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Unread 05-13-2010, 09:28 PM   #17
HarryC
Cooling Neophyte
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: phelps
Posts: 21
Default Re: Large >1TB drives in GOS unit

I realize that not using a drive from overland would void the warranty if the boxes were still on warranty. I think that most who are upgrading these boxes probably have boxes that are past warranty. The original ones I upgraded have been running 24/7 for four weeks with no errors, so we will see.
I read the Intel article comparing consumer PC drives with raid class drives.. very interesting. I then found an article on comparison of WD black drives to WD RE class drives (RE class are raid drives). In a complete physical breakdown of the drives, all mechanical components were exactly the same! The RE model has slightly faster seek time and generates more heat. I would suspect they use more power on the actuator = more speed / more heat. The read retry time is shorter on the RE models but this poses an interesting question. Lets say the RE retrys a read error 3 times while the black model tries 6 times (figures just for discussion )
The black model is dropped as a bad drive by raid controller because it takes too long. If the RE model didn't get a good read in three tries the raid controller posts a read error against the drive, SMART records it also. Either way the drive could be dropped depending on the error thresholds in the raid controller. Any opinions on this? Intel said that all buffer memory in raid class drives is ECC but I can't find any manufacturer info on this. But since every block of data read has ecc on it does it matter? As far as RE class drives being more rugged is it easier for a drive to remain up and running for 5 straight years or cycled up and down every day as PC class drives are rated? Any drive needs proper cooling and raid arrays may be very well designed for better cooling than a lot of desktops.
Lets get some more opinions and what have others tried with what results?
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