A Few Questions About HDLoader

Hey,

I've been looking at ordering an HDLoader boot disc/network card/hard disk set for my PS2 but I had a few questions about it first.

1. Versioning. Either due to financial troubles or the copyright gestapo, one version of HDLoader stopped production and now there seem to be several different versions out there. Which, if any, is the best one to use?

2. Hard disks. I know there are certain incompatible disks out there, but that's just a matter of checking the compatibility lists. What I'm wondering is if anyone can recommend a drive model that's consistently good/a good deal/whatever. Also, what size disk would be about right for a collection of, say 50-60 games? Some are CD, some are DVD5, some DVD9, some multi-disc games on various formats/disc sizes. I don't know that a 40GB HDD would really cut the mustard, but then a 500GB drive sounds like a bit of overkill. On the other hand, I may wind up "borrowing" games from friends for the, how you say, long term, so the extra space would be nice for installing games that seem to be invisible on my DVD shelf. If you catch my meaning. So anyway, 300GB? 500GB? 750GB? 10TB liquid-nitrogen cooled RAID? BlueGene? Holographic temporal-distortion quantum storage black hole array?

3. The whole install-from-PC thing. I understand there are two ways to do this. You can either install the physical drive in your PC or you can go over a network. Do you have to manually assign an IP? Do you need an FTP client or other special software? If so, is a Mac version available or will I need Virtual PC/Bochs/Parallels?

4. The whole install-from-PC thing redux. I keep reading about games being incompatible or having problems, except where installed on a PC. Is a PC installation a panacea for these problems or are some games flat-out incompatible no matter what you try? I have no problem with installing everything via PC if that's what works--what I've read makes it sound like PC installations are faster anyway.


Okay, I think I'm done. I guess my last question would be, to those who have used HDLoader...is it worth it? The time, money, work, etc. Are the benefits you get worth the investment, and/or are you ultimately glad you went the HDLoader route?

Thanks. I know I kinda vomited questions all over, but I do appreciate it.

Jam it back in, in the dark.