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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

external HD and Imac memory upgrade

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William Graydon

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What are your thoughts on the 3TB G-Safe? http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/764792-REG/G_Technology_0G01977_3TB_G_SAFE_External_Hard.html

I am also looking at OWC has anyone had any experience with this company? I was thinking of using their memory to upgrade my Imac.
-- http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac/2011/DDR3_21.5_27

I think a 3TB HD Raid plus two individual TB hard drives that I already have should be enough for my Scarlet for now. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks in advance everyone! Happy Holidays!
 
William Graydon said:
What are your thoughts on the 3TB G-Safe? http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/764792-REG/G_Technology_0G01977_3TB_G_SAFE_External_Hard.html
Click to expand...

Are you looking for data security or data performance?


William Graydon said:
I am also looking at OWC has anyone had any experience with this company? I was thinking of using their memory to upgrade my Imac.
-- http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memor...1/DDR3_21.5_27
Click to expand...

OWC is excellent. i highly recommend them, especially for their Mac RAM, SSDs and HDD enclosures.


William Graydon said:
I think a 3TB HD Raid plus two individual TB hard drives that I already have should be enough for my Scarlet for now. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Click to expand...

It really all depends on how much footage you plan on shooting. Some people think 2TB is enough and others need 20TB (seriously; no sarcasm). 3TB is enough capacity to store more than 14 hours of raw footage from a Scarlet.
 
Brian, thank you for your response.

In regard to the 3TB G-SAFE I'd like performance and security. I felt like this was a fast secure option. What were your thoughts?

How do you feel OWC memory matches with the 1600mhz samsung memory being sold on BH? That was my other consideration.
 
William Graydon said:
In regard to the 3TB G-SAFE I'd like performance and security. I felt like this was a fast secure option. What were your thoughts?
Click to expand...

The reason I asked is because typically, you use RAID 0 when you need performance and RAID 1 when you need security. The G-Technology G-SAFE enclosure (the one you're looking at) is security-oriented; it uses RAID 1. So it'll transfer the data to both drives simultaneously and you'll have an immediate backup in case one disk fails. This is slower than a two-disk RAID 0 setup, however it's much safer. Considering your situation and seeing that your looking for a desktop solution (as opposed to a mobile-friendly on-location solution), I would tend to recommend a RAID 0 performance-oriented solution. There is one more question that would determine what I would recommend for you, and that is, will you be using USB 2.0, FireWire 800 or eSATA to connect the hard drive enclosure to your computer? Since your using an iMac, I would assume you're going to use FW800, but I just want to make sure.


William Graydon said:
How do you feel OWC memory matches with the 1600mhz samsung memory being sold on BH? That was my other consideration.
Click to expand...

Typically not a good idea. It's recommended to use a matched set. Meaning, exactly the same RAM modules.
 
I've ordered RAM from OWC on different occasions for different machines, no problems no complaints. As Brian said, you want to go with matched sets. I'd recommend them.
 
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William Graydon said:
Thanks guys. Yeah I will be using firewire 800. So for desktop use I should just get a RAID 0 then?
Edit: like this one: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/650739-REG/G_Technology_GR4_4000_4TB_G_RAID_External_Hard.html
Click to expand...

Yes, just like that one. The G-Technology G-RAID is actually something that I tend to recommend quite frequently. :)


William Graydon said:
I guess my second statement came out a bit confusing. I meant compared to the OWC how does the samsung 1600mhz ram match up. Is one better than the other? I know the OWC is 1333mhz that's all.
Click to expand...

The faster the RAM the better. But, does your iMac support 1600MHz RAM? (It may not.) Do you know what model iMac it is (i.e. iMac1,1)?


Also, regarding Drobo... I personally do not like them. Not one bit... They're slow and they use proprietary "RAID" software which sometimes has issues. I do not recommend them at all.

Of course, now, a bunch of Drobo users will probably chime-in stating that I'm wrong and that they run perfectly. So my advice would be to avoid using enclosures from Drobo, but, if you like them, then go ahead and try them. However, don't be surprised when they eventually fail. (I have heard that Drobo's customer service is very good, though.) While I personally find them to be flawed, you may have better luck with them.
 
Thanks again Brian. You've been extremely helpful. So I'll look into that 4TB and save my self some $. Always a good thing.

I have a mid 2011 Imac. with a 3.4ghz i7 not sure if that's what your asking.

In regard to the drobo. I have had no experience with them but they seem to be out of my price range at the moment.
 
Luc Bouvrette said:
Not according to Jarred : http://reduser.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-63478.html?
Click to expand...

I've never seen that thread before. LOL


Well, like I said Willian, I recommend you stay away from Drobo... :)


William Graydon said:
I have a mid 2011 Imac. with a 3.4ghz i7 not sure if that's what your asking.
Click to expand...

To find the model identifier on your iMac, follow these steps: http://eshop.macsales.com/Customized_Pages/nwt_battery/imgs/model_id_screen.gif

If it says something like 12,1 or 12,2, then I don't think you can use 1600MHz RAM. I believe 1333MHz might be the max, but I'm not sure.
 
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If you've got the 2011 3.4 i7 iMac you need 1333MHz RAM. I've got 16GB from OWC in mine right now and it's run flawlessly.

To the points on the Drobo, I've got one from when I was primarily doing stills work. Even for that I hated it. Completely useless for anything other than periodic backups of stuff you rarely have to access, and even then it's incredibly finicky.

FW800 is okay, but you'd really be best off with Thunderbolt. Alternatively, OWC offers a 'turn-key' upgrade program where you can send in your iMac and they will install RAM, SSDs or larger HDDs, and can install an eSATA port on the iMac by rerouting one of the motherboard's SATA ports.
 
Barry Bishop said:
Checkout a drobo
Click to expand...

I would rather get kicked in the balls... It's pretty much the same thing and cheaper than buying a drobo.


If this is a current model iMac that we're talking about, then why use FW800??? Take a look at the Promise and LaCie Thunderbolt systems. The 6TB Promise Thunderbolt RAID is a great place to start for the iMac.


OWC is a great place to buy RAM and they have good support. That said, my 2011 iMac is running 4x4GB G.Skill modules I bought from NewEgg. It was about 1/3 the price of OWC. Normally OWC's memory prices are very competitive, but for some reason they are unusually high right now.

 
can you run a 4tb 3.5 inch seagate drive inside the imacs 3.5 inch bay? that would be pretty nice if you throw the apps on ssd and buy thunderbolt externals like promise or lacie. i have been seriously thinking about getting a set up this for myself, coupled with excessive ram
 
Brian Merlen said:
can you run a 4tb 3.5 inch seagate drive inside the imacs 3.5 inch bay? that would be pretty nice if you throw the apps on ssd and buy thunderbolt externals like promise or lacie. i have been seriously thinking about getting a set up this for myself, coupled with excessive ram
Click to expand...
Yes and no. First off, it's not an easy install, but it's do-able. I'd also reiterate what you said about throwing in an SSD too.
The issue you'll run across is that Apple has decided to go a little off-standard with their iMac hard drives. Rather than polling the drive's S.M.A.R.T. data through the main drive interface, they've got their drives using custom firmware to output this information using the pins normally used to drive an activity LED on a PC. The benefit of this is that you're never going to have the drive stutter while it is S.M.A.R.T. polled, but it does come at a price. This means the temperature sensor will not be getting its data if you use a non-Apple hard drive, and the hard drive fan will spin up to full speed as a precaution. There are some ways around this. One is to short the pins a certain way to disable the sensor. The other is to use an utility like HDDFanControl to force the fans to operate normally. A pain in the rear end, I know...that's the main reason I haven't done anything with mine yet, and i've just stuck to putting everything on my Pegasus R6 instead.


Brian Iannone said:
Do you mean OWC's enclosures are pretty much the same thing, but cheaper than buying a Drobo?
Click to expand...
He means getting kicked in the balls is the same thing as having a drobo, but won't cost you anything :p I concur.
 
Brian Iannone said:
I've never seen that thread before. LOL

To find the model identifier on your iMac, follow these steps: http://eshop.macsales.com/Customized_Pages/nwt_battery/imgs/model_id_screen.gif

If it says something like 12,1 or 12,2, then I don't think you can use 1600MHz RAM. I believe 1333MHz might be the max, but I'm not sure.
Click to expand...


Brian it is in fact 12,2 So looks like I'll stick with 1333mhz from OWC. Thanks again for all your help. Really appreciate it dude!

I missed a lot staying away from the this thread yesterday. Love information overload. I'll also look into the Lacie as well. Although, unfortunately, my Imac might have been the one right before they released the thunderbolt. Gotta check.

OWC's Imac upgrage also sounds like something I might do!
 
William Graydon said:
Brian it is in fact 12,2 So looks like I'll stick with 1333mhz from OWC. Thanks again for all your help. Really appreciate it dude!
Click to expand...

1333MHz RAM seems to be the fastest supported by iMac12,2.

Also, iMac12,2 has two Thunderbolt ports.


William Graydon said:
OWC's Imac upgrage also sounds like something I might do!
Click to expand...

I would do it just for the addition of an eSATA port. :-)
 
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