Recommend external hard drive

[jasonsmith]

I'm looking on recommendations on an external hard drive to be used for recording. I've got an Mbox 3 with Pro Tools LE 8. I also use Reaper as well. I may upgrade the Pro Tools later on. This would be used for both Windows XP and Windows 7 64 bit.

I believe the speed needs to be at least 7200 rpm.

I've read some say the hard drive needs to use a certain kind of chip?

And what type of connection? I've read to use Firewire or esata. But I've seen something where Avid says to use USB 2? But then some say USB 2 is too slow?

[albee1952]

The chip is Oxford 9xx(911, 922, etc). You can buy a drive case with the proper chip and install your own drive(WD Caviar Black are a great choice). Personally, I like the OWC drives(otherworldcomputing.com) as they offer 2 versions; 1 with dual FW400 ports(handy for daisy-chaining to a FW interface) or they offer drives with a combination of USB, eSATA and FW. Regarding connections, Windows XP will work with FW(assuming compatible controller) and eSATA, but NOT USB for Pro Tools. If you move to Windows 7, then USB works, but FW does not.

Keep in mind that OWC drives are usually formatted for Macs so you would need to reformat to NTFS and Basic for Windows use.

[jasonsmith]

Originally Posted by albee1952

The chip is Oxford 9xx(911, 922, etc). You can buy a drive case with the proper chip and install your own drive(WD Caviar Black are a great choice). Personally, I like the OWC drives(otherworldcomputing.com) as they offer 2 versions; 1 with dual FW400 ports(handy for daisy-chaining to a FW interface) or they offer drives with a combination of USB, eSATA and FW. Regarding connections, Windows XP will work with FW(assuming compatible controller) and eSATA, but NOT USB for Pro Tools. If you move to Windows 7, then USB works, but FW does not.

Keep in mind that OWC drives are usually formatted for Macs so you would need to reformat to NTFS and Basic for Windows use.

I've got both XP and 7. So I'll record on either.

So, with XP you have to use either FW or eSATA. And with Windows 7 you have to use USB?

I seem to recall reading somewhere you had to use USB on any Windows platform.

And I think I'd like an external hard drive that has the back up feature I see advertised from some companies. As I'll also use it to store data as well.

[kdubyou]

Originally Posted by jasonsmith

So, with XP you have to use either FW or eSATA. And with Windows 7 you have to use USB?

And I think I'd like an external hard drive that has the back up feature I see advertised from some companies. As I'll also use it to store data as well.

I have had no problems with an OWC enclosure using esata on Win 7, although I am pretty sure Avid has not officially approved esata.

Not sure about the mixed use of the external drive if it requires some sort of special formatting / software. Others might chime in with their experiences.

Good luck!

Kevin

[jasonsmith]

Originally Posted by kdubyou

I have had no problems with an OWC enclosure using esata on Win 7, although I am pretty sure Avid has not officially approved esata.

Not sure about the mixed use of the external drive if it requires some sort of special formatting / software. Others might chime in with their experiences.

Good luck!

Kevin

I was thinking of that Glyph portagig 50. I could get one for $150 shipped.

They look like to have a pretty good warranty and has all the different ports.

Though would like to use the one drive between the XP and Windows 7.

[kdubyou]

At $150, it looks like it is probably the 500GB model. If the cache size on that PortaGig is really 8MB, I would highly recommend against it for a recording drive. If you are going for a smaller sized external, look for at least 16MB, but 32, if you can find it, would be better.

I second Albee's suggestion to get an enclosure and add your own drive. That's what I have done.

Kevin

[jasonsmith]

Originally Posted by kdubyou

At $150, it looks like it is probably the 500GB model. If the cache size on that PortaGig is really 8MB, I would highly recommend against it for a recording drive. If you are going for a smaller sized external, look for at least 16MB, but 32, if you can find it, would be better.

I second Albee's suggestion to get an enclosure and add your own drive. That's what I have done.

Kevin

Where are you getting the enclosures at? I'd like USB 2, Firewire, and eSATA with bus power availability. All I tend to see are the enclosure/Hard Drive combo.

I'm just recording guitar tracks. I was using the internal hard drive on my computer to run the program and record. Didn't have any problems with that. But was looking to get an external hard drive for data backup, and thought of using it to record as well.

The Mbox is connected to the computer via USB 2. So sounds like there already is a bottle neck no matter what kind of drive I use or how it is connected.

[Benoni]

if you have e-sata port, go with e-sata, or even better, if you have more drive bays, just install another internal drive.

IMO, forget buying pre-made external drives that are so called "pro tools approved" there is nothing special about these drive, they are just more expensive.

You can buy an lall metal external case with e-sata and USB2 connections for about $25, then pick up whatever size WD Caviar Black drive you need, pop it in and thats it.

Sometimes you can find amazing deals on "re certified" external drives if you want to go that route and save a bit more. The re certified WD myBooks I have bought have always run just great, but they will usually only have a 1 year or less warranty where if you buy new drives you get something like 3-5 years

[jasonsmith]

Originally Posted by Benoni

if you have e-sata port, go with e-sata, or even better, if you have more drive bays, just install another internal drive.

IMO, forget buying pre-made external drives that are so called "pro tools approved" there is nothing special about these drive, they are just more expensive.

You can buy an lall metal external case with e-sata and USB2 connections for about $25, then pick up whatever size WD Caviar Black drive you need, pop it in and thats it.

Sometimes you can find amazing deals on "re certified" external drives if you want to go that route and save a bit more. The re certified WD myBooks I have bought have always run just great, but they will usually only have a 1 year or less warranty where if you buy new drives you get something like 3-5 years

What brand/type enclosure would be recommended? Something that also has some shock protection since I'll be moving the drive around. As that Caviar is an internal hard drive. Also, something that offers bus power.

I can get the Caviar Black. Just not sure on the enclosure since I'm not familure with them.

[Benoni]

Originally Posted by jasonsmith

What brand/type enclosure would be recommended? Something that also has some shock protection since I'll be moving the drive around. As that Caviar is an internal hard drive. Also, something that offers bus power.

I can get the Caviar Black. Just not sure on the enclosure since I'm not familure with them.

all the hard drives are exactly the same(excluding speed, cache size ect...). The hard drive inside a pre-made portable drive will (more than likely) be a normal 2.5" drive. There is nothing special about the hard drives themselves.

Are you using a laptop or a desktop here? If a laptop, what model? Have you checked to see if you have another internal drive bay?

What are you looking for in a hard drive, does it need to be powered by the computer, or is it ok to have to plug it in to an outlet?

What about form factor? Are you looking at 2.5 or 3.5? Are you looking for SSD?