Vibe Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Hello everyone, I watch the Good Deals! forum and would like purchase some additional hard drives (the low prices are very enticing). However, I am curious to know if I mix "same size" hard drives from different manufacturers, will there be potential for issues with new drives actually being larger in size than my current parity drive? For instance, I am running two WD Caviar Black 1TB drives (1 parity + 1 storage). If I choose to add additional 1TB data drives from Hitachi, Samsung or Seagate, is there a chance that a variance in size will exist? I see many members bumping their parity drive up to the next size (e.g. 1.5 TB for parity and 1TB for data drives) - is this the standard recommendation? Link to comment
SSD Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Drive manufacturers have standardized drive sizes and mixing drives is not a problem. Link to comment
Seven Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 This is a good question that I have wondered about myself. When I built my unRAID server I feared that mixing same sized drives from different manufacturers would have slight size variations between brands. In my case I mixed Seagate with Samsung (all 1.5TB drives) and unRAID reports them as exactly the same sizes. I don't know if this will be the same with all manufacturers but so far it has worked for me. Link to comment
GK20 Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 If I choose to add additional 1TB data drives from Hitachi, Samsung or Seagate, is there a chance that a variance in size will exist? In some sense, what you see in size is a logic concept, different vendors have their own different implementation physically but when vendors "present" the capacity to user it is all the same, a linear space. Link to comment
Kaygee Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Only exception that springs to mind is a "HPA" drive. These appear as a different size due to the missing portion of the drive. Link to comment
poofyhairguy Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Only exception that springs to mind is a "HPA" drive. These appear as a different size due to the missing portion of the drive. HPA is a problem of the motherboard not the drive from what I understand. Mostly Gigabyte mobos. Mixing and matching hard drives is one of the best parts of Unraid. I am shooting to get every type of 1.5TB and 2TB in my 16 bay box. I have WD Greens 1.5TB and 2TB. Seagate 7200RPM drives in 1.5tb and 2TB. Seagate 5900RPM in a 1.5TB, Samsung ecoGreen 1.5TB, and the Hitachi 2TB 7200RPM drive. By my count I am just missing the 1.5TB and 2TB WD Black, the 2TB 5900 RPM Seagate, and the 2TB Samsung. Link to comment
Kaygee Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 HPA is indeed an issue introduced by a HPA enabled motherboard. It was the only thing I could think off that messed with drive sizes enough to cause issues with unRAID. For your collection you are also missing WD RE4, RE4-GP, and EVDS range, Seagate ES.2 or XT models and Constellations and Hitachi Ultrastar. Link to comment
poofyhairguy Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 For your collection you are also missing WD RE4, RE4-GP, and EVDS range, Seagate ES.2 or XT models and Constellations and Hitachi Ultrastar. Indeed I could fill the array with different drives if I went for every single 1.5TB and 2TB out there, but I am trying to stay limited to "consumer" devices if only because I don't like the idea of mixing and matching the two classes of drives. I have no experience with enterprise drives. I am missing some of the different WD Green drives. I have a 1.5TB EVDS, a 1.5TB EARS and a 2TB EARS. I need the 2TB EVDS and 2TB EADS drive to finish that collection. The hover at about $20 more than the EARS on Newegg, so when I need them I sure there will be some in stock. I do have the 2TB Seagate XT though, which I consider to sit next to the WD Black 2TB at the top of the consumer drive space. Link to comment
Vibe Posted August 23, 2010 Author Share Posted August 23, 2010 Thank you everyone for your replies - I definitely appreciate it! I didn't realize that hard drive manufacturers have standardized drive sizes (thanks bjp999 and Seven) - this is good information to know. I also ran across the HPA issue in the forum - however, not having a Gigabyte motherboard I was happy to realize that I would not encounter this problem. poofyhairguy - that is quite a collection you have going, I am impressed . I am curious - with the variety of drives that you have experience with have you developed a preference for brand/model? Link to comment
poofyhairguy Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 I am curious - with the variety of drives that you have experience with have you developed a preference for brand/model? Well yes. I really like the 7200 RPM Seagates best (both the 1.5tb and 2TB models). Next would be my 1.5TB Samsung ecoGreen for how amazingly cool it stays. I can't wait for a deal on the 2TB model! Link to comment
BRiT Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 The reason they seem to remain extremely cool is the Samsung temp sensors don't work for shit. They're off anywhere from 5 to 10 celcius, often reporting temps that are below the ambient room temp. They are not to be trusted at all, at best you should assume the real temp is +5 to +10 C higher. Link to comment
Vibe Posted August 23, 2010 Author Share Posted August 23, 2010 BRiT - that's very interesting, I didn't realize Samsung drives had issue with the temp sensors. Is this a problem across the full product line? I was looking at some F3 7200 drives - are these affected also? Link to comment
bubbaQ Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 I can confirm Sammy temps are crap. But I've seen others as crap too. If you can do s3 suspend, suspend the system, and let everything cool down for a couple of hours. Then wake it up and immediately check drive temps. If they read below ambient, consider the number of degrees below ambient as an "offset" that has to be added back to the temp the drive reports to get its "correct" temp. Link to comment
Vibe Posted August 23, 2010 Author Share Posted August 23, 2010 That's a rather uncomfortable thought knowing that your drive temp readings might be inaccurate . This past weekend I peaked the interest of another friend to look at unRaid as a file server/storage solution for his small (3 workstation) business. He's not so concerned about the low-power capabilities as he is in maximizing access times/disk transfers (e.g. prefers 7200 rpm drives as he won't be streaming with this box). We looked at a hard drive review from Xbit labs that suggested the Samsung F3 drives were good drives - low power with better speeds over the usual "green" drives. We were thinking about going this route for his build but may rethink this after learning about the temp sensor issues. With this in mind would an unRaid server using all WD Blacks be a logical solution? (I have two WD blacks - 1 parity + 1 data and am very pleased). Link to comment
poofyhairguy Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 With this in mind would an unRaid server using all WD Blacks be a logical solution? (I have two WD blacks - 1 parity + 1 data and am very pleased). Either Blacks or Seagate 7200 RPMs. Those new 1TB Seagates are extremely fast. Link to comment
Vibe Posted August 23, 2010 Author Share Posted August 23, 2010 Either Blacks or Seagate 7200 RPMs. Those new 1TB Seagates are extremely fast. Thanks poofyhairguy - I certainly appreciate the suggestion. I will mention the Seagates to my friend as a good option. I think these along with unRaid will make a perfect solution for his needs. As far as the Seagates you recommend - are the Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM along these lines? (I see they are on sale at NewEgg until 8/25). Link to comment
poofyhairguy Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 are the Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM along these lines? (I see they are on sale at NewEgg until 8/25). The exact ones. Fastest 1TBs on the market IMHO. I have 11 1tb+ 7200RPM Seagate drives- they are my favorite! Link to comment
Vibe Posted August 23, 2010 Author Share Posted August 23, 2010 The exact ones. Fastest 1TBs on the market IMHO. I have 11 1tb+ 7200RPM Seagate drives- they are my favorite! I am extremely envious - 11tb+ of 7200RPM storage would definitely make me a "happy camper." Thanks again for your suggestions! Link to comment
poofyhairguy Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 I am extremely envious - 11tb+ of 7200RPM storage would definitely make me a "happy camper." Thanks again for your suggestions! You are welcome. Its a little more the 11TB of storage. Of my Seagates I have a 1TB 7200 RPM (the one mentioned), 9 x 1.5TB 7200 RPM, and a 2TB 7200RPM. They are split between my two servers. Link to comment
Vibe Posted August 24, 2010 Author Share Posted August 24, 2010 Its a little more the 11TB of storage. Of my Seagates I have a 1TB 7200 RPM (the one mentioned), 9 x 1.5TB 7200 RPM, and a 2TB 7200RPM. They are split between my two servers. I like the idea of having two servers vs. one with a lot of drives - would give me a sense of security. What type of power supply are you using to handle the 7200 RPM drives? Link to comment
poofyhairguy Posted August 24, 2010 Share Posted August 24, 2010 What type of power supply are you using to handle the 7200 RPM drives? Antec Neo 400w for the smaller server and a Antec Neo 620w for the larger one. Link to comment
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