Need more info for Pi 3 and WD Pi 3 drive for it

Community Graveyard WD Labs Products
1

I am planning to buy a RASPBERRY Pi 3 and necessary accessories to make a media player. The main website for the Pi 3 lists three authorized sellers. I think I found the one I need in US, called Allied Electronics in TX at http://www.alliedelec.com/2

Has anyone here got any better suggestions, and has anyone dealt with Allied?

I also plan to buy the WD Pi 3 drive just introduced 3/14 and already out of stock! Also need to know what else to get with this drive; i.e. its accessories.

Basically, both the Pi 3 and the WD Pi 3 drive descriptions lists a lot of accessories. I need to know what else to buy for each device.

Thanks, Mike

2

Hi, I’m on the WDLabs team. Regarding the Pi Drive 314GB:

We sold out the launch inventory early last week, but are building more and extending the promotional price for a while. You’ll need a good-quality USB2 or USB3 cable to connect the drive to the Pi’s USB port (18" or shorter, longer cables increase the voltage drop and risk of insufficient current to the drive). Connecting the drive directly to Pi (without a powered USB hub) will work in many/most cases but this depends on what other USB devices are plugged into Pi, activity level, and other factors. To improve powering margin, we offer the Pi Drive Cable (on the WD Store) that supplies power to the HDD directly from the 5V AC adapter. We also offer enclosures for Pi + HDD set-ups.

Other:
Use a 2A minimum 5V adapter, 2.5A minimum for RPi-3.
Set max_usb_current=1 in config.txt file
Try Berryboot OS loader (free download from High-Performance SSDs, HDDs, USB Drives, & Memory Cards | Western Digital). After installing Berryboot, you can download many OS/apps to the drive, including OpenElec media player.

Hope this helps!

3

Thanks for all the good info! I am still trying to find the proper moment in life to add more time for additional computer-related new setups and complexities, so getting a Pi3 in the next few weeks is not going to happen real soon. Although it may make good sense to get the drive ordered for when it comes back in stock, I get one at the into price. As I get closer to a purchase, I may check back for additional info.
Thanks again for the assist.