Or go with 802.11n Draft 2 for even better speeds. Although it's expected to be compatible with the final version of 802.11n there is always a chance it wont work, so be sure when upgrading to 802.11n that you can't wait any longer.

Wireless has a current limitation on good signal of 54Mbit on most components, usually if you have matched equipment (Dlink cards and AP's) you can get 107 or better.

Hi Al_G,

After reading reviews for the Fantom G-Force 1T Hdd on various vendor websites I was going to buy it, until I noticed that the manufacturer recently added the same hard basic HDD with Nas capabilities for a few dollars more to their line-up, so I bought it instead.

I don't know about transfer rates, I'm still learning about networks and how to set them up for best performance, but I do really like having my files in one central location, and I also like the fact that the Fantom comes with an iTunes server. Now I know why so many people have been clamoring for a similar function in a future version of MM. I haaaaaate iTunes, but have started using it again intermittently if only to take advantage of that feature.

I do know that I can transfer files over more quickly when I connect directly to my computer using a crossover cable vs. wireless. Also, this nas comes with 10/100/1000; however, although my computer's only 2 years old, it didn't come with gigabit capabilities (I don't think my router does, either, tho I'm looking into how, or if, I can upgrade both). I can also either connect my external HDD's directly to my nas or use one of the usb ports on it to connect to my computer for faster transfers using a USB network cable.

But yes, with my wireless setup as it is now, moving files is fairly slow.

Lowlander wrote:The NAS performance charts from Smallnetbuilder.com have some more transfer speed information available.

Thanks for the link, Lowlander. Some useful information there!

One annoyance is that everyone seems to use a different basis for transfer rate (megabits/sec, megabytes/sec, kilobits/sec, kilobytes/sec). Not too difficult to convert, but still annoying.

nynaevelan wrote:I have the Western Digital MY Book 1T and although I have not lost any data on it yet it is not very reliable. It will sometimes lose its connection when rebooting the computer or at the most inconvienent times give me that overheating warning and turn off. It's been so unpredictable I'm afraid to put it to any kind of extensive use. Which of course has pissed me off because I have the 500gb My Book which has been great with my weekly backups. But because of my experience with computers, I have a backup of my music collection on two external drives as well as several dvd's. I know that's a little excessive but it took me months to rebuild my collection once. I say all this to say, DON'T get the WD My Book.

Nyn

the loss of connection during a reboot is probably due to how it handles power control. the Mybooks turn off and on with the computer, to do this they monitor the USB ports power state. if they are receiving power from the port they assume the system is on and turn on. if its off they assume off and turn off. A reboot might turn the ports off and back on and therefore cause the Mybook to do the same.

The NAS performance charts from Smallnetbuilder.com have some more transfer speed information available.

25 mb/s is OK for LAN, but like you sai USB is much better for Transfer as its spec is up to 400 Mbits/s and LAV is still 10/100 where in most cases you cant get 100 Full Duplex on LOW cost or integrated cards.

Peke wrote:@Al_G
Have you tried to connect NAS directly over Crossover cable (or normal one if MB can do the switch), also What type of Cable you use for LAN as there is soem cable types that are problematic.

Haven't tried a crossover cable, but I was using standard store bought cat5e patch cables, which were giving me good transfer rates over the network. I tried the Vantec NAS unit on three different computers, on both a switch and on a router. It's performance was consistent and disappointing.

I've looked at all the major vendor's information and only one gave a sustained transfer speed rating. I don't remember which manufacturer, but the rating was about 25mbit/s. It's fine for streaming media, but for doing a large transfer or synchronization job, it is far quicker to use the USB port.

I'm curious as to how tinana's unit performs.

@Al_G
Have you tried to connect NAS directly over Crossover cable (or normal one if MB can do the switch), also What type of Cable you use for LAN as there is soem cable types that are problematic.

tinana wrote:I actually wound up getting a 1T NAS just for kicks.

What model did you get? Do you have a way to check its transfer rate?

I'm wondering how it performs relative to USB speeds. I used a Vantec NAS device (NexStar LX) and the NAS performance was completely underwhelming. Transfer speed was somewhere around 12-15 Mbit/s. The device also had a USB port, which would transfer files at about 350-400 Mbit/s. This is on a 100 Mbit local network (only one computer and the NAS, connected to a router). Computer to computer data transfer runs about 80 mbit/s.

edit: corrected USB transfer speed.

I actually wound up getting a 1T NAS just for kicks. I wasn't looking for network attached storage but rather simply a good, dependable place to back-up my library as I mentioned in my original post, but the difference between the 1T HDD and 1T NAS was only ~40$. So far I'm happy, and relieved to finally have a safeguard in place for if/when one of my drives goes bad.

Update. I backed up 106GB of data to an eSATA drive this evening. It took just over 35 min. That would have take about 4 hours with a USB external drive.

tinana should consider getting a Hitachi ITB drive and an enclosure that supports eSATA, like the VANTEC NexStar 3 (NST-360SU-BK). Much better than a "one touch" solution.

On a whim, I ended up getting one of the WD 1TB drives (2x500) and so far its been very stable, no errors or problems.

Before I had stated that using raid 0 on external drive is silly, and well I still think that.. I just make sure I have it all backed up.

I think going forward (assuming I don't start getting lots of problems) is that I will have 2 of the WD drives and just alternate them with upgraded drives as they come out..

So right now I have a 1TB (2x500), next I'll buy a 1.5 or 2 TB drive, transfer the data over, then eventually I will replace the 2x500 drives with 2x2tb drives (or whatever is available in the future).

Since the WD drives use Sata, from what I can tell, all I have to do is remove the old drives and replace them with 2 newer bigger drives (of the same size).

snacks wrote:I'm on my 2nd one.... and have had the same problem with both. The hard drive just disconnects itself from the computer. And with the 2nd one I have to turn it off and turn it on before my computer will read it again.!

If I was moving that much data, I'd look at buying a HD enclosure that supports eSATA; purchasing the drive and enclosure separately if necessary. I've found that USB can be finicky when moving massive amount of data, while eSATA is *much* better. If the motherboard doesn't support eSATA, an add-on card is bundled with some enclosures. It may require a reboot to recognize the drive each time, but I happily put up with that in order to get the faster transfer rates. These enclosures usually support either USB or firewire for use with non-eSATA systems.

I believe that Seagate and Samsung soon will or already have started selling 1TB harddrives, without that you would need 2 500GB harddrives.

LaCie is one of the best available. I would use sites like Newegg and PriceGrabber to define which products fit your need and read the reviews. You can then make a better decision on which product is best for your needs.