5400 or 7200 RPM drive for media storage?

SGCSG1 · Post by **SGCSG1** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 10:52 am

This will probably end up in a NAS and will have about 300gig of FLAC files on it - nothing else.

I've read that 5400 will be cooler and quieter. I'm concerned that the 'cool and quiet' part of that will be more theoretical and won't really offer any improvement. But I'll spend 10 hours to do a backup if I get the slower drive.

Any thoughts on drives for media storage? I'm leaning towards a WD Black Caviar.

All comments welcome.

dancingsnails · Post by **dancingsnails** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 1:00 pm

Serial read and write speeds aren't that different between 5400 rpm and 7200 rpm drives since you get get higher densities with 5400rpm drives. So backup times shouldn't be that different. Where it makes a difference is in random access speeds

Post by **CA_Steve** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 7:35 pm

WD Black is overkill for streaming audio. The WD green or Samsung will work just fine and be noticibly quieter/silent compared to the Black.

You might consider getting a 2.5" 5400rpm drive for additional reduction in noise as well as a big reduction in power/self heating. Take a look at the latest recommended drive list.

Parappaman · Post by **Parappaman** » Sun Sep 19, 2010 12:32 am

CA_Steve wrote: You might consider getting a 2.5" 5400rpm drive for additional reduction in noise as well as a big reduction in power/self heating.

And a massive hit on capacity and price/GB. Here where I live, for the price of a 320 GB Scorpio blue (which is just enough for OP's collection), one can get a new 1 TB Samsung F2/F3 drive. For pure storage, 3,5" hard drives are still the only sensible choice.

kater · Post by **kater** » Sun Sep 19, 2010 8:59 pm

Parappaman wrote:
CA_Steve wrote: For pure storage, 3,5" hard drives are still the only sensible choice.

And will remain so for the next few years. No way any other technology (SSD, 2.5") will catch up quickly in this department. A couple of slow, ekhm, greenecointellipipe drives + a USB 3/eSATA dock and presto, we have a cheap backup / massive storage solution. Well, more of a backup thing, as NAS will work better for readily available storage.

Modo · Post by **Modo** » Sun Sep 19, 2010 11:18 pm

If silence is a goal, then the slight price premium on a 2.5" vs 3.5" 500 GB drive (like 20$ at the moment?) is well worth it.

Parappaman wrote:
CA_Steve wrote: You might consider getting a 2.5" 5400rpm drive for additional reduction in noise as well as a big reduction in power/self heating.
And a massive hit on capacity and price/GB.

Maybe you missed this point made in the first post: 300gig of FLAC files on it - nothing else.

Parappaman · Post by **Parappaman** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 2:14 am

Modo wrote:If silence is a goal, then the slight price premium on a 2.5" vs 3.5" 500 GB drive (like 20$ at the moment?) is well worth it.

Parappaman wrote:
CA_Steve wrote: You might consider getting a 2.5" 5400rpm drive for additional reduction in noise as well as a big reduction in power/self heating.
And a massive hit on capacity and price/GB.
Maybe you missed this point made in the first post: 300gig of FLAC files on it - nothing else.

And you missed the point he made about performance, which is something a 2,5" 5400 RPM drive clearly lacks. And the fact that FLAC collections grow over time.
Look, I know you will back your recommendation at any cost, but seriously, the only thing that makes 2,5" drives look any good when compared to modern low power 3,5" ones is a very slight difference in noise and heat (and a 2w power difference, which hardly is a deal breaker on a desktop unless you are on a crusade for the mythical 15w computer). I know that, because I have a 320 GB Scorpio blue and 1,5 TB Samsung F2 in my ITX rig: idle noise is equal, seeks are similar, temperatures are 2-3 degrees higher on the 3,5" drive, performance is MUCH higher on the F2. That's it. Oh, did I mention the F2 is five times as big?

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 9:04 am

sucks. in the USA there are 1 TB 2.5's for under 130 dollars.

The density of such a drive would overcome it's patheticness of a 5400 2.5"

strange how they have only 8 mb of cache and 500's and 750's have 16 minimum.

Parappaman · Post by **Parappaman** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 9:18 am

Well, they have to save on something to sell them at that price, don't you think?

Post by **CA_Steve** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 3:09 pm

Boy, you guys like to argue.

Reviewing the original post, I fail to see any comment regarding needing performance...just the need to stream FLAC files. So, here's a couple of suggestions:

$60 at Newegg: WD AV-GP WD5000AVVS 8MB cache, 500GB. 3.5" in their AV streaming line runs between 5400 and 7200rpm. spec sheet: idle 24dBA/seek 25dBA.

$70 at NewEgg: WD10EARS 1TB 64MB cache 5400 RPM 64MB. 1TB, 5400rpm. but spec'ed louder than the AVVS above. spec sheet: idle 24dBA/seek 39-33dBA

$65 at Newegg: WD AV-25 WD5000BUDT. 500GB 32MB cache 2.5" drive in their AV streaming line. spec sheet: idle 22dBA/seek 25dBA

power use: the 2.5" drive idles at 0.65W and read/write at 1.65W. The 3.5" idle at 2.5 to 5.4W and read/write is 5.4W.

You can mess with diff cache sizes and capacities as you wish.

JazzJackRabbit · Post by **JazzJackRabbit** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 6:24 am

CA_Steve wrote:Boy, you guys like to argue.

Reviewing the original post, I fail to see any comment regarding needing performance...just the need to stream FLAC files.

It's right there:

"I'm concerned that the 'cool and quiet' part of that will be more theoretical and won't really offer any improvement. But I'll spend 10 hours to do a backup if I get the slower drive. "

It's awkwardly worded, but I read that he wants to get cooler and quieter 5400rpm drive, but is concerned that his backups will take too much time. That is a valid issue with slower laptop drives.

Meh... I say just get 3.5" 2TB drive. Superbiz (aka ewiz) has 2TB F4 drive for only $95 which is a terrific value for what you get, plus it's the fastest 5400rpm drive with average reading speeds of >100MB/s and >50MB/s at the end of the platter. 3.5" 5400 drives are quiet enough that I actually do not see the need to go for 2.5". The only situations where I'd go for 2.5" drives is where the standard is where builder is actually trying to achieve 0db, otherwise 3.5" are just as quiet as 2.5" ones when not enclosed in an enclosure. Actually I prefer 3.5" pitch a little bit better to 2.5".

See the link at slickdeals

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/39359?u ... ontpage%29

kater · Post by **kater** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 6:32 am

CA_Steve wrote:WD AV-GP WD5000AVVS 8MB cache, 500GB. 3.5" in their AV streaming line runs between 5400 and 7200rpm

Just curious - are you trying to say it has variable speed (as WD marketoids would like us to believe) or that it's speed is constant but impossible to specify clearly, with the range being 5400-7200 (which would probably mean 5900).

Post by **MikeC** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 7:26 am

Some practical experience:

1. I run a 500gb 2.5" 5400rpm drive in a htpc which contains mostly flac audio files (~200gb), and HD video files (720/1080 mkv).

2. Playing the audio files (streaming) even through my gigabit network is flawless. Via wireless on a laptop, it can be a little glitchy when there's lots of other traffic, but still ok usually.

3. Playing hd video is fine directly from the htpc to the tv.

4. Backing up the ~80% full drive (400gb) the first time would take quite a while no matter how it was done or what kind of drive... but after the first run, incremental backups are speedy -- unless you stuff tens or hundreds of gigs on between backups. I use a NAS, painless at 3am.

5. imo, there's really no downside to using a 2.5" 5400rpm drive for your application -- but if you run it 24/7, choose one meant for that kind of use. like maybe the WD AV-25 (up to 500gb). That's about my only anxiety about this 500gb drive -- it's a standard laptop drive, not really meant for 24/7 operation, and the htpc is on 24/7/365 -- never even goes to sleep. (power draw 30w idle, 45w max)

Post by **CA_Steve** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 7:36 am

kater wrote:
CA_Steve wrote:WD AV-GP WD5000AVVS 8MB cache, 500GB. 3.5" in their AV streaming line runs between 5400 and 7200rpm
Just curious - are you trying to say it has variable speed (as WD marketoids would like us to believe) or that it's speed is constant but impossible to specify clearly, with the range being 5400-7200 (which would probably mean 5900).

neither: just listing what their specs say.

This is all moot as the OP bought a Caviar Black.

Modo · Post by **Modo** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 9:07 am

JazzJackRabbit wrote: Meh... I say just get 3.5" 2TB drive. Superbiz (aka ewiz) has 2TB F4 drive for only $95 which is a terrific value for what you get,

Maybe it's not obvious, but not everyone is trying to make a backup of the Internet, and music collections don't tend to grow exponentially. If only 1/6 of that 2 TB is used, then the cost to store all the data you have is not really lowered by having a good GB/$ ratio.

tay · Post by **tay** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 9:49 am

Modo wrote:
JazzJackRabbit wrote: Meh... I say just get 3.5" 2TB drive. Superbiz (aka ewiz) has 2TB F4 drive for only $95 which is a terrific value for what you get,
Maybe it's not obvious, but not everyone is trying to make a backup of the Internet, and music collections don't tend to grow exponentially. If only 1/6 of that 2 TB is used, then the cost to store all the data you have is not really lowered by having a good GB/$ ratio.

Yeah I agree with this even though I did purchase the 3.5" 2TB drive from ewiz for $95 yesterday. But, I thought long and hard about getting 1 TB 2.5" drive instead which would have cost the same. I think performance for A/V storage doesn't matter so that wasn't a consideration. And 2.5" drives are quieter. I decided to go the 2 TB route because I plan on storing DVD or blu-ray rips in the future. But if it was just music I'd go for the 2.5" drive always.