Time Machine / Time Capsule Drives: Prices going up

mikehalloran · Post by **mikehalloran** » Sun May 22, 2011 2:01 pm

Yesterday, I decided to replace the 500G drive in the household Time Capsule. I have been meaning to do it for a while but, now that its capacity has been strained by wife and daughters, it's past time. Also, there are reports of TCs failing due to heat issues so I wanted to replace with one of the low power drives on the market.

The low-power, high capacity "green" drives are perfect for backup. You do not need speed for Time Machine, whether mounted in your tower, in an external drive or a Time Capsule. Not only do they consume less electricity, they run much cooler.

Going to OWC, I was surprised to find that the prices have gone way up. A little checking, I see that the drives are now rated for 6G transfers. As nice as this is, you certainly don't need this spec for Time Machine.

Micro Center still has the 3G 2T Western Digital Green and the Seagate LP for $79.99, a significant savings over the newer 6G versions.
Seagate 2T w/ 5 year warr. $79.
hhttp://www.microcenter.com/single_product_resu ... id=0334239" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
WD Green 2T with 3 year warr, $79.99 (2 years ago I paid $214 for one of these!)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_produ ... id=0331601" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

OWC has the new 3T WD Green. A $70 PCIe card to double the transfer rate from 3G to 6G is included in the $207 price.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Western" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For G5 owners: Older G5s have a SATA transfer rate of 1.5Gs Many of the newer 6G compatible drives will not work in those machines. OWC lets you know which are incompatible but other vendors do not. The 3G 2T drives listed above do as I have used them in 1st gen G5s (anything to make a G5 run cooler!)

I bought a WD but would have used the Seagate. Replacing the drive in my Time Capsule was quite easy - took about 15 minutes one handed (literally). Here is a how-to:
http://www.hardmac.com/articles/79/page1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you are like I, you're going to re-format anyway - with a Time Capsule, you do this in Airport Utility.

I can't believe I didn't do this a long time ago. Besides the 4x increase in capacity, the TC is now warm to the touch - earlier, it was hot.

MIDI Life Crisis · Post by **MIDI Life Crisis** » Sun May 22, 2011 5:55 pm

I always thought the time capsules were way overpriced compared to other external drives. Anytime you buy into a proprietary kind of device or system you can expect them to jack up the prices once they have a decent following.

mikehalloran · Post by **mikehalloran** » Mon May 23, 2011 12:51 am

MIDI Life Crisis wrote:I always thought the time capsules were way overpriced compared to other external drives. Anytime you buy into a proprietary kind of device or system you can expect them to jack up the prices once they have a decent following.

Which has nothing to do with my post...

In any case, they are less expensive now than when I first bought mine. For what the Time Capsule does: network server, backs up the entire network in a "set and forget mode" both wired and wireless, simultaneous dual band wireless mode + guest access mode, with a print server... I don't know anything else that does it all for the price. I am quite happy with mine and have bought them for my clients.

MIDI Life Crisis · Post by **MIDI Life Crisis** » Mon May 23, 2011 7:28 am

Excuse me? Aren't you bitching about the cost of replacing the drive in your Time Capsule? Did I miss 'that other part?'

3.5" drives are pretty damn cheap these days so what exactly ARE you bitching about?

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Mon May 23, 2011 9:28 am

Let's try to be civil.

mikehalloran · Post by **mikehalloran** » Mon May 23, 2011 9:47 am

Apparently, you did not read my post. Let's face it, not the first time you have skimmed a post and jumped to an incorrect conclusion. If you read it again, you will note the following:

1. I was not complaining about anything. I was only posting a heads-up in case someone was contemplating an upgrade.

2. The new 6G drives are more expensive than the 3G drives they are replacing. Again, an observation, not a "bitch".

3. You do not need the latest 6G drives for Time Machine.

4. I linked to a source that still has the 2T 3G low power drives for $79.

5. Apple Time Capsules, especially the early ones, have been reported to suffer premature failure due to heat (I have not experienced it, however, and want to keep it that way). The low power hard drives run much cooler (and quieter) than the Apple supplied units.

6. Replacing the hard drive in a Time Capsule is very easy to do. Although it took me 15 minutes, I would think that anyone having the use of both arms could do it in about 5 or so. (I wasn't kidding about doing it one-handed).

7. I linked to OWC's deal on the 6G drives including the new 3T. I don't need that kind of storage but, if you do, $207 is a very good price.

I have no problem with the prices on the newer drives. But the 3G drives do get the job done just as well for less and not all of the new 6G drives are compatible with the G5 tower.

Some outfits like Fry's are blowing out the Seagate as low as $59 but those may be all gone. I paid $63 for a WD at Micro Center but notice that price is no longer available.

You can get a re-furb 1T Time Capsule for $219. http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/s ... ccessories" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;?
Since a 2T costs $499, makes sense to buy the refurb and install a 2T or even the new 3T drive if you need the storage,

MIDI Life Crisis · Post by **MIDI Life Crisis** » Mon May 23, 2011 10:25 am

Yes mike, you are ALWAYS right. No sense in arguing with that... and you are correct, I don't generally take the time to read overly verbose posts.

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Mon May 23, 2011 11:33 am

MIDI Life Crisis wrote:...I don't generally take the time to read overly verbose posts.

You've probably missed a LOT of mine then!

adriano · Post by **adriano** » Mon May 23, 2011 11:46 am

James Steele wrote:
MIDI Life Crisis wrote:...I don't generally take the time to read overly verbose posts.
You've probably missed a LOT of mine then!

MLC, you have to face it

MIDI Life Crisis · Post by **MIDI Life Crisis** » Mon May 23, 2011 11:56 am

Indeed. I will face as soon as I have the time and the alligators exit.

MIDI Life Crisis · Post by **MIDI Life Crisis** » Mon May 23, 2011 12:34 pm

James Steele wrote:
MIDI Life Crisis wrote:...I don't generally take the time to read overly verbose posts.
You've probably missed a LOT of mine then!

And Tim's!

mhschmieder · Post by **mhschmieder** » Mon May 23, 2011 10:52 pm

Could some of this be related to the earthquake and its impact on parts supply?

I'm talking about the price increase, not the "discussion".

mikehalloran · Post by **mikehalloran** » Tue May 24, 2011 1:14 pm

mhschmieder wrote:Could some of this be related to the earthquake and its impact on parts supply?

I'm talking about the price increase, not the "discussion".

No idea. I think it may be as simple as clearing out the old stock. I do not remember a similar price dump when 3G drives replaced 1.5G - but that was a long time ago.

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