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5by5 · Nov 9, 2007, 04:23 PM

I just bought a 2.2 GHz MacBook Pro.

I'm trying to decide how to handle my storage and backup needs going forwards.

I currently have a 1.8GHz G5 with 2 400GB drives. They are not close to being full. I keep all of my photos there as well as all of the home video work I do on FCE.

I was thinking about selling the G5 and just using the MacBook as my main computer. Then adding a firewire or eSATA unit(s) to store all of my photos/video and do backups with Time Machine. Does this makes sense or is there a better approach?

Thanks!

Anthony

mduell · Nov 9, 2007, 05:48 PM

I'd sell the G5 and buy the eSATA card and some eSATA/USB2 enclosures. Cheaper than FW800 enclosures, faster when you're using eSATA, and you still have USB2 when your needs aren't demanding enough to pull out the eSATA card.

5by5 · Nov 10, 2007, 07:53 AM

Thanks for the response. It's always good to get some confirmation.

I've been reading through some of the eSATA threads here and the issue of a RAID setup keeps coming up. Is this something I need to consider as well?

Also, I think I should get an enclosure that holds at least 2 drives. One for my data and the other for backup.

5by5 · Nov 10, 2007, 08:43 AM

I thought of something else. Are there any eSATA enclosures that power from the port like FW can? Not having the power brick might be a plus.

mduell · Nov 10, 2007, 09:30 AM

Originally Posted by 5by5

I've been reading through some of the eSATA threads here and the issue of a RAID setup keeps coming up. Is this something I need to consider as well?

eSATA enclosures are available with and without RAID; people choose eSATA for their RAID enclosures because eSATA is so much faster than FW800.

Originally Posted by 5by5

Also, I think I should get an enclosure that holds at least 2 drives. One for my data and the other for backup.

I haven't seen many 2 drive eSATA enclosures; eSATA Port Multiplier supports 5 drives in an enclosure, so most of them go with 4 or 5. Here's a 4 drive enclosure for $225 (comes with a desktop eSATA card you could eBay), but you may be better just buying two $30 single drive enclosures.

Originally Posted by 5by5

I thought of something else. Are there any eSATA enclosures that power from the port like FW can? Not having the power brick might be a plus.

No, eSATA doesn't carry any power over the data cable. But FW can only power 2.5" (laptop) drives, not the 3.5" (desktop) drives you have in your PowerMac.