Looking for a reliable 2.5" HD.

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UnknownSouljer

[H]F Junkie
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So I started looking for a 2.5" HD for backups and things of that nature that I will place into an external enclosure.

Long story short I checked out Seagate Momentus and Western Digital Scorpio and all I read about is bad QC and terrible reliability rates.

What 2.5" HD would you guys recommend for reliability, storage size, and cost? (speed shouldn't be too much of a factor, worst case scenario is playing HD movies.)
 
So the black drives over the Scorpio's then? I don't need the extra speed, but if the reliability is improved as well then I could go for it. I would prefer 500GB+ as well, but reliability will be a greater factor than the size I suppose.
 
Western Digital and Seagate are the big names in the market, and Samsung and Hitachi have been around awhile too. Pick a size that fits your requirement, see which manufacturer has it for the lowest price, and go with whichever brand name makes you feel like rainbows. Personally, I use Samsung's and WD's. I've had a couple of Seagate's fail on me. The next guy that comes in here to post will tell you that he's had Seagate's running 24/7 for the past 12 years. It's luck of the draw.

The only thing I can tell you, with 100% certainty, is do not buy your drive from NewEgg. Unless something has changed recently, the way they package their hard drives is awful. I would bet 90% of the NewEgg "DOA" reviews for hard drives would go away if NewEgg could handle shipping a hard drive intelligently.
 
Some people blame Newegg for all shipping problems.

500GB drives sell for under $70. Hard to go wrong.
 
UnknownSouljer said:
So the black drives over the Scorpio's then? I don't need the extra speed, but if the reliability is improved as well then I could go for it. I would prefer 500GB+ as well, but reliability will be a greater factor than the size I suppose.
Click to expand...

Take two (they're small). :D

The Blacks are Scorpios. Almost all of WD's 2.5" HDDs are Scorpios, so I don't think you can go by that.

The model I linked to has just under a thousand reviews, and they are overwhelmingly favorable. That's the one I'd bet on.

If you want to take more of a gamble, there is also the 640GB Samsung. But it is newish, and has few reviews:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152204
 
UnknownSouljer said:
Interesting.
Should I got with Amazon.com or? Suggestions on e-tailers then?
Click to expand...

I remember hearing something about Amazon using their "hassle free" packaging (aka no protection for the drive), but I believe they realized this was happening after people started to complain and are in the process of, or have already, fixed it.

Personally, I go to a brick and mortar store - MicroCenter or Fry's, not Best Buy (overpriced) - to get my drives. I may be paying a few dollars extra over NewEgg, but at least I can show up at your store to be a pain in the ass if the drive is bad when I get home. Otherwise, you're stuck e-mailing or calling somebody who may not give a shit about your problems.
 
john4200 said:
Take two (they're small). :D

The Blacks are Scorpios. Almost all of WD's 2.5" HDDs are Scorpios, so I don't think you can go by that.

The model I linked to has just under a thousand reviews, and they are overwhelmingly favorable. That's the one I'd bet on.

If you want to take more of a gamble, there is also the 640GB Samsung. But it is newish, and has few reviews:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152204
Click to expand...

I'm planning on taking at least 2. 3 if I can swing it. These things will definitely not encumber me size wise. I'm basically planning on throwing them into OWC Mercury Triples (for the Firewire 800). http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/on-the-go

I suppose I could simply buy the Triples with the WD's already in them, but all those review on Newegg make me nervous which is why I'm sort of looking at the separate drive and enclosure option.

Edit: Well those Samsungs were reviewed pretty well. The only complain seems to be an internal MBP install issue and some complaints about noise, but nothing about reliability. That speaks decently well. Only 17 reviews though.
 
What about WD My Passport drive?

I have used one for the last year.

The are great as a portable external drive as they require no other power source other than plugging into a USB port.
 
Dad_of_Three said:
What about WD My Passport drive?

I have used one for the last year.

The are great as a portable external drive as they require no other power source other than plugging into a USB port.
Click to expand...

I was looking into those as well as the Passport Studios (for the Firewire) but I keep hearing the same 2 complaints. The first is reliability and the second and perhaps more annoying and nefarious is WD's smart software or whatever that is embedded into the firmware and automatically mounts itself. The last thing I need is company meddling.
 
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