I'm planning to build a new external harddrive, whose main function will be to act as a scratch disk and work container. Hence, it'll be quite active, and I will be relying on excellent transfer and read speeds.
The reason why I chose to build an external hard drive over installing another internal hard drive, was because I wanted it to be fairly mobile, as I might need to use another workstation outside of my computer.
I've investigated using FireWire 800, which is without a doubt, faster than USB 2.0 and FireWire 400. The problem is: FireWire 800 is more expensive, and less options are available (especially here in Canada). As a result, I've compiled two builds, one containing FireWire 800 and one using FireWire 400. Both enclosures will have a USB 2.0.
I'd appreciate any feedback, especially if people here have a lot of experience with doing work off of an external hard drive. Please note: All figures are in Canadian Dollars.
Build 1 (FireWire 800/FireWire 400/USB 2.0):
Hard Drive: Hitachi DeskStar 7K250 / 250GB / 7200 / 8MB / ATA-100 / EIDE
Cost: $134.99
Link: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/...ails.asp?EdpNo=1058637&sku=THD-2500HH8
PCI Card: Ultra 3-Port 1394b Firewire 800 PCI Card
Cost: $53.99
Link: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/...details.asp?EdpNo=1456367&sku=ULT31883
Enclosure: Iogear ION 3.5" USB 2.0 / Firewire 800 External Hard Drive Enclosure
Cost: $123.99
Link: http://www.iogear.com/main.php?loc=product&Item=GHE835C
Total(After Taxes and S+H): Close to $390
Build 2 (FireWire 400/USB 2.0):
Hard Drive: Hitachi DeskStar 7K250 / 250GB / 7200 / 8MB / ATA-100 / EIDE
Cost: $134.99
Link: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/...ails.asp?EdpNo=1058637&sku=THD-2500HH8
Enclosure: Hiro 3.5in Aluminum Firewire Hard Drive Enclosure with Oxford 911 Chipset
Cost: $74.99
Link: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/.../item-details.asp?EdpNo=876437&CatId=0
Total(after Taxes, S+H): $263.06
Essentially, there's a difference of $130.00 between the FireWire 800 and FireWire 400 build. It's been hard to find good FW 800 enclosures around Canada (yes, I've seen the Rosewill enclosure, only I can't local Ontario dealers selling it). Moreover, since I don't have a FW 800 port on my computer, I have to buy one.
As said, transfer speed is a fairly important issue with me, since I'll be working with a lot of huge files. But is it necessary? Have people here found it reasonable or alright to work with merely USB 2.0/FW 400?
Moreover, another concern is of the FW 800 enclosure. It doesn't have a fan. And if this was an aluminum enclosure, I might not mind, but it's a combo of plastic and metal. More importantly, I have not found any reviews on this enclosure, so it's hard for me to judge on reliability. Moreover, I can't find information it's chipset. In contrast, the Hiro is made of aluminium, contains the 911 chipset.
In any case, I'm welcome to concerns, questions, or more importantly, suggestions!
The reason why I chose to build an external hard drive over installing another internal hard drive, was because I wanted it to be fairly mobile, as I might need to use another workstation outside of my computer.
I've investigated using FireWire 800, which is without a doubt, faster than USB 2.0 and FireWire 400. The problem is: FireWire 800 is more expensive, and less options are available (especially here in Canada). As a result, I've compiled two builds, one containing FireWire 800 and one using FireWire 400. Both enclosures will have a USB 2.0.
I'd appreciate any feedback, especially if people here have a lot of experience with doing work off of an external hard drive. Please note: All figures are in Canadian Dollars.
Build 1 (FireWire 800/FireWire 400/USB 2.0):
Hard Drive: Hitachi DeskStar 7K250 / 250GB / 7200 / 8MB / ATA-100 / EIDE
Cost: $134.99
Link: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/...ails.asp?EdpNo=1058637&sku=THD-2500HH8
PCI Card: Ultra 3-Port 1394b Firewire 800 PCI Card
Cost: $53.99
Link: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/...details.asp?EdpNo=1456367&sku=ULT31883
Enclosure: Iogear ION 3.5" USB 2.0 / Firewire 800 External Hard Drive Enclosure
Cost: $123.99
Link: http://www.iogear.com/main.php?loc=product&Item=GHE835C
Total(After Taxes and S+H): Close to $390
Build 2 (FireWire 400/USB 2.0):
Hard Drive: Hitachi DeskStar 7K250 / 250GB / 7200 / 8MB / ATA-100 / EIDE
Cost: $134.99
Link: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/...ails.asp?EdpNo=1058637&sku=THD-2500HH8
Enclosure: Hiro 3.5in Aluminum Firewire Hard Drive Enclosure with Oxford 911 Chipset
Cost: $74.99
Link: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/.../item-details.asp?EdpNo=876437&CatId=0
Total(after Taxes, S+H): $263.06
Essentially, there's a difference of $130.00 between the FireWire 800 and FireWire 400 build. It's been hard to find good FW 800 enclosures around Canada (yes, I've seen the Rosewill enclosure, only I can't local Ontario dealers selling it). Moreover, since I don't have a FW 800 port on my computer, I have to buy one.
As said, transfer speed is a fairly important issue with me, since I'll be working with a lot of huge files. But is it necessary? Have people here found it reasonable or alright to work with merely USB 2.0/FW 400?
Moreover, another concern is of the FW 800 enclosure. It doesn't have a fan. And if this was an aluminum enclosure, I might not mind, but it's a combo of plastic and metal. More importantly, I have not found any reviews on this enclosure, so it's hard for me to judge on reliability. Moreover, I can't find information it's chipset. In contrast, the Hiro is made of aluminium, contains the 911 chipset.
In any case, I'm welcome to concerns, questions, or more importantly, suggestions!
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