Bigger harddrive, good or bad ?

[GoDxNero]

Currently I am using a 120 GB hard drive. I want to upgrade the storage up to at least 500 GB.
But the thing is, there is not much of a difference in prices between 500 GB and 2000 GB.
Because for 2x monney I can get 4x space. So I am considering of buying the best for the monney.

But there are few things I want to confirm before I make the decision.

1. A bigger HDD means slower data access / performance, is this true ?
Example: I got 2 HDD's. I used 400/500 GB and 400/2000 GB. Which one will be slower ?

2. Does a bigger HDD overheat easier or only if its stored with lots of data's ? I dont plan on buying a cooling so I hope not

3. Does a bigger HDD get more often harddisk failure ? I got the idea but I want to know for sure.

4. 500 GB vs 2000 GB. Which one live longer ?

5. For the 2TB harddrives there are different prices ranged from 85,- to 242,50 euro.
Why the huge difference in price for the same amount of space.
Does the cheaper one live shorter ? If not then why is the other is so expensive ?
Is it really worth the monney to buy the most expensive ?

6. Will my pc performance be faster or better if I make more than 2 partitions?
(I understand that if window and data files got separated in 2 different partition it will be better)

Thanks in advance !

 

[foscooter]

#1 = No no no! A bigger drive actually means FASTER data access, due to data compression on a larger drive.

But, 500GB is still +4x what you have now. And being newer, it'll be faster.

Whether you choose 500GB or 2TB, go with a Samsung F3, or a Seagate 7200.12 version. THis will negate the price difference, and others will recommend these too.

You can partition, but if the drive fails, all will be lost. Better to go with 2 seperate drives. One smaller for OS, and one larger for data (& one huge drive for backups).

 

[jsc]

#1. A larger capacity HD is generally a little faster because of higher data density.

#2. The amount of data stored on a drive will not affect its temperature. The simplest way to do drive cooling is to place them where case fans blow outside cool air on them. Some cases do that automatically.

#3. I'd say yes. Modern drives use less power than older ones. That means less heat. Modern high density drives usually need fewer platters to store the same data. This means a lighter platter assembly, reducing rotational weight, meaning drive motors do not work as hard and generate less heat.

On the other hand, I personally do not know. My older drives are WD 80 GB to 250 GB. Most of them are running fine. I have two systems running 24/7. My newer drives (640 GB to 2 TB) are too new (less than 3 1/2 years old) to determine how long they are going to last.

#4. If I had to guess, I'd guess the 500 GB drive would be a little more reliable. The newer ones use a single platter. Makes for a simpler drive. When you have moving parts, simpler is good.

#5. The price difference within a company gives you speed. For example (US prices), a WD 2 TB Green is about $100 at newegg. A WD 2 TB Black (faster) is about $180. A WD 2 TB RE4 is about $250. This is an enterprise drive designed for 24/7 RAID use in data centers. The extra cost supposedly buys greater reliability.

#6. Not necessarily. The main reason to put data on a different partition is to simplify backup. The problem with doing that on a single drive is that if you get a drive failure, you can lose everything.

That's why every computer user needs to develop a backup plan that will work for him.

There are two kinds of people in the world (there's always two kinds of people in the world ) : those who have lost data and those who are going to.

 

[GoDxNero]

Whether you choose 500GB or 2TB, go with a Samsung F3, or a Seagate 7200.12 version. THis will negate the price difference, and others will recommend these too.

According to some poll in this forum, Westeren Digital scored the highest as reliable HDD.
My current choice goes to "Western Digital 2TB SATA300 64MB, WD2001FASS" also called "WD Caviar Black 2TB".
What do you think ?

#3. I'd say yes. Modern drives use less power than older ones. That means less heat. Modern high density drives usually need fewer platters to store the same data. This means a lighter platter assembly, reducing rotational weight, meaning drive motors do not work as hard and generate less heat.

#4. If I had to guess, I'd guess the 500 GB drive would be a little more reliable. The newer ones use a single platter. Makes for a simpler drive. When you have moving parts, simpler is good.

There are two kinds of people in the world (there's always two kinds of people in the world ) : those who have lost data and those who are going to.

#3 I dont understand this one because you confirm that bigger HDD get more often harddrive failure but at the same time you also indicate how good modern harddrives(2000 GB) are which leads me to think its actually otherwise. Can you confirm this once more ?

#4 What does "moving parts" means ?

Your last statement scared the *** out of me xD.

 

[CsG_kieran_2]

" #4 What does "moving parts" means ? " HDD have magnetic disk drives that spin at 5.000, 7.200 and 10,000 RPM.

More RPM the faster you go. i would recomend a 7.200 disk drive as they are cheap and fast(er)

 

[GoDxNero]

Someone just told me to get lower rpm because it will live longer.
The faster it spins the shorter it live.
And well, I prefer durable over speed.
Can someone give me a suggestion before I make a final choice ?

 

[blackhawk1928]

In a bigger HDD, you are putting more data in the same amount of space (a platter), meaning the data is more densely compact meaning access is faster...