Question about G1s, E-SATA, & Harddrive space

First things first- After spending the weekend ironing out a few kinks, I love my new G1s, couldn't be happier with it.

I am, however, kind of regretting getting the 120 GB 7200 RPM harddrive upgrade from the 160 GB standard 5400.

I've installed all the base programs I will need (Vista, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc) + 1 game and I'm left with only 72.6 GB.

My first question is this: Will an E-SATA drive function like a normal hardrive? Say if I put my music on it and run it through i-tunes will I experience any slowdown? (tried on a generic USB drive and experienced slowdown).

Also, how low is too low for harddrive space on the OS drive? I can foresee putting another 30-40 GB of games and apps on the main drive which will put me down in the 30's and possibly 20's of free harddrive space. When will it start affecting the system's performance?

My ultimate plan is to have a large E-SATA drive for file storage and use the main harddrive for applications only. Just a little worried about 120 not being enough. Thanks for any input.

 

Anyone with knowlege of harddrives out there that can answer this?

 

Am not too sure on the eSATA but transfer rate tests on that show it to be pretty fast ie. much faster then USB connections.

Actually, music u mentioned playing would be no problem on via the eSATA and should pose no problem over USB too unless you are using USB 1.0 or something.. The newer 5400/7200 rpm external hDDs that come out nowdays with USB 2.0 connection are pretty fast and should be more then enuf for the task of streaming music..

About HDD space for OS.. Wrt Vista, i would suggest to leave around 5-10 Gigs of space for normal OS usage. For defragmentation purposes and such, Windows recommends a free space of at least 10% to 15% of drive capacity.. I think this makes defragementation pretty faster with more space for copying around.

 

Not to jack the thread, but I to an considering an external harddrive, any suggestions for what to look for and what to not?

 

Well itunes was acting a little sluggish running through a USB2.0 port.

Also, I cant figure out why i have 38 GB of space used. Looking at the properties of folders under the C: I have 10 GB for windows, 8 GB for program files and 2 GB for users. This leaves 18 GB unaccounted for...

 

We just installed an e-stata II drive array at work and we're very pleased with it. It wasn't with a G1S, but you'll be happy with the throughput if Asus didn't muck something up in their implementation.

 

Depends on whether u want the 2.5 or 3.5" form factor. If 3.5, check for eSATA options + 7200rpm for good performance.

I went with WD Mybook 500Gb Premium with eSATA which is pretty fast!

 

problem solved: Turned off automatic system restore in Vista and cleared up 20 Gb.

 

I've just been looking at getting this HD, but I want to know, klonopin, was the upgrade to 7200rpm worth it?

 

- for sure

 

eSATA is every bit as fast as an internal HDD because it uses the same communications interface, just adapted to external. Also, they have to be externally powered since eSATA does not provide power, just communications.

There are several eSATA enclosures (requires a SATA HDD) which are available on the market (ex: Antec MX-1, also Vantec makes both 3.5" and 2.5" eSATA enclosures (NST-260SU-BK for 2.5", NST-360SU-BL/BK for 3.5"). They actually provide an SATA-to-eSATA bracket for desktops and an eSATA cable in the aforementioned products. However, like any external drive, the drive should be powered up first before you plug it into your PC or it might not communicate.

It is usually better to buy the HDDs and then put them into the enclosures, since the HDDs bought OEM from a computer store *typically* have a 3-5 year warranty rather than a 1 year warranty.

I actually have a SATA laptop HDD that I use in a Nexstar 2.5 enclosure and it's quite handy since it can be USB or eSATA. It copies stuff MUCH faster in eSATA mode (without having to haul around a 3.5" enclosure + power adapter, since the laptop HDD is USB-powered and can talk either USB or eSATA).

 

I've done a bit of research but I have some questions. I'm looking at the Western Digital My Book™ Premium ES Edition. This comes with both USB and ESATA abilities correct? I'm having trouble find the HDD's speed, I only want 7200RPMs can someone confirm for me thats what this edition is? Will my 360 be able to read files off the HDD so I can stream music to my home theatre system? Also, what are peoples take on the My Books, they look legit too me and I'd really like one unless people disagree.

 

The WD MyBook premium ES Edition comes with 7200 rpm hdd.

Dunno abt the 360.

I got meself a Mybook 2 weeks back and i would say its pretty stylish, plenty of holes for heat dissipation, noiseless and fast..
Only con ppl may say is that the enclosure is plastic whereas some ppl prefer metal such alumunium for better heat dissipation..

 

well thanks for confirming that... I think I may order one, now I need to decide if i want 250 320 or 500 gigs.

 

I've got all my media on my Seagate eSATA hdd. Pics, music, movies. No lag when playing anything.

Alexf that's an awesome idea. The speed of SATA without needing to carry around the power brick!