ok, i have $80 to spend on new hard drive... any suggestions?

[rambo117]

right now i have decided on one particular harddrive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

i mainly need storage for: a few movies, LOTS of games(ranging from 2-15gigs each), word processing, work, and some game recording.
this is the best price/storage ratio drive i could find but if anyone has any other suggestions, i would gladly accept them.

 

[malveaux]

Heya,

For $80, that 640 is pretty much the best thing you can do in terms of storage for what it is. If this is for pure storage, you could look into Tape methods of backup. However, if this is for storage and use at the same time, you pretty much can't beat that 640 for the cost.

Cheers,

 

[aznguy0028]

yea, i saw the price range and immediately thought of the WD 6400 AAKS. there's your answer

 

[runswindows95]

Another vote for the 6400AAKS.

 

[rambo117]

ok, i believe i will make that purchase today. just needed Tom's forums aproval first

thanks all!!

 

[antiacid]

640gig = win!

 

[qwertycopter]

I agree as well, have two myself. However, Seagate has a competing 640GB drive with 32MB cache (vs 16) and 5 year warranty (vs 3) for $5 more.

 

[KyleSTL]

6400AAKS +4 (the number of them I own, rediculous, I know)

I would avoid Seagate like the plague with the .11 problems they're been having. Data is too valuable to rely on a warranty that will not cover data recovery.

 

[rambo117]

could someone explain to me what the cache in harddrives does anyways? because the one on the WD 640gig has 16MB of cache but i saw a few with 32. are there any signifigant boosts in performance with the extra 16MBs?

 

[ragsters]

For $5.00 more get this one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

 

[rambo117]

ooo, i like that one. thanks for showing me!
so is harddrive cache somewhat similar to CPU cache?
im still confused about that whole thing... would it be worth the extra 10 dollars to go with the 32MB cache?

 

[ragsters]

This is the black edition vs. the blue 640AAKS. Acoording to western digital it is "Ideal For Power computing applications such as multimedia, video and photo editing, and maxed out gaming computers".
Here is the link
http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=551

I have one and it's very fast.

 

[Zorg]

The cache is the buffer between the controller (southbridge) and the platters. It doesn't really make that big of a difference, especially in sustained transfers, but it's definitely worth 5 bucks.

6400AALS FTW.

 

[rambo117]

This is the black edition vs. the blue 640AAKS. Acoording to western digital it is "Ideal For Power computing applications such as multimedia, video and photo editing, and maxed out gaming computers".
Here is the link
http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=551

I have one and it's very fast.

hmmm, intriguing.. for five extra dollars, sure what the heck

i scratch out my original purchase idea and go for the black edition 640

thank you everyone!

 

[KyleSTL]

The Average read (according to one of the Newegg reviews, and comparing it to one of my 6400AAKS drives) is only about 2-3MB/sec faster. Not worth it IMO.

 

[croc]

The Average read (according to one of the Newegg reviews, and comparing it to one of my 6400AAKS drives) is only about 2-3MB/sec faster. Not worth it IMO.

...And we all know that Newegg's reviews are all based on reliable, comparable benchmarks, right?

 

[rambo117]

...And we all know that Newegg's reviews are all based on reliable, comparable benchmarks, right?

hahahahaha, no...


xD, yehh, most of the people that rate themselves with the 'high' tech experience level dont know wth theyre talking about.

oh, and btw, i made the purchase. cant wait to throw all my crap on it!!!
thankyou everyone, you have all been very helpful

 

[KyleSTL]

...And we all know that Newegg's reviews are all based on reliable, comparable benchmarks, right?

The guy posted numbers straight out of HDTach, the exact same program I use. Believe me, I think more than half of Newegg reviews are written by idiots, but how many "knowledgable" people (like us) post reviews too. I just believe this guy was legit. Check it out, it's the second review on the listing.

 

[croc]

I can't purchase from Newegg anyway, but I do use their prices as a way to check whether Aus suppliers are raping us... As to their reviews, for one possibly good review one has to wade through hundreds of what I would call 'newbie reviews'. Not worth my time.

 

[KyleSTL]

My point was missed entirely.

 

[Zorg]

KyleSTL, it's only $5 and it's the BLACK version. :lol:

It's probably the AAKS with more RAM and maybe a little more aggressive profile. You aren't going to see a huge increase, as I said earlier, but double the cache for $5, come on.

 

[malveaux]

Heya,

NewEgg has the WD 1 TB Green Drive, with free shipping, for $99 now.

Cheers,

 

[rambo117]

Heya,

NewEgg has the WD 1 TB Green Drive, with free shipping, for $99 now.

Cheers,

:O

thats an insanely good deal... now i kinda wish i waited.


what i could do with a 1000gig harddrive(ponders)...
oh well, im happy with my purchase. 640gigs is quite a bit for me as it is so that should keep me satisfied for awhile. thanks 4 the offer though

 

[malveaux]

Heya,

Well, keep an eye out, because it'll get cheaper even still since even larger platter drives are coming out (1.5tb, etc) and coming down in price themselves.

I mention it because I'm a HTPC enthusiast on top of pc gamer and all that goodness. I use 1tb drives to house my DVD collection, digitized in the form of ISO. I use it so that I can one-click-mount-and-play any DVD I wish from my couch with my logitech mx air mouse, on my 1080p television. Those 1tb drives go fast when you start wracking up videos. At the current average, each 1tb drive is holding about 140 uncompressed DVD's (nothing taken from them other than their protections). If you have an average collection, a single big drive will do. But if you get a larger collection over time, it fills quickly. Especially if you house other things along side it all.

Just a thought, if you're headed down that road.

Very best,

 

[spathotan]

Those green drives operate at 5400RPMs. They arent ment for an OS or games/software. They are purely for storage and thats it.