Do I have to use Raid at all?

[alildevil]

Is this possiable?
To have (1) Sata HD (500gb) as the XP op system on it.
Another (1) Sata HD (500gb) with evenutally Vista on it.
And be able to have it as Duel Boot, where during boot it will ask qwhat one I want to run.

Also another (2) Sata Hd's with 500gb for storage that can be accessed from both op systems.

So that whether I boot to either one OP or the other I will have 1.5 TB of space?

For the one with XP i would use something like Disk Image, and have a back of it on one of the storage drives.

On the Vista one I will find some software that can do the same thing when it is released.

See I don't need nor want to have a drive with everything that is on the main HD (the one booted) but just some saves that I could make myself at regular intivals at the time of my own choosing.

If so would I have to use any sort of Raid setup?

This is what I would like to setup on my new build and the HD's are comming inabout a week. I would prefer not to use a removeable HD rack for this machine.

 

[rvnguy]

It is your choice as to use RAID or not. You can just use your SATA drives like a normal IDE drive 'complete in itself'.

Just a note: as these drives are large and I would assume that you have data to fill them, please begin a regiment of backing up files that you don't wnat to lose or are not easily replaced.

Another note: you will find that many here will create a smaller partition on a large drive to hold the OS and apps, with XP the is on the order of 20-30GB. Part of the reason is that many have to reinstall their OS & Apps on occasion, your data is separate.

Hope this helps


rvnguy
"I know everything..I just can't remember it all

 

[alildevil]

Yea I have (2) 200 IDE drives now and have them split into (1 drive) has 100/100 other is 150/50
I need lots of space for editing videos, and also for game map creations, and such

Thanks you answered my question about the usage of Sata drives.
So basically just install the fresh OP xpSP2 onto one sata drive in new machine, and after all is installed and runnign fine...

Then after just hook up the other drives like the way that I did with the second (IDE) one in my machine now.

Also This machine that I'm on now supports sata drives. I was wondering if there is anyway to just hook up one at a time then test another to the existing Mobo, to make sure it works.
See I would like to get the HD's for the new build, and get the purchasign part out of the way, but don't want to have to get then and then wait past the online stores, 15 or 30 day return policy if I get a dud.

Present machine
MS Windows XP Home Edtion
CD1 Samsung CDRW/DVD SM-352B
CD2 Plextor 52X
Sound Blaster Audigy 2
ATI RADEON 9800 XT 256MB (6.14.0010.6458)
Monitor NEC Multisync FE2111sb
Diamondback Razor Mouse
ASUS P4C800-XT (BIOS V5.28.01) (1016)
INTEL P4 3.2MZ
HARD DRIVES (2) Western Digitial 200GB (WD2000JB-00DUA0)
DirectX 9.0c
RAM DDR 4GB

 

[rvnguy]

Check your current mobo manual & BIOS for haw to enable the SATA bus.

Yes, you can then check one at a time and format etc.

You will also have to load the SATA drivers in your current PC XP Home to allow access.

1. Hook up one SATA drive

2. Set this in BIOS to enable

3. In xp load the drivers

4. Reboot and the drive should be manageable

5. Format/initialize it.

6. shutdown hook another drive to the same cable repeat 4 &5.

rvnguy
"I know everything..I just can't remember it all

 

[alildevil]

Thx again,

 

[alildevil]

Which would you select???

I did notice that one had 4 heads the otehr 8... I know nothing about Sata drives at all. Just that I need 4 of the 500gb ones, their about the same price, $275-$285. I also know that OEM doesnt come with support or cables and such, but I probally wouldn't use the cables they sent anyway. I would buy them retail if I found a site but almost all Ive been to doesnt have reatil Sata HD's. Actually I found the Retail WD drives on their website, for about $35 motre than I would pay for retail. Is it worth it, the extra money it is not really a problem for me at this time.

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000KS 500GB
WD Caviar® SE16 7200 RPM w/16MB Buffer

Features and Benefits
* Bare Drive
* 16 MB cache – Bigger cache means faster performance. A massive 16 MB cache combined with up to 300 MB/s transfer rate make these ultra-fast drives the perfect solution for the fully loaded PC with a fast processor.
* Cool operating temperature – WD hard drives are designed to have the lowest power consumption of any high-capacity, desktop-class hard drive which lowers the operating temperature for enhanced drive reliability.
* Whisper quiet – These highly reliable drives deliver technologically advanced acoustics. With its WhisperDrive™ and SoftSeek™ technologies, WD has minimized noise to levels virtually imperceptible to the human ear in home and business environments.
* Ideal for: Designed for use in the fastest PCs on the market, including high-performance business computers, multimedia and gaming systems.

Specifications
Performance Specifications
Rotational Speed 7,200 RPM (nominal)
Buffer Size 16 MB
Average Latency 4.20 ms (nominal)
Contact Start/Stop Cycles 50,000 minimum

Seek Times
Read Seek Time 8.9 ms
Write Seek Time 10.9 ms (average)
Track-To-Track Seek Time 2.0 ms (average)
Full Stroke Seek 21.0 ms (average)

Transfer Rates
Buffer To Host (Serial ATA) 300 MB/s (Max)
Buffer To Disk 748 Mbits/s (Max)
Recommended Configuration Parameters
Number of Heads (Physical) 8
Physical Specifications
Formatted Capacity 500,107 MB
Capacity 500 GB
Interface SATA 300 MB/s
Number of Platters 4
Bytes Per Sector 512
User Sectors Per Drive 976,773,168
Servo Type Embedded
Physical Dimensions
Height 1.028 Inches (Max)
Length 5.787 Inches (Max)
Width 4.00 Inches (+/- 0.010 inch)
Weight 1.32 Pounds (+/- .10 lb)
Electrical Specifications 12 VDC
Read/Write 450 mA
Idle 430 mA
Standby 20 mA
Sleep 20 mA

5 VDC
Read/Write 800 mA
Idle 730 mA
Standby 270 mA
Sleep 250 mA

Power Dissipation
Read/Write 9.50 Watts
Idle 8.75 Watts
Standby 1.60 Watts
Sleep 1.50 Watts

OR
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3500641AS 500GB Serial ATA 7200RPM Hard Drive w/16MB Buffer
Description

Barracuda 7200.9 is the latest in the Seagate 3.5-inch family of high-capacity desktop drives targeted at mainstream and high-performance PCs and advanced storage applications. The product enables OEMs and system builders to qualify one family of drives from a premier provider for a wide range of storage applications.

Complete family of capacities up to 500 Gbytes
7200-RPM spin speed
Cache memory available in 2-, 8-, and 16-Mbyte options (depending on capacity)
SATA 3Gb/s interface with NCQ and many more SATA features
Also available in ATA/100 interface options


Features and Benefits

* Bare Drive
* Highest available capacity: Up to one-half terabyte (500 Gbytes), enabling OEMs and system builders to qualify one family of drives from a trusted supplier for a wide range of personal storage, entry-level servers and low-cost nearline storage solutions
* SATA 3Gb/s interface offers blazing fast 300-Mbytes/sec interface speed combined with Native Command Queuing (NCQ) for high performance and fast data transfer rates
* Additional SATA features such as hot plug, staggered spin-up, drive LED capable, backward compatible with SATA 1.5Gbs hosts, and compatible with new SATA ClickConnect connectors
* A proven design for shorter qualification times and top reliability
* Rugged drives with industry-leading operating and nonoperating shock specifications

Specifications
Capacity (Gbytes) 500GB
Interface SATA/300 (SATA 3Gb/s) NCQ
Cache (Mbytes) 2, 8, 16
Average Seek (msec) 8.5
Spindle Speed (RPM) 7200
Shock, Operating (Gs) 63
Shock, Nonoperating (Gs) 300
Acoustics, Idle (bels) 2.8


Also is it possiabel to edit a previous post, if so let me know where for the life of my I cant find it.

 

[rvnguy]

I am biased, both of these are excellent drives.

I just lean to Seagate, and the 7200.9 series with NCQ is an excellent line, w/5yr warranty.

rvnguy
"I know everything..I just can't remember it all

 

[PRPhx]

And don't forget, in order to get the performance as stated, you will need the appropriate controller(s) (A SATA-300). You could actually buy one controller that would allow up to 4 drives, set up as JBOD vs any type of RAID.

And unless your mobo is very new, it probably doesn't support SATA-300.

 

[paparazi]

alildevil
I have a Westerndigital 250gig SE16 in my main machine, excellent drive but I would probably go with the Seagate 7200.9 as well (just have a thing for Seagate's)
Most premium boards nowadays have SATA II either native (on chip) or with an added controller chip.
Personally I would probably opt for a faster SATA drive for the boot like a Raptor and the big drives purely for storage.
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[alildevil]

Seagate it is then, thanks alot to all that have helped me gain some knowledge of HD's