New Case or New Hard Drive?

marzed19 · Nov 8, 2016

Ok, so i bought a used PC in 2014, which was built in 2013. The only thing i have upgraded since is the CPU cooler, fans and GPU. The case is an old Cooler Master Storm Styker. The window is scratched up, one of the USB ports are broken, and all of the front panels are gone, so naturally, i want to replace it. The thing is, the hard drive is just as old, and i don't want it to die before i get a new one.
My alternativees are:

1. Buy a new hard drive now, and wait until christmast to get a new case.

2. Save up some more money and buy a case in a couple of days, and wait until chirstmas to get a new hard drive.

What should i do? Should i be worried that the hard drive will die before christmas?

If you have any questions about anything, ask

Garilia · Nov 8, 2016

What's your budget for each of these items? Do you want a similar sized case with a window again? What size hard drive are you looking for? The case is damaged, but a scratch is cosmetic. The broken USB port is a pain, but not insurmountable. I imagine the broken front panel is the bigger hassle.

Is the HDD showing signs of going bad, or are you just worried about it? A 3 year old HDD is not that old if it's a decent one.

I'd replace the thing that is broken first.

xFeaRDom · Nov 8, 2016

Adding onto the above.

Do a health scan of the Hard Drive, and see if any warnings come up. You can also assist it by degragmenting and cleaning unneeded files and folders on there. My hard drive is around 3 years old, when I got my computer a few christmas' ago, and it isn't showing any signs of slowing down or degrading.

Personally, I would go for a new case, but that's just me, I like change after a while.

I highly doubt you'd even need a new HDD, maybe try upgrading to an SSD at Christmas, that is one of the best upgrades you could do. Reinstall Windows onto it and use the HDD as a secondary drive.

geofelt · Nov 8, 2016

Hard drives can last a very long time. Unless you have some indication of impending failure, you need do nothing now.
Look at the smart data to see if there is anything alarming.

You have Options.

If you love the case, keep it and fix it.
CM should be able to sell you a replacement window panel as well as a new front panel.

If you do not now like the case, plan on replacing it with one you do love.
And... take better care with your parts next time.

If you are using a hard drive for windows, it is time to start planning on replacing it with a SSD. A SSD is one of the most satisfying performance upgrades you can buy.
You can use a Samsung ssd migration app to move your C drive to the new ssd. Evo is good.

marzed19 · Nov 8, 2016

Garilia :

This is my current hard drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148834

The case i will be getting is the Bequiet! Dark Base 900 Pro. I haven't picked a hard drive yet. It needs to be 2TB, and i don't want to go over 200$.

Edit: No signs of failure.

marzed19 · Nov 8, 2016

geofelt :

I'm using a 2TB hard drive for storing games, files and pictures of toasters, and a 120gb SSD for my operative system. The SSD is just as old as the hard drive.

xFeaRDom · Nov 8, 2016

marzed19 :

Ok, thats fair enough.

If you follow the HDD checks as stated above, then it will reveal if you need one or not. If you don't need one (Unless it's for 4TB total Storage (ish) then you don't really need to purchase one, no point wasting money - Unless you're going to use it as a backup drive.

marzed19 · Nov 8, 2016

xFeaRDom :

marzed19 :

Ok, thats fair enough.

If you follow the HDD checks as stated above, then it will reveal if you need one or not. If you don't need one (Unless it's for 4TB total Storage (ish) then you don't really need to purchase one, no point wasting money - Unless you're going to use it as a backup drive.

Ok. Thanks for the information. When would you recommend to buy a new hard drive, then?

xFeaRDom · Nov 9, 2016

marzed19 :

xFeaRDom :

Ok. Thanks for the information. When would you recommend to buy a new hard drive, then?

Unless you need extra storage, or want a clone/backup of your current hard drive, then no. If you do, then yes.

barbrgra90 · Nov 10, 2016

Before making any decision check the health of your hard drive. If it is fine, then there is no need to replace it with a new one. Also, make sure you are taking a complete backup of your data. As hard drives are very much prone to errors so you never know when a need for replacing old hard drive arise. Keep doing your work until hard drive is creating any problem.

marzed19 · Nov 10, 2016

barbrgra90 :

I will. Thank you for the advice

Edit: I did check my hard drive and it's fine. Looks like there's nothing to worry about. Thank god.

xFeaRDom · Nov 10, 2016

marzed19 :

Until you hear some sort of really loud, continuous clicking from your HDD, or notice data loss, or really slow read/write times, then there's nothing to worry about really. So don't worry about it unless you notice one of them signs.

marzed19 · Nov 11, 2016

xFeaRDom :

marzed19 :

Until you hear some sort of really loud, continuous clicking from your HDD, or notice data loss, or really slow read/write times, then there's nothing to worry about really. So don't worry about it unless you notice one of them signs.

That's good to know. But if i experience one of those things, is it too late to buy a new drive and copy all the files over to the new drive?

xFeaRDom · Nov 11, 2016

marzed19 :

xFeaRDom :

That's good to know. But if i experience one of those things, is it too late to buy a new drive and copy all the files over to the new drive?

It cannot be said for sure. In most cases, if you shut down your computer and get a new hard drive and copy it over basically instantly, then you should be safe. But it can happen where it drastically and quickly deterierates and it cannot happen.

marzed19 · Nov 11, 2016

xFeaRDom :

marzed19 :

It cannot be said for sure. In most cases, if you shut down your computer and get a new hard drive and copy it over basically instantly, then you should be safe. But it can happen where it drastically and quickly deterierates and it cannot happen.

Ok. I think the safest thing to do then is just to buy a new drive and back up all the files, or get another drive and run them in RAID 1.

xFeaRDom · Nov 11, 2016

marzed19 :

xFeaRDom :

Ok. I think the safest thing to do then is just to buy a new drive and back up all the files, or get another drive and run them in RAID 1.

Yeah, I will agree to that, just to be safe. I probably have 2-3 copies of my OS on different drives, not intentionally, just by cloning it from changing SSDs - Kingston 120GB to 850 Evo 500GB

But yeah, that is always a good, safe and recommened action to take.

marzed19 · Nov 11, 2016

xFeaRDom :

marzed19 :

xFeaRDom :

Ok. I think the safest thing to do then is just to buy a new drive and back up all the files, or get another drive and run them in RAID 1.

Yeah, I will agree to that, just to be safe. I probably have 2-3 copies of my OS on different drives, not intentionally, just by cloning it from changing SSDs - Kingston 120GB to 850 Evo 500GB

But yeah, that is always a good, safe and recommened action to take.

Thank you for all the help.

xFeaRDom · Nov 11, 2016

No Worries,

Have a great day!

- Dom.

marzed19 · Nov 12, 2016

xFeaRDom :

Y-you too

New Case or New Hard Drive?

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