Best 1TB Backup Drive at DVinfo.net

Benjamin Eckstein · March 12th, 2008, 10:28 AM

I need a new 1 TB Drive for timemachine backups. Should I spend the extra money for the G-RAID 2 drive? Am I safer with a system that is 1 physical drive rather than 2 in RAID-0 (like the G-RAID)? I looked at building my own based on a 1 TB Seagate SATA drive but I can't seem to find a good firewire 800 enclosure.

Any advice?

BE

John Moon · March 12th, 2008, 12:29 PM

We have used a couple Maxtor firewire 800 drives with no problems. We have other Maxtor drives and never had a problem with them either.

Bill Davis · March 12th, 2008, 02:48 PM

This doesn't answer your particular question, but as a TB-HD technology overview it might be useful...

http://gizmodo.com/366490/seven-one+...ne-is-the-best

Robert Lane · March 12th, 2008, 05:12 PM

Benjamin,

If you look at the enclosures from OWC (http://www.macsales.com) you'll find a host of DIY enclosures that we've always relied upon with only one defective unit in the past 5 years.

Just keep in mind that the concept of a "backup" or archive drive means it's not constantly running and is only powered on for creating new backups or, pulling off data you need to restore and when not in use should be powered-off and left alone.

I'd also be very wary of using Time Machine on your main edit system. There have been many posts where the Spotlight database combined with TimeMachine's indexing has caused problems with media management in FCP. I'd highly recommend *not* using Time Machine on the same system you are editing on.

Keep in mind, TimeMachine was not designed to be used in a professional environment; it's a consumer "goodie" or add-on feature to the OS just like the widgets in the Dashboard - they have great "cool" factor but absolutely no purpose in a professional system. In fact on our edit systems we've turned off Time Machine and disabled the Dashboard to prevent those widgets from making background communications, which we found to cause problems for Compressor.

For system-wide or project backups there are other, more robust and time-proven backup methods and software packages that would be a better choice. Hit up the forums sponsors for the best solution for your system and needs.

Benjamin Eckstein · March 12th, 2008, 08:49 PM

Thanks Robert. Good to know about TimeMachine. I always used Synk which worked well, but then I just got Leopard so I figured I'd use TimeMachine, but maybe I'll just continue to use Synk (or Retrospect).

March 12th, 2008, 10:28 AM	#1
Benjamin Eckstein Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 380 Images: 1	Best 1TB Backup Drive I need a new 1 TB Drive for timemachine backups. Should I spend the extra money for the G-RAID 2 drive? Am I safer with a system that is 1 physical drive rather than 2 in RAID-0 (like the G-RAID)? I looked at building my own based on a 1 TB Seagate SATA drive but I can't seem to find a good firewire 800 enclosure. Any advice? BE

March 12th, 2008, 12:29 PM	#2
John Moon Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 446	We have used a couple Maxtor firewire 800 drives with no problems. We have other Maxtor drives and never had a problem with them either. __________________ John J. Moon www.northernlightfilmworks.com - Event DV Top 25 Recipient

March 12th, 2008, 02:48 PM	#3
Bill Davis Trustee Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Posts: 1,538	This doesn't answer your particular question, but as a TB-HD technology overview it might be useful... http://gizmodo.com/366490/seven-one+...ne-is-the-best

March 12th, 2008, 05:12 PM	#4
Robert Lane Go Go Godzilla Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Scottsdale, AZ USA Posts: 2,788 Images: 15	Benjamin, If you look at the enclosures from OWC (http://www.macsales.com) you'll find a host of DIY enclosures that we've always relied upon with only one defective unit in the past 5 years. Just keep in mind that the concept of a "backup" or archive drive means it's not constantly running and is only powered on for creating new backups or, pulling off data you need to restore and when not in use should be powered-off and left alone. I'd also be very wary of using Time Machine on your main edit system. There have been many posts where the Spotlight database combined with TimeMachine's indexing has caused problems with media management in FCP. I'd highly recommend not using Time Machine on the same system you are editing on. Keep in mind, TimeMachine was not designed to be used in a professional environment; it's a consumer "goodie" or add-on feature to the OS just like the widgets in the Dashboard - they have great "cool" factor but absolutely no purpose in a professional system. In fact on our edit systems we've turned off Time Machine and disabled the Dashboard to prevent those widgets from making background communications, which we found to cause problems for Compressor. For system-wide or project backups there are other, more robust and time-proven backup methods and software packages that would be a better choice. Hit up the forums sponsors for the best solution for your system and needs.

March 12th, 2008, 08:49 PM	#5
Benjamin Eckstein Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 380 Images: 1	Thanks Robert. Good to know about TimeMachine. I always used Synk which worked well, but then I just got Leopard so I figured I'd use TimeMachine, but maybe I'll just continue to use Synk (or Retrospect).