Cost of DVD as data storage versus HDD (UK)
 

What is the cost of DVD storage in the UK? I am in the UK so my figures
reflect UK prices. I want to store data not music.

I would welcome any comments on my posting.


(1) I can buy a 160GB hard drive for approx £65 including delivery. (E.G.
Maxtor Plus9 160GB 8MB 7200rpm from Dabs).
The available formatted space on the HDD is about 150GB (in 4K block with
NTFS), so this comes to 41p per GB.

Sustained data transfer rates are fast (about 15 MB/s according to
http://storagereview.com/map/lm.cgi/str and
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/perf/extSpeed-c.html) so the process of
getting data to or from the HDD is relatively quick.


(2) For CDs (not DVD) I would say the usable storage space is approx 500MB
(not 750 or 800 because it is rare to completely fill a CD and I believe
there is approx 10 percent used for error correction). I don't know what
block size is used.

I want to have a protective case and not use the very cheapest product. 100
cased CD-Rs is approx £22 including delivery. I need 300 to match 150GB so
the total cost is £66. This excludes costs for the CD-R burner.

Data transfer rates when reading are not bad at about 3 MB/s (according to
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/cd/perfTransfer-c.html).


(3) DVDs. Now this is new to me. Are the following reasonable
assumptions.

Cased DVD+R or DVD-R 8x blanks are about £0.50 each (?).

What does the nominal 4.7Gb actually hold when data is stored?

Is the block size relatively large?

What is the cost per GB assuming the disk is only 80% filled?


Overall, I get the impression that HDDs are a far better and cheaper way of
backing up data for the home user. The HDD can be re-used and if the HDD is
plugged in (which can be harder than inserting a DVD) then the availability
is almost instantaneous.

Im not going to comment on the "cost per" quotes you made
I will say that a dvd will last 100 times longer than an HDD
Plus if the HDD dies you lose ALL your data
unless there is a fire you will not lose all the DVD/CD,s
DVD/CD's are easier to transport,will handle shock,moisture and all other things that will kill an HDD
So in conclusion DVD/CD storage is cheaper in the long run

"Locutus" wrote in message
...
Im not going to comment on the "cost per" quotes you made
I will say that a dvd will last 100 times longer than an HDD
Plus if the HDD dies you lose ALL your data
unless there is a fire you will not lose all the DVD/CD,s
DVD/CD's are easier to transport,will handle shock,moisture and all other
things that will kill an HDD
So in conclusion DVD/CD storage is cheaper in the long run

Depends on the quality of your DVD's. As people are noticing with CDR the
dye degrades over time, and scratches can be a major problem.
A raid0 or raid5 array is the most suitable option for long term backup, as
if one drive fizzucks you can just replace it with a new one without any
data loss.

Dan


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.774 / Virus Database: 521 - Release Date: 07/10/2004

David X wrote:

Overall, I get the impression that HDDs are a far better and cheaper
way of backing up data for the home user. The HDD can be re-used and
if the HDD is plugged in (which can be harder than inserting a DVD)
then the availability is almost instantaneous.

Its also easy to delete masses of data quickly on HDD.....

At least with write-once media like CDR and DVDR there's no
temptation to use it as "extra online space",

--
Mike

"David X" wrote:

Overall, I get the impression that HDDs are a far better and cheaper way of
backing up data for the home user.

Overall I get the impression all your observations are biased towards
reaching your impression.

Assuming you already have a DVD writer the per GB cost of DVD media is
about 1/5th that of hard drives.

That said, media cost is one of many considerations and only becomes
significant when you have a real lot of data. Both media have significant
pros and cons, there is no clear winner. Personally I use both.

"Sideshow" wrote in message
...

"Locutus" wrote in message
...
Im not going to comment on the "cost per" quotes you made
I will say that a dvd will last 100 times longer than an HDD
Plus if the HDD dies you lose ALL your data
unless there is a fire you will not lose all the DVD/CD,s
DVD/CD's are easier to transport,will handle shock,moisture and all other
things that will kill an HDD
So in conclusion DVD/CD storage is cheaper in the long run

Depends on the quality of your DVD's. As people are noticing with CDR the
dye degrades over time, and scratches can be a major problem.
A raid0 or raid5 array is the most suitable option for long term backup,
as if one drive fizzucks you can just replace it with a new one without
any data loss.

Dan


RAID0 is not a suitable backup option, IMHO. You're twice as likely to lose
a single drive, and with it all your data.

Did you mean RAID1?

DVD-/+ RW or DVD-RAM are other options which allow you to re-use the media.

Reasonable dvd-r media is available from around 20p per disc.
--
Doug Ramage

[Watch Spam Trap]

On 13/10/2004 Doug Ramage wrote:


"Sideshow" wrote in message
...


[snipped]


DVD-/+ RW or DVD-RAM are other options which allow you to re-use the
media.

Reasonable dvd-r media is available from around 20p per disc.

DVD-RAM is much more secure for backing up because of the way it stores
data and you get 100,000 writes - from memory it's 10,000 for DVD. If
you use the caddy type it keeps sticky fingers away as well.

--
Jeff Gaines - Damerham Hampshire UK
Posted with XanaNews 1.16.4.6
http://www.wilsonc.demon.co.uk/d7xananews.htm

"Doug Ramage" wrote in message
...

"Sideshow" wrote in message
...

"Locutus" wrote in message
...
Im not going to comment on the "cost per" quotes you made
I will say that a dvd will last 100 times longer than an HDD
Plus if the HDD dies you lose ALL your data
unless there is a fire you will not lose all the DVD/CD,s
DVD/CD's are easier to transport,will handle shock,moisture and all
other things that will kill an HDD
So in conclusion DVD/CD storage is cheaper in the long run

Depends on the quality of your DVD's. As people are noticing with CDR the
dye degrades over time, and scratches can be a major problem.
A raid0 or raid5 array is the most suitable option for long term backup,
as if one drive fizzucks you can just replace it with a new one without
any data loss.

Dan


RAID0 is not a suitable backup option, IMHO. You're twice as likely to
lose a single drive, and with it all your data.

Did you mean RAID1?

Yep sorry Raid 1



---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.774 / Virus Database: 521 - Release Date: 07/10/2004

Don't forget a cost of labor. For frequent repetitive tasks (backup) or
large data sets, HD has an advantage and saves a lot of time. For small (up
to a single DVD size) archive operations, DVD is the best.

"nospam" wrote in message
...
"David X" wrote:

Overall, I get the impression that HDDs are a far better and cheaper way
of
backing up data for the home user.

Overall I get the impression all your observations are biased towards
reaching your impression.

Assuming you already have a DVD writer the per GB cost of DVD media is
about 1/5th that of hard drives.

That said, media cost is one of many considerations and only becomes
significant when you have a real lot of data. Both media have significant
pros and cons, there is no clear winner. Personally I use both.

"Sideshow" wrote:

A raid0 or raid5 array is the most suitable option for long term backup, as
if one drive fizzucks you can just replace it with a new one without any
data loss.

Sure, a small company I know decided a raid array on their server meant
they didn't need to backup. The sever fell over one day and trashed the
whole array, they lost everything. Hard drives inside an active machine are
a very bad idea for long term backup.