sata compatability stuff

[3wsparky]

Hi all , i'm no expert with PC hardware so am after some advice.

i have a adaptec 2610SA controller and want to build a biggerer betterer file server, i have been looking to buy some sata drives but since i last looked at the hdd market alot seems to have changed , i am hoping to get something like 3 x 320 gig drives or 5 x 160gigs stripe with parity

speed is not a key issue here just the ability to store my data with reseliance. are sata300 drive backwards compatable with the controller i have ? or is there a model / make of drive i should go for ? - please dont say IBM ok there not badged IBM anymore but there also not any better still !

any advice = super

many thanks
Terry

 

[kmcferrin]

Generally a SATA 300 drive will work just fine on a SATA 150 controller. Many of them actually have jumpers to allow you to set whether they should operate as SATA 150 or SATA 300. I know for a fact that Western Digital drives do. I'm using a pair of WD2500KS SATA 300 drives on a SATA 150 controller.

The biggest difference between the drives that are listed as SATA 150 and SATA 300 are going to be support for extended SATA features like NCQ, etc.

 

[3wsparky]

i did read that they were backwards compatable on some 3rd party site , but thought i would check before i purchased aload of drives that are not going to work as required.

thanks i shall order some drives and get the project under way

 

[Ploper001]

Also, getting 2x500GB Drives would be cheaper than 3x320 or 5x160GB Drives... For a 500GB Drive, the Western Digital WD5000KS is great for the money (~£120).

 

[wahnula]

i am hoping to get something like 3 x 320 gig drives or 5 x 160gigs stripe with parity

Sounds like you are looking at RAID 5, RAID 1+0 (striping with parity) is worth looking into for more speed but less storage. Remember you will need 1 more drive equal to or greater than the array total, in an external case for backup. RAID's redundancy is great for uptime and protection from HDDf failure but you also need a disaster plan if the RAID controller fails or the system blows up or is stolen. The new 1 TB Hitachi comes to mind, or the Seagate 7200.10 750 GB.

Also, getting 2x500GB Drives would be cheaper than 3x320 or 5x160GB Drives

Two 500 GB drives can give you 500 GB in RAID 1 or 1 TB in RAID 0. RAID 0 has great speed but poor fault tolernce, stick w/ RAID 5 or 10 (1+0)

Always remember RAID does not replace regular backups.

Tony