SATA drives

[Tumlehund]

Hi all,

I'm going to setup a server at home and a vital part of this machine is of course the disk drives. I'm not going for SCSI drives, I think this will be too expensive. So, SATA it is. The role of this server will primarily be file serving, a bit of web serving and a bit of CD ripping/burning. The server will be running 24/7 (maybe going to standby during night), and I plan to go for RAID 5.

I have been reading a lot of reviews and a lot of forum posts all over the internet and I think I have narrowed down the down choices:
- Hitachi 7K500
- Western Digital WD4000YR
- Western Digital WD4000KD

Initially, my first choice would be wd4000yr since they seem to be the most reliable option (at least if you trust WD's marketing). However, if I understand everything correctly, this drive should be operated off of a controller that supports TLER. If I can run the drive from an onboard nForce4 controller, of course this will be a cheap solution, but I cannot find any evidence that this is possible?

Another option would be to pair the wd4000yr with a RAID controller that actually supports TLER, but I cannot find a source anywhere that can tell me which RAID controllers support TLER? Promise SuperTrak EX8350 could be an option, but it doesn't seem to support TLER?

My second choice would be 7K500, simply because of capacity. However, I cannot see anywhere how reliable this drive is compared to others. E.g. the wd4000yr enjoys a 24 hour burn-in, while the wd4000kd enjoys an 8 hour burn-in. How does the 7K500 compare to this?

I could really use some help. Any thoughts on this?

 

[ribbon13]

WD4000YR was engineered specifically for RAID5. TLER is a feature of the drive, and has nothing to do with the controller, it's only markted prerequisite is that your using the drive in a fault tolerant RAID like levels 1 or 5.

Given you're using RAID5, the price difference vs capactity of the 7K500 makes it a stupid choice. the WD4000's pwn the 500GB drives in GB/$

 

[Tumlehund]

Yeah, I know WD drives give me more bang for the buck, but this is not the only factor to consider. How about reliability and speed? Not to mention that in a 2TB setup I would save 1 drive (and 1 drive bay).

Will the WD4000YR work equally well as a single desktop drive (e.g. on an nForce4 controller), in a RAID setup on an nForce4 controller, and in a "real" RAID controller (e.g. EX8350)? Or will it only work "properly" with a "real" RAID controller? Or - if I understand what you're saying correctly - will it work properly with ANY controller, as long as it's run in RAID 1,5,6,10 etc?

 

[ribbon13]

Oh... I guess you missed the 'Raptor 7200' nickname?

I'm not sure how it will perform on softraid, but if it's weak, it will be no fault of the drive. They're just a haze of blaze on my Areca though. You can feel 400MB/s. (474MB/s to be exact.)

 

[Tumlehund]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
Oh... I guess you missed the 'Raptor 7200' nickname?

Hehe... nono, I read that review and it seems the guys@SR are pretty happy with the drive. I'm not sure I get your point?

I'm not sure how it will perform on softraid, but if it's weak, it will be no fault of the drive. They're just a haze of blaze on my Areca though. You can feel 400MB/s. (474MB/s to be exact.)

OK, here's the deal. I know that the drive wil *work* as a desktop drive, but since Western Digital actually discourages you from doing this, it must mean something?

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Tumlehund

Originally posted by: ribbon13
Oh... I guess you missed the 'Raptor 7200' nickname?

Hehe... nono, I read that review and it seems the guys@SR are pretty happy with the drive. I'm not sure I get your point?

I'm not sure how it will perform on softraid, but if it's weak, it will be no fault of the drive. They're just a haze of blaze on my Areca though. You can feel 400MB/s. (474MB/s to be exact.)

OK, here's the deal. I know that the drive wil *work* as a desktop drive, but since Western Digital actually discourages you from doing this, it must mean something?

Frankly, if you werethat concerned about performance, you would be using 10K/15KRPM SCSI.

IMO (as someone who works in the storage industry), the differences between various 7200RPM ATA/IDE drives (in terms of reliability; noise and performance DO differ somewhat) are simply not big enough to worry about. Buy a current-generation drive from any manufacturer and you're getting a pretty similar product. If uptime is a concern, you should be using RAID with hot-swap capable controllers.

 

[Tumlehund]

Originally posted by: Matthias99
Frankly, if you werethat concerned about performance, you would be using 10K/15KRPM SCSI.

Hehe... Now THAT is correct! ;-) However, it's way too expensive for me, so I have to look elsewhere :-/

Originally posted by: Matthias99
IMO (as someone who works in the storage industry), the differences between various 7200RPM ATA/IDE drives (in terms of reliability; noise and performance DO differ somewhat) are simply not big enough to worry about. Buy a current-generation drive from any manufacturer and you're getting a pretty similar product. If uptime is a concern, you should be using RAID with hot-swap capable controllers.

OK, I take your word for it. Since you work in the industry you probably know a lot more about this than me. What do you think about Western Digital's 24 hour burn-in compared to e.g. Hitachi 7K500 (I can't seem to find any info on burn-in)?

Maybe you know something about the Promise EX8550:
TextPromise SuperTrak EX8350
or maybe you can tell me what your impression is?

 

[Tumlehund]

Any thoughts on this?

 

[Bobthelost]

The WD4000YR is the best option for you, 5yr warranty, factory burn in, designed for RAID 5, cheaper than the k500...

What's there not to like?

 

[orangat]

I'd probably get the 4000YR as it is touted as a enterprise class drive which is designed for 24/7 operation. I remembered a manufacturer who said that their normal desktop lines weren't supposed to be left on all the time.

 

[Tumlehund]

I start noticing a trend towards the WD4000YR here

It's the only SATA drive (besides the Raptor) I see, which actually advertises 24x7 operation. I can't find any alternatives, so I guess I better get a couple of these. I wonder how this drive will work with the Promise EX8350 controller vs an onboard nForce4 controller.

 

[orangat]

Its not the only sata drive. Maxtor Maxline and Seagate Cheetah/NL35 are advertised as 24/7 operation drives too.

 

[Tumlehund]

Thanks for the info, I'll look into that. I guess it's matter of preference then? Which of the 3 models is the "best"?

 

[Bobthelost]

Fastest? The WD4000YR.

Check at storagereview.

 

[Tumlehund]

Thanks for the advice, guys, I think I'm going for the WD4000YR. I'll probably go for the EX8350 as well, but I need to find info on other people's experience with it.

 

[CpuDesigner]

You might want to take a look at this review on Toms Hardware (reviews two PCIe x4 RAID controllers, including the Promise EX8530, benchmarks are Raid 6).
Safer 6 for RAID Controllers

The Areca ARC-1220 controller appears to be a bit of a higher performer (at least for raid 6).

 

[Tumlehund]

Thanks for pointing me to that review. No question the Areca controller rules supreme, however, it's almost twice as expensive as the Promise EX8350. Considering the price tag, I think I'm going for the EX8350. unless I find bad user feedback somewhere, of course )

 

[ribbon13]

$400 vs $600 isn't double.

 

[Tumlehund]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
$400 vs $600 isn't double.

Where can you get the Areca at $600?

 

[Vegito]

I been running the maxtor maxline II 250 for 2 years @ 24/7 now.. 0 prob.. but then again, its in AC room 24/7 at 67 degrees.. so heat is reduced..