I'm starting to look at replacing / updating my hard drives since I'm running low on storage. my OS is on a 128G SSD, so the HDD are purely for music/video/document raw storage.
my mobo has 5 SATA ports (2 of which are already used, SSD + DVD), and i've got a 4-port expansion card that's not being used. so, i have 7 available SATA ports for drives. yes, i currently DO have some HDD (a pair of 1.5T), but the data can be migrated if i decide to ditch them.
from a data reliability standpoint, is it right to think that many small drives is more reliable? meaning, if one drive starts to fail, it only affects the small amount of data on that one drive. then again, a large drive is more likely to be the most current generation, so maybe it evens out?
and from a speed / access time standpoint, more drives = more platters and more read heads, so does that mean quicker access to file X?
bottom line - what's the most sensible way to increase my storage, knowing i can handle up to 7 SATA hard drives (i have enough ports, enough space in the case, and power supply can manage it too esp since WD Green are only 5W each)? i have two 1.5T drives now (old 7200.11, nearly full). add four or five of 1T or 2T drives? swap in a few 3T or 4T drives (ditching the 1.5T in the process)?
i don't do RAID. just separate drive letters. a few years ago i thought my 1.2T of total storage was LOTS. now 3T is full. i tend to keep things unchanged for 2-5 years, and my machine is on 24/7 (but is allowed to idle when it needs to, i just don't power-down daily).
and lastly - i've been considering going with WD Greens. cheap, low power, and hopefully quiet.
my mobo has 5 SATA ports (2 of which are already used, SSD + DVD), and i've got a 4-port expansion card that's not being used. so, i have 7 available SATA ports for drives. yes, i currently DO have some HDD (a pair of 1.5T), but the data can be migrated if i decide to ditch them.
from a data reliability standpoint, is it right to think that many small drives is more reliable? meaning, if one drive starts to fail, it only affects the small amount of data on that one drive. then again, a large drive is more likely to be the most current generation, so maybe it evens out?
and from a speed / access time standpoint, more drives = more platters and more read heads, so does that mean quicker access to file X?
bottom line - what's the most sensible way to increase my storage, knowing i can handle up to 7 SATA hard drives (i have enough ports, enough space in the case, and power supply can manage it too esp since WD Green are only 5W each)? i have two 1.5T drives now (old 7200.11, nearly full). add four or five of 1T or 2T drives? swap in a few 3T or 4T drives (ditching the 1.5T in the process)?
i don't do RAID. just separate drive letters. a few years ago i thought my 1.2T of total storage was LOTS. now 3T is full. i tend to keep things unchanged for 2-5 years, and my machine is on 24/7 (but is allowed to idle when it needs to, i just don't power-down daily).
and lastly - i've been considering going with WD Greens. cheap, low power, and hopefully quiet.