if not then that might be a deciding factor.

I've checked out PriceGrabber, and these two drives seem to be the best deal for having around 500GB of space.

I also have the option of going with ATA100/133, but after looking at prices, it appears there isn't much of a price difference (matter of a few dollars) to warrant the slower speed.

Any suggestions?

 

[KBTuning]

the size problem is that HDD makers say 1GB is 1000 MB while everyone else says 1GB is 1024MB.... so a 160GB drive is really like 148 i think. no way to get around it.

get two of the 320GB, two diffrent orders or two differnt credit cards.... and raid them.

 

[egkenny]

Originally posted by: Mr Bob

I've noticed that quite often a drive will incorrectly read the total storage, and a 320GB drive might only hold 300GB of space. Not sure if there is a set % that every drive is off, if not then that might be a deciding factor.

It has to do with numbering systems. By tradition and because computers work with powers of 2 Microsoft has used the definition that 1KB = 2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2 = 1024 bytes. Also, 1GB = 1024 x 1024 x 1024 = 1,073,741,824 bytes

Hard drive manufactures for marketing reasons define 1GB = 1000 x 1000 x1000 = 1,000,000,000 bytes.

320 GB drive / 1,073,741,824 bytes per GB = 298 GB

In other words a 320 GB drive has 298 GB according to to DOS and Windows. Nothing mysterious, nothing lost, just a different numbering systems.

Hard drive manufactures could say that the above drive has 298 GB but instead say it has 320 GB because that sounds better.

 

[daniel1113]

Originally posted by: KBTuning
the size problem is that HDD makers say 1GB is 1000 MB while everyone else says 1GB is 1024MB.... so a 160GB drive is really like 148 i think. no way to get around it.

get two of the 320GB, two diffrent orders or two differnt credit cards.... and raid them.

I wouldn't bother setting up RAID, since you would just being setting up a RAID 0 array which really provides no benefits. Either keep them as separate disks, setup a JBOD array, or use dynamic discs in XP. I think separate disks is probably the best option.

 

[Mr Bob]

"get two of the 320GB, two diffrent orders or two differnt credit cards.... and raid them. "
- Well, I have to deal with rebates and such, which is why I said I could only get one. Rebates usually work off of your home address, and it is a limit of one per household- not order. In fact, the PDF info on the rebate says "This offer is limited to one (1) rebate per customer/name/address."

Also, doing raid would hurt more than it would help. It is a drive for storage (backups), something not being accessed all the time.

Thanks for the info on how the numbering system works. 🙂

If anyone has any suggestions for better deals, please speak up. Looks like what I listed above is about the best $/GB.

 

[mb]

How about this drive?

Certainly isn't the most cost effective, but hey, it's 500gb in one drive (465gb in Windows?).

 

[Noobtastic]

I heard seagate was good.

Why do you need so much space?

300gigs should be enough for most people.

 

[Mr Bob]

$332 for 500gb is $.66/gb, the drives I listed have a much better $/per GB ratio.

"I heard seagate was good."
- Seagate makes great drives. I've been happy with Seagate/WD, but slightly disappointed with Maxtor. Hard drive selection is usually just a personal preference, since all 3 manufacturers make great drives.

"Why do you need so much space?"
- Backups... I have around 80-100gb that I need backed up quite a few times.

For $215 (the two drives listed my first post), I can get 570GB of storage.