New Hard Drive

[OrangeWolf]

So I made this thread about 6 months ago when my Hard Drive was failing (it failed shortly thereafter, a few days more or less).

I don't know why I put off getting a new Hard Drive for so long. I think part of it was that I didn't get any specific suggestions on which hard drives to purchase, and then I just sort of put it off and kept using my laptop. Which hasn't been good for my laptop, honestly.

So, what are the best hard drives these days? I want a 250 (or 256) gb SSD and then a 2tb+ drive for file storage. I'd like to re-use these in my next build, which I plan to do in 2015.

Computer specs are in my sig.

I know that the Samsung 840 and the Crucial M4 used to be the "thing" for SSDs, not sure if that's still true or what to get for the second drive. I'd rather avoid anything super expensive, but I don't really have a serious budget. Especially if I can re-use these with another build.

I think I can re-install my current Windows on the new Hard Drive if I can find my key (as suggested in that other thread) if I keep the MoBo and other components the same. I guess I'd need to wipe/re-install for a new build though? Meh.

 

[ep0x73]

Samsung is still the leader and Crucial is not too far behind.

For a 2TB+ drive you could go with the latest WD black which has a good track record.

With Intel you could set up your SSD for OS and create a simple raid1 for all your important files.

 

[evilsofa]

Samsung 840 EVO vs Crucial MX100 for budget SSDs; Samsung 840 Pro (for speed) vs Crucial m550 (for power loss capacitors and full disk encryption) for higher end SSDs, and Samsung comes out with the 850 Pro later this week and it's awesome with a ten year warranty but really too expensive. Intel is also a highly reliable choice with its 530 and 730 SSDs.

For hard drives, look at HGST's 7200RPM 3TB and 4TB NAS drives.

 

[ep0x73]

I will tend to agree that the HGST NAS 3TB at $124 is quite the bargain.
I have two and bought two 4TB but the one was benching way lower so it went back for an exchange.
Hopefully it mimics the first 4TB and is issue free.

For basic desktop though the black line is pretty decent and for soft raid like RST they work just fine.

 

[GonzoP]

I was in a similar boat last year.
I went with a 250GB 840 EVO and a 2TB SeaGate Barracuda. I just checked NE and the SeaGate is actually selling for $5 more than I paid last year when it was on special.
If price is a concern and you're going with an SSD, the 250 class seems to be the sweet spot now. Sure you could save $40 and get a 120 class but that kinda gimps what you can put on there. With my 250 I have everything I use on a daily basis, outside of media which of course gets stored on the bigger boy

 

[OrangeWolf]

Price for the 840 Pro is... actually what I'd consider cheap. The last time I looked into SSDs you were doing good at a $1/Gb, and it's a good bit less than that.

Ideally I'd like to keep the cost of both drives to under $350, which seems very doable.

Probably go with the 840 Pro, or wait to see what the 850 will be even.

I'll check out that 3TB NAS drive, but I've never used NAS. It networks or something right? Sometimes in RAID? I've never done any of that, and not sure if I want to or not. I do want a solid drive with a long life though if possible.

The Samsung Spinpoint F3 I got that failed was considered pretty much the hands down best selection at the time.

 

[drescherjm]

I do want a solid drive with a long life though if possible

No matter what manufacturer you purchase your drive from or if it is enterprise it can die anytime from the before it arrives at your door to the 5 year expected lifetime or beyond. Always plan for a drive dying.

The Samsung Spinpoint F3 I got that failed was considered pretty much the hands down best selection at the time.

Bad luck. With an expectation of 2% to 10% annual failures for most SATA drives the statics certainly do not say you will not get any failures because you do not have 100 drives..

 

[ep0x73]

I'll check out that 3TB NAS drive, but I've never used NAS. It networks or something right? Sometimes in RAID? I've never done any of that, and not sure if I want to or not. I do want a solid drive with a long life though if possible.

The Samsung Spinpoint F3 I got that failed was considered pretty much the hands down best selection at the time.

The HGST NAS is just a Deskstar with some added enterprise features like vibration compensation for use in NAS boxes.
It does not network and you can run it single or in raid, either one works.

I still have two F3's, 500 and 1TB working great. I agree they were the best drive at the time.

 

[evilsofa]

I'll check out that 3TB NAS drive, but I've never used NAS. It networks or something right? Sometimes in RAID? I've never done any of that, and not sure if I want to or not. I do want a solid drive with a long life though if possible.

A NAS is usually a small box for media storage that holds anywhere between 1 to 10 internal hard drives. This box often ends up in a living room or audio-video room, locked away into a cabinet with little or no air circulation at all.

Therefore, the drives that get packed into these tiny boxes need to run cool. This is usually accomplished by running at 5900 RPM or 5400 RPM instead of 7200 RPM, though HGST has apparently decided its 7200 RPM drives run cool enough to deserve the NAS drive label. HGST also offers 5400 RPM NAS drives labeled Coolspin.

Dropping rotational speed from 7200 to 5400 RPM reduces heat but does so at the cost of speed. The nature of NAS disk usage makes the difference in performance unimportant. That HGST decided their 7200 RPM drives could be labeled NAS was really interesting, and is why I have no worries whatsoever about installing them in an external case without a fan.

As far as you're concerned, a NAS drive looks like, operates like, gets plugged into the computer or external drive case like, and gets set up like a normal internal SATA hard drive. It just runs cooler.

A word about external cases in general; the cheap generic ones have only a couple of pinholes on the bottom for air circulation, and almost nonexistent feet that put the bottom of the case within millimeters of the surface it's resting on. Putting such cases on something as minimal as a sheet of paper can cause a disastrous overheating that can kill the drive. You can mitigate this danger by increasing the height of the case's feet somehow; an excellent way is silicone door bumpers like these at Home Depot. The Icy Dock Bento does not have this issue; it has tall feet and a lot more than just a few pinholes for air circulation.

Edit: I just noticed that all the talk about external cases was meant for another thread.

 

[ep0x73]

Looks like the 4tb NAS is going for $159.99 at AZ or it's now the price I paid on sale.
Guess those new 5 and 6 drives are pushing down the prices.

Looks out of stock so they must be fairly popular.

 

[OrangeWolf]

Huh, neat. So I can buy an NAS drive like you guys mention and just use it in my desktop as a normal hard drive. Given the prices, sizes, and recommendations from almost all of you (with only one other drive being mentioned, the WD Black), it seems like the NAS drive (3tb or 4tb) and a 840 Pro are my way to go.

And I can reuse them in my next 2015ish build (hopefully). Who knows, maybe Windows 9 will be out by then and I'll finally feel like upgrading from Windows 7.

Not planning to use any external cases. I've got an external 1 tb drive I use to backup things of importance. Though I guess at some point I should learn how to set things up in a better / more stable fashion. Either using raid or an NAS box or whatever else. Personally I'm still in shock I managed to put the computer together in 2011 at all. Hardforum is awesome.

Thanks all, great suggestions. Much appreciated.

 

[ep0x73]

I am currently running 4 HGST NAS drives without issue.
I have a pair set up on the Marvell controller in raid1 and will probably put the other pair
in raid1 on Intel.

I am still using 7, hell I still have XP on another system but unless 9 is worlds better I might not bother.
Still have until 2020 before they abandon it and if it stays popular like XP they might stay the execution for another year or so.