I assume that you're setting this client up with a RAID array, since you said that this will store important business data for them. The first drive that I would recommend for this setting would be a Western Digital RE3 series , with a 5-year warranty. It is a 7200rpm drive, which isn't the greatest...

Note that if the piece of gear you're going to run is 12VDC or 5VDC and only needs to be on when your PC is on (and can be located near your PC) you can just run it from your PC's power (you do have high-efficiency PC PSs, right?). There are power pass-through brackets (I got mine at NexFan.com - b...

The Drobo can hold four 3.5" drives, and automatically builds a redundant array (even if you have non-matched sizes). My question is:

Has anyone ever personally used one of these? If so, how do you rate it for noise?

MTBF and warranties are vague at best. Why is it that people see a 3 year warranty on a hard drive from Seagate or Western Digital and feel reassured but they see a 2 year warranty on an SSD from OCZ and freak out? MTBF can be vague, agreed. Warranties are very clear. You are guaranteed a working d...

One additional minor consideration could be watts/gigabyte - not important for truckid's original question, but worth considering under different circumstances (example: RAID array). Example (wattage figures are best guess from factory specified non-idle power requirements, your mileage may vary): ...

Just on the basis of noise and power consumption (from which heat follows), the WD is the clear winner. One additional minor consideration could be watts/gigabyte - not important for truckid's original question, but worth considering under different circumstances (example: RAID array). Example (wat...