4TB drive recommendations?

[adam1991]

I'm looking to switch out my 2TB drive and put in a 4TB drive, pretty much solely to increase available space. Any specific recommendations?

(Of course, I'll probably just end up with an InfiniTV 6, thus again proving the old adage that stuff expands to fill the available space...)

[staknhalo]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00829 ... UTF8&psc=1

I got 2 of these back when they were $130 ( actually only ordered one, Amazon accidentally shipped me 2 and told me to keep it ) - been running fine so far. I did crack them open though and threw them into the HTPC.

[aeblank]

Just fyi, i just put in a 3tb to augment my 2tb drive.

I had to run Seagate utilities and jump through some hoops to get a drive larger than 2tb to show up as one large partition.

[staknhalo]

All you have to do is be running x64>diskpart>clean>partition gpt

[foxwood]

All you have to do is be running x64>diskpart>clean>partition gpt

For those who haven't come across this, the Wikipedia article on GPT gives a useful explanation of why you need to switch to GPT as you go over the 2TB limit, and some of the issues you might encounter, especially with older hardware (though it probably shouldn't be too much of a problem, HTPCs tend to be in the "if it's not broken, don't fix it" category for many people, so there are a lot of HTPCs running on what would now be considered old hardware).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUID_Partition_Table

[aeblank]

It was a new experience for me, that's all. It is something i wish i knew about as I'm hurrying to upgrade while nothing is recording.

[foxwood]

It was a new experience for me, that's all. It is something i wish i knew about as I'm hurrying to upgrade while nothing is recording.

You won't be the first one in that position

That's why I posted the Wikipedia link, to raise awareness of this issue now that >2TB drives are a practical option for everyone. There's nothing worse than going to do an upgrade that you think will be simple (as HD upgrades have been for a very long time) only to find that the onward march of technology has thrown a monkey wrench into your 15 minute upgrade

[staknhalo]

an upgrade that you think will be simple...

The HTPC motto

[CBRworm]

I use the following 4tb drives in HTPC's with good success

Hitachi 7k4000 4tb Deskstar - the ultrastar is faster but too much seek noise.
Seagate ST4000dx000 - these are quiet, slow seeks, high throughput - there are rumors of fast seek versions which I have never received.
Seagate constellation es.3 4tb - work great, too loud.
Seagate just released a video version of the 5,900 rpm 4tb drive which has high throughput, slowish seeks - cool running, I haven't tried it yet in a high volume application.

I serve 4 HD TV's simultaneously, so quick seeks are important for me, I have found 'green' drives do not work well in my application with the exception of the smaller single platter Pipeline HD series.

My favorite is probably the hitachi 7k4000 4tb. It needs some airflow but is quiet enough and fast enough.
My second favorite is a 3tb drive, the Seagate sv35.5 3 tb. Only drawback is head park noise, but it is cool and fast.
Third favorite is the st4000dx000 - also needs some airflow.

All of the drives mentioned I run 24/7 - I believe they are all rated for that.

Over the years I have had better luck with seagates for streaming multiple videos. I don't know why this is - I assume firmware optimization.