Adding Hard Drive Question

[ejewels52]

Hey everyone-
I got a Mac Pro with the 160 GB SATA 3.0 GB/s Hard Drive it came with. I want to get another drive to store my work and media, while the stock one will be for apps and OS X. My questions are:

1) Is it cheaper/wiser/faster to get an external firewire drive, rather than an internal drive? I want the fastest connection...

2) If I go with an internal HD, will just any SATA 3.0 GB/s (SATA II) HD work? Are they platform specific? Best Buy had some Western Digital 250 GB's for good prices...

Thanks in advance...

 

[mad jew]

1) Is it cheaper/wiser/faster to get an external firewire drive, rather than an internal drive? I want the fastest connection...

Yeah, it really is. You can buy more storage for much cheaper if you go the external route.

2) If I go with an internal HD, will just any SATA 3.0 GB/s (SATA II) HD work? Are they platform specific? Best Buy had some Western Digital 250 GB's for good prices...

They're not platform specific, but of course you'll need to buy a 2.5" notebook drive, not a (cheaper) 3.5" desktop drive. Nevertheless, I really think it'd be better to get an external drive. Just make sure the case is compatible with Macs (and most are).

 

[bartelby]

Are you sure MJ?

He's asking about a Mac Pro not a MacBook Pro.

 

[mad jew]

*Sips more coffee*

Tocuhé. Yeah, sorry, completely ignore what I said.


Get the internal drive assuming you have a spare bay (which is likely) and any brand should work. As with most computer parts though, some brands are more reliable than others.

 

[iPhil]

Any Sata II drive will work for the MacPro but the brand i recommend is Seagate drive because uber-quiet (7200rpm) and a 5 yr limited warranty

 

[apfhex]

1) Is it cheaper/wiser/faster to get an external firewire drive, rather than an internal drive? I want the fastest connection...

2) If I go with an internal HD, will just any SATA 3.0 GB/s (SATA II) HD work? Are they platform specific? Best Buy had some Western Digital 250 GB's for good prices...

1. Absolutely not. Firewire cases are expensive, often more than the drives themselves. Get an internal drive.

2. There's no such thing as a platform specific drive.

 

[macintouch]

Grab a couple SATA internal drives and call it a day.

Right now I'm running the stock 250GB HDD in bay 1, and 2 Samsung 160's that I had lying around in bay 2 & 3. I know they're not the best but they're not bad, and I'll possibly upgrade to Seagates later.

 

[THX1139]

Any Sata II drive will work for the MacPro but the brand i recommend is Seagate drive because uber-quiet (7200rpm) and a 5 yr limited warranty

Your recommendation is subjective. For every person who says that Seagate is best, you will find just as many people recommending other drive brands. Contrary to what you might think, not all drives are the same. Best to ask what they plan to use the computer for. Once you know the usage, then you can recommend the "type" of drive. Is it for: Professional or Prosumer? Boot-drive? 10K? RAID? Storage? How large? Budget?

When you have a good idea of what the usage is, then you can recommend a drive and manufacturer. Just because a drive is quiet and has a 5 year warranty doesn't make it the obvious choice.

 

[THX1139]

Grab a couple SATA internal drives and call it a day.

Right now I'm running the stock 250GB HDD in bay 1, and 2 Samsung 160's that I had lying around in bay 2 & 3. I know they're not the best but they're not bad, and I'll possibly upgrade to Seagates later.

You make it sound as if choosing a drive is a no-brainer. Sure, if you're a housewife using the computer for email and surfing the web.. then sure, your advice is valid. BUT, one of the bottle-necks on the MacPro is drive performance. You really need to consider what you plan to use the computer for and buy wisely. Why would anyone spend all that money on an expensive MacPro and then throw just any ol' drive in there and "call it a day??" It's like buying a really nice sports car and then throwing on cheap tires. Will it still run... yeah, but your not taking full advantage of the potential for it to run at top speed and be reliable over the long term.

 

[ejewels52]

Thanks for all the responses...

I will be using the mac pro for design work at home (CS2, Studio 8). I want one drive for OS and Apps...and this second drive I would get would be for media (work files, music, video...etc). I was looking at the Western Digital 250 GB 7200 RPM HD. Do I just buy this and I have everything necessary to install in the mac pro? Can the mac pro take 10000 RPM drives? Is the SATA II (3.0 GB/s) internal drive faster than a 800 firewire drive? Thanks in advance

 

[jaguarx]

The Mac Pro can take 10rpm drives like Western Digital's Raptor but they're a: loud b: expensive. They are however as fast as you can get. All you need is the drive, attach it to the empty holder in the drive bag, slide is back in and bingo. Internal SATAII will be the fastest.

Is there any noticeable difference between the Segate 7200.10 and the WD SE16 drives? Both seem to be quiet and fast.