Getting in New HDD's

[G9]

Well, after my two external HDD's failed me w/o provocation, I decided to get a RAID 1 array. I don't carry the external's much around anyway, so why not?

Before making a purchase, of course, I wanted to check if the HDD I had my eyes on was compatible with my rig. Here are some of the HDD choices on the purchase page (it's an Alienware MJ-12 7550i, click here for the tech specs)

#GB Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ NCQ & 8MB Cache
500GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ NCQ & 16MB Cache
150GB Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s 10,000 RPM w/ NCQ & 16MB Cache

Now the question is, will this hdd be compatible?

Thank you.

 

[wsigo]

Yes.

 

[G9]

Alright, thanks man... do I hear a second?

 

[rakedog]

Well, your motherboard only support 1.5 SATA. That HD will work but it will be a waste because you'll only be getting half the speed.

 

[G9]

When you say 1.5, what are you referring to? Sorry, I'm quite a newb.

 

[rakedog]

From your spec page:

Serial ATA: Up to Six Serial ATA-150 ports RAID0 and RAID1 (optional)

SATA-150 = 1.5 Gb/s . That's the max transfer rate it supports. Your HD has 3.0 Gb/s. Which means it's twice as fast and it can't use half of it's power.

If you still want a fast solution, go with a 10,000 RPM hard drive, since any Sata adapter can support that.

 

[G9]

I see... 10K is too expensive...

How's this HDD?

 

[rakedog]

Yes, that will work. As you see it is Serial ATA150 in the title. This matches your mobo speed.

 

[G9]

Alright, thanks so much for your help.

 

[rakedog]

No problem. You should check it with others though, just to double check, nobody is perfect...

Good luck with the HD's. Seagate is a great choice.