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Recommend a 2/3TB HDD in the 100-170 range for me

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 12:00 pm
by sherlock
Hi, I am building a new destktop and need to find a reliable HDD as my data drive, all my OS,Games and other application will be running through a Samsung 830 256g SSD so 5400RPM models are fine by me.
I am currently looking for a 2 TB HDD in the <$ 130 range but if there is a good 3TB in the < $ 170 range I could use that as well,it will be mainly for back-up files and movies/other videos files:

My priorities:
1.Reliablity
2.Warranty
3.Fit the budget
4.SATA III 6Gbs(is this important at all for a data drive)?

Please give me your recommendations, thanks.

Re: Recommend a 2/3TB HDD in the 100-170 range for me

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 12:04 pm
by Jon1984
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136874

I have the 2TB version, it is extremely quiet, and good enough to store music/video/stuff :wink:

Re: Recommend a 2/3TB HDD in the 100-170 range for me

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 1:04 pm
by sherlock
Thanks for the link, the the only thing I don't like about that one(WD Caviar Green 3TB) is that it have a 3 egg review score and a whooping 33% 1 egg reviews compared to its competitor 3TB Seagate Barracuda Green(149.99 instead of 160+) and a 4 egg review score(20% 1 egg reviews).

Re: Recommend a 2/3TB HDD in the 100-170 range for me

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 2:06 pm
by sircharles32
Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB, if you can get it on sale, will fit all of your requirements.
NE has had it for $170 (a few weeks back).
It's got a 5 yr warranty.

Re: Recommend a 2/3TB HDD in the 100-170 range for me

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 4:03 pm
by sherlock
sircharles32 wrote:
Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB, if you can get it on sale, will fit all of your requirements.
NE has had it for $170 (a few weeks back).
It's got a 5 yr warranty.


Yeah I looked it up and it went back to 179.99, for a 2TB that'a $/GB ratio I can't accept even with a 10 yr warranty.

Should have mentioned my taken on the price limit: 2TB up to 140, 3TB up to 170. Right now from my reserach I am liking the 2TB 5KRpm at about 100-130 range alot more than 3TB in the 140-170 range.

Re: Recommend a 2/3TB HDD in the 100-170 range for me

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 4:07 pm
by superjawes
WD Green. I've had a 1TB variant for a few years with no troubles so far.

Are 3TB drives still having issues? I know the first batches had some problems, but so did the 1TB drives when they were first coming out.

Re: Recommend a 2/3TB HDD in the 100-170 range for me

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 9:05 pm
by just brew it!
WD greens are good as long as you're not running Linux (there's a potential bad interaction between the head unload timer and the periodic drive polls issued by the Linux kernel which can cause the head load/unload mechanism to wear out).

6 Gb/sec doesn't really matter for a data drive, especially if you're going for a lower spindle speed like the WD Green.

Hitachi has been decent lately; I suggest this one (just under your budget for a 2TB, and free shipping).

Re: Recommend a 2/3TB HDD in the 100-170 range for me

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 9:43 pm
by swampfox
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned WD Red drives. They have a three-year warranty. I'm looking at getting one for our NAS.

2TB WD Red is $130 on NewEgg

but the 3TB is currently out of stock and $200, so that's a bit much.

Re: Recommend a 2/3TB HDD in the 100-170 range for me

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 10:30 pm
by cynan
If reliability is your #1 concern, then the Western Digital Red drives are probably hard to beat at the price. I just bought 3x 2TB Seagate Barracudas (7.12) for a NAS. They are fast (almost performing on par with the Caviar Blacks) and cheap but there have been a lot of reliability complaints. I'm hoping the latest firmware will help in this area, but it's too early to tell.

For a desktop environment, the slower spindle speed of the Caviar Reds may not be optimal. But probably unbeatable for reliability at the price. However, they're still too new to really judge real world reliability. If you want a reliable, fast desktop drive you really need to shell out for something like the Caviar Black or an enterprise grade drive which are even more expensive.

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a lot of good options these days for affordable yet reliable mechanical drives. I would take whatever drive is cheapest that comes with a minimum of 3 year warranty and make sure that I had recent backups of anything important I stored on the thing.

If forced to make a recommendation, I'd probably say go with the to 2TB Hitachi linked above. It is 7200 RPM and comes with a 3 year warranty. Either that or a Caviar Red.

Re: Recommend a 2/3TB HDD in the 100-170 range for me

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 10:35 pm
by just brew it!
cynan wrote:
If reliability is your #1 concern, then the Western Digital Red drives are probably hard to beat at the price. I just bought 3x 2TB Seagate Barracudas (7.12) for a NAS. They are fast (almost performing on par with the Caviar Blacks) and cheap but there have been a lot of reliability complaints. I'm hoping the latest firmware will help in this area, but it's too early to tell.

That's disappointing. I was hoping that the reliability issues were confined to the 7200.11 series.

cynan wrote:
For a desktop environment, the slower spindle speed of the Caviar Reds may not be optimal. But probably unbeatable for reliability at the price. However, they're still too new to really judge reliability. If you want a reliable, fast desktop drive you really need to shell out for something like the Caviar Black or an enterprise grade drive which are even more expensive.

Aren't the Reds essentially Greens with tweaked firmware and a longer warranty?

Re: Recommend a 2/3TB HDD in the 100-170 range for me

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 10:41 pm
by cynan
just brew it! wrote:
That's disappointing. I was hoping that the reliability issues were confined to the 7200.11 series.

I've had my 3 running for a month so far without problems. Maybe the new firmware Seagate released early this summer really does do something for reliability. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

just brew it wrote:
Aren't the Reds essentially Greens with tweaked firmware and a longer warranty?

As far as I know they are. However I don't see why firmware couldn't make or break reliability of a drive.

Re: Recommend a 2/3TB HDD in the 100-170 range for me

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 10:45 pm
by just brew it!
cynan wrote:
just brew it wrote:
Aren't the Reds essentially Greens with tweaked firmware and a longer warranty?

As far as I know they are. However I don't see why firmware couldn't make or break reliability of a drive.

Agreed... however, the mechanical components are important too. And WD generally seems to have their act together in that department. They seem to have had fewer firmware issues than Seagate lately too, aside from the Green/Linux compatibility thing.

Re: Recommend a 2/3TB HDD in the 100-170 range for me

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 11:24 pm
by Flying Fox
Does wdidle3 work on the Red drives, or there is no issue with them?

Re: Recommend a 2/3TB HDD in the 100-170 range for me

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 1:13 pm
by sherlock
So far I haven't found anything beating this 3TB Seagate selling at 150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148844, and If their new firmware fixed their issue then that's even more plus. Will take a look at the Red WD.

p.s I have been advised to keep discussion within my System Builder post, so you can respond here viewtopic.php?f=33&t=83042