Ripping 700 CD's to HD using FLAC-How much space?


Hello all,

Currently, I am in the process of transferring my cd's to an external hard drive using FLAC lossless, EAC for transfer and WinAmp for a media player. I would like a HD with enough space for future downloads but am unsure as to what size to purchase? Memory seems reasonably priced these days and 1TB external HD's are plentiful. Also, I may let go of cd's that I no longer listen to after I have them on the HD which leaves me with another dilemma - how many HD's would suffice for backups? Everyone's advice is appreciated. Thanks, Chris

Currently using:
Windows XP Home
Dell XPS 400
Room for 2 internal HD's (using only (1) currently)
chris74
many programs will read FLAC so you dont have to convert it. If you need to convert, check out dbpoweramp.....it is an incredible program. You may have to re-load artwork, but all tags should remain.
What's preferable to use, AIFF or FLAC? iPods don't read FLAC do they? Which provides greater levels of compression?
For some reason a backup HD I purchased never worked properly (or I just never set it up properly). As an interim solution and also to keep a copy offsite (to protect against fire, theft, etc), I use Carbonite to backup my music collection. I know nothing about computers and such but if my CDs are ripped in FLAC and I use Carbonite, isn't that the same if not better than using a RAID?
Allow me to ask another question. If you've got 700 cds you can fit them on a terebite drive without any compression and still have room for hundreds more. So why deal with compression? Unless you buy new music at a truly maniacal pace, by the time you outgrow the drive space, drives will be bigger and cheaper. Your time is probably worth more than the drive space you'll save.