New harddrive (3TB) on old mainboard

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I started having problems with my seagate 1.5 TB harddrive. It started clicking loud, spinning took longer, and every now and then it would just dissapear (quiting the games installed on it, i was playing at the time). And now it doesn’t work at all any more, i can hear it spin but it won’t show up on my desktop, only in the bios.

I looked up the model number (Seagate ST31500341as) and apperently louds of people have problems with that same drive. I looked if i could update the firmware but already have the latest version, so basically i’m looking at replacing that drive now.

At the moment i have this Asus P5b mainboard (http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_775/P5B/#overview ) with a Quadcore intel 2.4 ghz, with 6 GB ram, and these drives :

- Sata 320 GB, split in 2 partitions, one running my win 7 OS.
- Sata 500 GB
- Sata 1.5 TB, which is the broken one i want to replace.

I want to replace that 1.5 TB one with a 3 TB one, and then install my OS on a partition on that drive, as the new harddrive will be faster then that 320 GB one.

However i’m now reading things about my mainboard not being able to recognise the full 3 TB, and also not being able to use it as a boot disk, only as a data disk ?

I am gonna get a new mainboard/cpu bundle at xmas, which is this one : “Intel i5 3570k @ 4.4GHz - Asus P8Z77-V LX - 16GB Corsair DDR3 Overclocked Gaming Bundle” so i will have a new mainboard in a 2 months.

Could i just install that new 3 TB drive, split it into partitions, use the data partition i want for data, and save the partition i want for my OS untill i get my new mainboard, and then install win 7 on it, or is there some trick i can do on my current mainboard so i can install an OS on it now and use it as a boot disk.

Also, if i want to do that (use 1 partition now, and keep the other one unused untill i get my new mainboard, and then install my OS on it), do i need to partition the disk as mrb or gtp ?

The seagate i'm replacing has got "7200rpm 32MB Cache" and the one i'm looking at WD Caviar Green has got "5900 64MB Cache", is there gonna be a lot of difference in speed, what's more important, the cache or the rpm ?
 
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just checking but do you know if the warranty has expired on the 1.5drive?

Personally, I'd want to install my OS on an ssd if you're upgrading the mobo anyway.

I think if you're using the 3TB drive for games and OS, you will want higher rpm and probably not go for the WD green drives.

re the partitioning, GPT will be fine if your version of windows 7 is 64. you will then be able to install and boot from the partition when you upgrade. Until you upgrade your mobo, I don't think you will be able to boot from the drive. GPT is the best option.
 
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Deleted member 138126

D

Deleted member 138126

Spend £50 on an SSD -- best money you could ever invest in an upgrade.
 
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Cheers people.

Unfortunately i can't remember when i bought that 1.5 TB disk, or even in what country (moved a few times) so can't claim any warrenty.

I've just been reading up a bit on those SSD's, as to be honest i hadn't heard from them, and i see that they are much faster/quieter then normal HD's, but also more expensive if you compare what size HD drive you could get for the same money.
And apperently it's important to have a drive that can/has TRIM ?

So if i want one of those SSD for my OS (win 7 64bit), how big a drive should i get ?

On my current win 7 partition (on my 320GB drive) i'm currently using up 80 GB for vista and the program files for installed apps.

And would one of those SSD's work with my current mainboard, or shall i wait till i get my new one ?

And do most people here use an SSD just for their OS, or will games run faster of it as well ? Thing is i've currently got over 1 TB of just games, so guess i could only put a few on the SSD if i got one.
 
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SSDs will run with your current computer. Your motherboard is Sata-2 which is a little slower than the sata-3 drives that are now available. You might want to get a sata-3 drive (backwardly compatible) to take advantage of extra speed when you upgrade your PC. Otherwise, my sata-2 drive is fast enough and I don't plan on upgrading it when I change motherboard.

I have a 60GB SSD that cost me £90 2 years ago but I bought exactly the same model but 120GB (for a laptop) for £42 about a month ago so prices have dropped. I haven't filled the 60GB up yet but getting close. I don't install stuff on it apart from OS, web browser and some other small programs that I use every day.

I have my steam games saved on a 500GB drive.

TRIM is more to do with your operating system. You need Windows 7. You mention Vista in your last post. Do you use Vista or Windows 7? Just checking
 
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I'm not sure why I wrote vista as I've been using win 7 x64 for years now.

I shall get a ssd for my win7, and a separate hd for my games, and I'll look for one with high rmp then.

think I'll push the boat out and go for this Hitachi 4TB Deskstar 7K4000, for my games and music.

just trying to find if it'll be compatible with my current mainboard, which is sata2 and this hd is sata3.
I'm not fussed I can't use it for boot as I'll get an ssd for that, but would like to be able to use all 4tb straight away.
 
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ah I see you edited in the 4TB drive. :)

A sata 3 drive is fine on a sata 2 motherboard.

If it was my cash, I'd get 2x the seagates and save myself £90. Statistically, the 2TB drives are less likely to fail than 4TB drives, plus if one fails, you would still have the other.

have a look at these stats I found via google
http://www.behardware.com/articles/843-6/components-returns-rates-5.html

It's return rates for hard drives and notice how they increase the larger the drive. Unfortunately they don't mention 4TB drives but I'd guess the return rate to be higher still.

edit: just realised it's because you want a massive steam folder right? Fair enough.
 
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I was gonna split the 4 Tb one into two partitions anyway probably.

just read that article but its about a year old. I just didn't fancy another seagate.
 
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cool

just noticed this deal so might be worth considering

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18453999

Not 3TB but pretty good value as you'd be paying £50 extra just for 1TB more storage. Ticks the boxes

I might be brave and go for seagate again.

Instead of paying £ 205, for 4 TB, i can just buy two of these, which also is 4 TB, but for £ 132,

And then i'll just get a SSD for my OS, and all should be good.
 
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Ok, that is what i will do then. Get two of those seagate 2TB's, and an SSD for my OS.

Next problem/question. My current mainboard (P5b) states it has :


Southbridge
- 4 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports
JMicron® JMB363 PATA and SATA controller
- 1 x UltraDMA 133/100/66 for up to 2 PATA devices
- 1 x Internal SATA 3.0 Gb/s port
- 1 x External SATA 3.0 Gb/s port (SATA On-the-Go)
- Support SATA RAID 0, 1 and JBOD (by 1x External SATA & 1x Internal SATA)


At present i have this plugged into the 4 Sata ports numbered 1 to 4 :

Sata1: 320 GB HD
Sata2 500 GB HD
Sata3 1.5 TB HD (the broken one)
Sata4 Dvd writer

And then i have 1 slow old 160 GB in my IDE port.

The IDE one is going, and ovbiously the broken 1.5 TB as well.

But in my new set up i will have this :

- SSD sata
- 320 GB sata
- 500 GB sata
- new 2 TB sata
- new 2 TB sata
- dvd writer sata

Close to my sata 1 to sata 4 ports, i have a single sata port labeled "SATA_RAID".

Now i don't want to set up anything in raid as i know nothing about it, but can i just attach one of the sata deviced to that port ?

I assume i can't use the port on the back (I/O) area, so i was hoping i could just attach the 5 sata drives to those ports (sata 1 to sata 4, and that sata_raid one), and then when i get my new mainboard (which has 6 sata ports) i can reattached my dvd writer (i barely use) up again.
 
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The Jmicron sata (the one on its own) will work as a standard sata port. You would need to make changes in the bios if you wanted to use it as a Raid port. Test it using your dvd drive if you want. If it doesn't work, check in the bios that jmicron is enabled and that the mode is AHCI (should be in the advanced menu and onboard chipset options).

Yes, the max internal sata devices you can have currently are 5, so with the new drives you would have to lose one hdd or put the DVD drive in a sata caddy and plug it in at the back of your PC when you wanted to use it. However, since you're upgrading soon, I might suggest you keep the dvd drive plugged in and leave one of the 2TB drives unplugged until you need it/ upgrade your mobo....unless you plan on filling them both up before Christmas!!
 
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The drives are the same and the speeds quoted are both correct. The ocuk speeds are with a later firmware. Watch out when upgrading the firmware as it sounds like the latest version might not work too well with some motherboards:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18445674

Just to let you know, Overclockers get a little bit annoyed if you mention or post links to cheaper products (fair enough really).
 
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