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Looking for a good external SATA RAID 1 solution

Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Edit: Solution found thanks to GrammatonJP! $160 for the case with a PCI eSATA card. See further down for more details...

I'm in the market for a good backup system for my computer. Here are my requirements:

* RAID 1 (mirroring) for data security
* Large (250gb to 400gb; 2 drives)
* On/off switch
* External case
* SATA connection

Basically I want a big, fat external RAID 1 solution that I can turn on and off so that the data isn't exposed to the computer/Internet all the time. I do nightly backups and I also want to keep ISOs of my software CD/DVD discs on it, which is why I want RAID mirroring. So far I have found two pre-made solutions, but both are expensive and don't have a lot of storage for the price:

G-SATA (2x250gb = $519; 2x500gb = $1,119)

LaCie Two Big (2x250gb = $469; 2x500gb = $949)

Considering 250gb hard drives cost $90 on Newegg, $500 for two of them in RAID 1 doesn't seem like such a hot deal to me. One thought I had was to get two SATA enclosures with SATA hard drives, then use the motherboard's built-in RAID (MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum) to run RAID between them. Newegg sells a nice little dual SATA PCI adapter for $7:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813997002

It'd be a bit more of a hassle though, since I would have to turn both drives on and off everytime I want to use them. I'm not sure how much the RAID controller would like them turning on at different times either. However, it would be way cheaper per gigabyte; a 400gb RAID setup would cost about $600 versus $500 for a pre-made 250gb solution. Any other suggestions or solutions would be appreciated!
 
To do R1 , you either need a dedicated hardware or really good software.

I couldn't find any decent one.. besides the Thecus N2100

But its basically a PC with OS on it and RAID.. So you might as well build a shuttle type box that you can do more with.

Most of those shuttle type can hold 2 drives, has sata raid. Plus its similar price to these NAS units..
 
Originally posted by: GrammatonJP
To do R1 , you either need a dedicated hardware or really good software.

I couldn't find any decent one.. besides the Thecus N2100

But its basically a PC with OS on it and RAID.. So you might as well build a shuttle type box that you can do more with.

Most of those shuttle type can hold 2 drives, has sata raid. Plus its similar price to these NAS units..
Click to expand...

Yeah, but the Thecus is network-connected rather than serially-connected. I want speed! 😀 I'd go with internal drives but I don't want them exposed to the computer all the time; I just want them connected for the duration of the backup. A full Ghost backup takes awhile over USB and Firewire; I'm hoping a direct SATA connection will speed things up a bit. Sigh. Maybe I should just do two seperate drives and copy them over occassionally.
 
Originally posted by: GrammatonJP
Market hasn't woken up yet.. prob see more in a few month
Click to expand...

I'll stick with my dinky 4200rpm 2.5" 80gb drive until then 😛
 
Get a refurb'd Dell 8400, 9100, or XPS 400, and add in your own drives. A little pricey, but cheaper than what you are looking at and gives you more than what you're needing. OR, just build a simple PC with a mobo that supports SATA raid.
 
Whoo-hoo, solution found by fuji257 over at 123MacMini! link

$160 for the enclosure, supports RAID 1 and Firewire400. IDE drives only. Outpost has 400gb Seagates for $150, so $460 = 400gb RAID 1 external storage! YAY!! 😀

Edit: Umm why is Merit Line ****** out? Is it a bad store or something?
 
Originally posted by: GrammatonJP
#2 - Thecus N2050 as you asked for.. SATA external enclosure with RAID

http://www.thecus.com/products_over.php?cid=1&pid=3

eSATA or USB 2
2 DRIVES
Hardware RAID !
Comes with eSata controller

165 @ page computer

http://www.pagecomputers.com/store/prod...me=32g32c302s1287&product%5Fid=1024701
Click to expand...

Hahaha, I've been looking all over for that thing! Thanks for the link...hmm only 1 left in stock, decisions, decisions...

Edit: dangit, I want the green one and they only have the blue one :\
 
Here are a couple info pages:

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=4229

http://www.mobilewhack.com/computers/review/thecus_n2050_esata_on_das.html

And a really in-depth review from Tom's Hardware:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/04/17/thecus_brings_sata_to_external_storage/

Page Computer has a pretty bad Reseller Ratings rep, but the other two online stores it's available from (JP Electronics and Sunwill) don't even have reps, so I guess I'm going with the less of one evil and two unknowns. Score is 3.38/6-months and 6.35/lifetime. Sigh. Pray for me! :roll:
 
Ahah, found them on Newegg under "N2050GX". The stupid "GX" part isn't listed on their website and thus doesn't show up in searches for "N2050". $168 shipped on Newegg, available in both green and blue. After looking at "real" pictures of both, I think I like the blue one better! The green isn't as vibrant as I'd hoped.

They include a PCI SATA card, but I believe you can just use a PCI adapter to hook it into your motherboard's onboard SATA ports (useful if you're low on PCI room). Sabrent sells a 1-port model as well as a 2-port model, both for under $10.

As far as hard drives go, the best bang-for-the-buck right now is 250gb drives. Seagate has a 250gb SATA model available on Newegg for $90 each. So for $340 you can have an uber-fast RAID 1 (mirroring) 250gb setup for your desktop with an on/off switch for data security. Yum!
 
I bought a panasonic tought book from page and plus i order about 20 sdlt tapes there every 2-3 week.. and have 0 problems... but i would monitor that site for prices...

every day the price changes

my tought book, price range from 1850 to 2100.. i bought it on the day that it dropped to 1850.. it was pretty funny how the price changes daily..
 
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