I'd like to upgrade a 3TB USB 3.0 G-Drive that's out-of-warranty with a WD 8TB USB 3.0 Red Drive. Is there any reason I can't do this? Each drive is linked if you need to review the specs.
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Upgrading a G-Drive?
- Thread starter kcrossley
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The important question:
Is the G-drive case easily opened?
If you can "get into" the enclosure without problems, I don't see where swapping the drives (themselves) would be much of a problem.
The only potential problem -- can the controller chip in the G-drive handle 8tb ??
You will probably have to try it to find out.
Is the G-drive case easily opened?
If you can "get into" the enclosure without problems, I don't see where swapping the drives (themselves) would be much of a problem.
The only potential problem -- can the controller chip in the G-drive handle 8tb ??
You will probably have to try it to find out.
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I'd replace the HGST drive inside the G-Tech enclosure with a more expensive, vastly more reliable than WD Red, HGST Ultrastar... I've got a 10TB model inside an OWC Thunderbay 4 and it's brilliant.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1263841-REG/hgst_0s03999_ultrastar_3_5_enterprise_7200.html
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1263841-REG/hgst_0s03999_ultrastar_3_5_enterprise_7200.html
I have to agree that the Ultrastar line is superior. Unfortunately, it's about $100 more than the WD Red. Plus, this drive will only be used for Time Machine backups, so I'm not sure I need an Ultrastar for that.
According to the folks at G-Drive, the controller can handle an 8GB drive.
As silly as this may sound, my intent is to shell an 8TB WD My Book external drive, pull the WD Red drive, and install it in the G-Drive enclosure because I prefer that enclosure and the fact that the drive sits horizontally and can stack on top of my other G-Drive.
According to the folks at G-Drive, the controller can handle an 8GB drive.
As silly as this may sound, my intent is to shell an 8TB WD My Book external drive, pull the WD Red drive, and install it in the G-Drive enclosure because I prefer that enclosure and the fact that the drive sits horizontally and can stack on top of my other G-Drive.
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Gah! You haven't read my posts about the steal of this century for 8TB drives. Yes, I'm being silly, and serious. Yes, I've owned several G-Tech units, going back to my decade-old 2TB G-RAID that still spins like a whirling dervish. That unit, and my newer G-Tech units are still a bit of a PITA to open up and tweak, and I own 3 Benzes...
To my point, I'll refer you to look up a thread on Slickdeals regarding Best Buy's easystore 8TB external drives. I've purchased several, more have been sold in the MR Forum's Marketplace. Referencing Slickdeals, Best Buy's drives - particularly the 8TB units - include either the 8TB Red or White NAS drives, with larger caches than the bare drives and costing around $100 less than the bare drives. The Slickdeals thread includes the SN range for the preferred Red drives - it's been nuts-on for my needs, and I've pulled apart a bunch of these for my personal needs and put them in my Synology and Thecus NAS units.
About Ultrastar NAS drives, I do think they're about the best in the industry. The beefed-up 8TB Red in easystore is on par with any Ultrastar IMHO. Even if you'd get an easystore 8TB unit with a White NAS drive from BB you wouldn't be losing anything in quality but paying around half the price of an HGST bare drive...
To my point, I'll refer you to look up a thread on Slickdeals regarding Best Buy's easystore 8TB external drives. I've purchased several, more have been sold in the MR Forum's Marketplace. Referencing Slickdeals, Best Buy's drives - particularly the 8TB units - include either the 8TB Red or White NAS drives, with larger caches than the bare drives and costing around $100 less than the bare drives. The Slickdeals thread includes the SN range for the preferred Red drives - it's been nuts-on for my needs, and I've pulled apart a bunch of these for my personal needs and put them in my Synology and Thecus NAS units.
About Ultrastar NAS drives, I do think they're about the best in the industry. The beefed-up 8TB Red in easystore is on par with any Ultrastar IMHO. Even if you'd get an easystore 8TB unit with a White NAS drive from BB you wouldn't be losing anything in quality but paying around half the price of an HGST bare drive...
Yeah, that's one of the reasons I went for the WD External Drive. I was at Best Buy and was ready to purchase the easystore unit when I noticed that the MyBook drive had better specs, and warranty. Do you know if the MyBooks also have WD Reds in them? Where can I find the thread on the serial numbers? Thanks!
Here! The first post is a Wiki. I've stuck with what others have confirmed, its easier that way for me but there are two BBs within 10 miles of my home office in Portland so I can pick and choose. When BB has them on sale the stock tends to be pretty deep, plenty to choose from then.
The Ultrastars have 2.5 times as much MTBF, so they well and truly outdo the WD Reds.
Yep, know that. HGST drives are in my company's servers - noisy, but bulletproof. Regarding the easystore 8TB Reds, they're not the same build as the bare drives so not an apples-to-apples compare - dive into that linked-to thread, plenty of comments on this from users. This coming from a guy with a couple of G-DRIVE units on my desks... Cheers.
Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, my serial number begins with 7SHT... so it's newer than anything listed.
There's still a means to get at finding out which drive is in the easystore (or any other attached drive) using smartmontools via Terminal with additional drivers, I've used the procedure myself to get at drives that don't mount properly in the Finder but that's not the only usage. Rather than type it all down, it's all in this Reddit thread with links... I've used this technique for several years, works as expected.