Hard Drive Buying Guide
How To Drive a Hard Bargain on Your New HDD
Get Virtually Unlimited Storage Space
Today’s desktop (and even laptop) computers come equipped with hard disk drives that would have seemed impossibly capacious only a few years ago. However, technology marches on – and state-of-the-art programs eat up moredrive space than ever before. The ability to play incredibly intricate games, enjoy massively detailed graphics files and back-up every one of your CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray disks in digital form has definitely changed our lives for the better, but if you take advantage of all of these functions, you might be staring down a “drive remaining” bar that is pretty close to “empty”! If that’s the case, don’t worry. There’s no need to do anything drastic – like erasing cherished material, or beginning the laborious process of transferring much of it onto data DVD-Rs or CD-Rs. Instead, you could put an end to this nerve-wracking “space race” by adding a brand new internal or external hard disk drive to your set up.
Gone are the days when an HDD would cost you an arm and a leg! (Another reliable tendency of technological development is that product prices will drop precipitously after they’ve been on the market for a few years). Particularly in the external hard drive field, larger, more affordable models are hitting the shelves every day, providing you with an amazing opportunity to stockpile data virtually at will.This guide is dedicated to exploring all of the space-creating options available to the contemporary consumer. Along the way, we’ll look at the differences between hard disk drives and their newer competitor technology: the Solid State Drives (SSD), we’ll examine the benefits (especially in a workplace environment) of Network Attached Storage systems (NAS), and we’ll stay on top of the variables other than sheer GB or TB space that can and should influence your purchasing decision.
1. Internal Drives
Your internal drive plays a vital role in the day-to-day functioning of your computer. Every time you download a program or file, this is the default “save to” location. As a result, that space can fill up quickly, and no one ever wants to receive the dreaded out of hard disk space message which explains that there isn’t enough room on the disk to perform the requested operation! So keep the crisis at bay by upgrading to a larger internal drive (or adding a second one to the mix, if your mainboard is configured to permit such a set-up). In this section, we’ll look at a wide variety of HDDs and SSDs (Solid State Drives), conveniently divided up into a variety of storage sizes (to help you to zero in on exactly the device that you need). As you go through the categories, remember that you must choose a drive that comes in the proper “form factor” and interface type (either SATA or SCSI) to work with your mainboard, so you’ll need to confirm your computer’s internal set-up (this is particularly crucial with laptops – hence the separate section for those devices).
A. Internal Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
Hard disk drives are complex constellations of read/write heads and spinning disks that can store immense amounts of data and provide a quick path to each individual item via “random access” (much more convenient than the sequential access memory devices – like tape drives – that HDDs began to replace at the dawn of the home computer era). Internal HDD technology is always advancing, generating more and more capacious drives that can transfer data at quicker and quicker speeds. Before settling upon your choice of internal drive, make sure that it is the proper “form factor” (expressed in a numerical value: current HDDs come in three different form factors – 1.8”, 2.5” and 3.5” – with correspondingly higher maximum storage capacities) and has the correct attachment bus (SATA or SCSI – with SCSI providing much quicker transfer speeds) to interface with your computers mainboard.
i. 500 GB and smaller Internal Hard Disk Drives
If you’re planning to replace an older (and smaller) HDD or configure your computer to accept a second HDD, a 500 GB model can give you a lot of storage space for a very attractive price. For example, you can pick up a standard 3.5” 6.0 Gb/s SATA Seagate Barracuda (with standard 7200 rotations per minute – RPM – and a 16 MB cache/buffer) for as little as $37. If you’re looking for something with a little more cache memory (to cut down on buffering times and provide faster access to your data), a Western Digital 3.5” 3.0 Gb/s SATA model with 64MBs might be just the ticket (price: about $75).And if ultra-high performance is your pleasure, a Lenovo SATA/300, 3.5” model with a 300 MBPS maximum external transfer rate sells for about $200.
ii. 1 TB Internal Hard Disk Drives
If you’re looking to take your technological operation up to the 1 terabyte level – you can do so for the astoundingly low price of $50 with a Seagate Barracuda SATA-3G device with a 32 MB cache and a 5900 RPM rate. If you’re looking to do your part for the environment, a Samsung EcoGreen SATA 3.0 GB/s 3.5” model (with a 32 MB cache and a 5400 RPM rate) is designed to get the job done on less power and costs only $60.For even more powerful performance and a revolutionary wear-and-tear reducing design which ensures that the recording head never comes into contact with the disk media, you can purchase a dual-processor powered Western Digital Caviar 3.5” model for about $135. And if you want to add to your Mac Pro internal HDD set up (the machine’s mainboard supports up to 4 such devices), you can take a memorable leap forward with a 1 TB SATA HDD Drive Kit from Apple for approximately $360.
iii. 2 TB Internal Hard Disk Drives
For those with truly gargantuan data storage needs, a 2 TB internal drive is the only choice that makes sense. You can pick up 3.5” SATA models from Samsung, Hitachi, Seagate or Western Digital for as little as $70. To reduce power consumption by up to 40%, opt for a Western Digital Caviar Green SATA 3.5” model with a 32 MB cache for as little as $113! If you want a 2TB HDD with 7200 RPM speed, a Hitachi Deskstar SATA 3.0 Gb/s 3.5” model with a 32 MB cache sells for about $124.And Mac Pro users can pick up a high performance, easy to install 2TB 3.5” SATA kit from Apple for about $320.
B. Internal Solid State Drive (SDD)
Solid State Drives offer an exciting, non-volatile alternative to Hard Disk Drives – performing all of the same functions as the former (at much quicker speeds), without being susceptible to the wear-and-tear (caused by moving parts) that can destroy an HDD after a few years of strenuous use. The SSD’s reliance upon memory chips, rather than read/write heads and spinning disks, makes it an extremely safe haven for your most sensitive data. SSDs are already moving into a leading role in the portable computer market (where jostling and a variety of environmental factors can pose a serious threat to a traditional HDD), and more internal SSDs for desktops are entering the market every day!
On the other hand, it’s important to bear in mind that SSDs are still in the early stages of penetrating the desktop market, so they do sell for much higher prices than HDDs, and offer a much more limited range of storage capacities than drives which employ the more established technology. If you have very large data requirements, one effective strategy to consider would be to employ an SSD in tandem with an HDD (which will allow you keep only the most crucial documents on the more trustworthy SSD).
i. 64 GB Internal Solid State Drive
For maximum security and peace of mind, you can pick up a basicSATA 2.5” form factor 64 GB SSD from OCZ (capable of reading speeds in the vicinity of 120-143 MB/s and writing speeds in the 80 to 93 MB/s range) for about $93.And for even more exciting performance and durability, a Kingston V Series 64GB SSD gives you up to 200 MB/sec of reading power and 110 MB/sec of writing efficiency (price: about $130). Meanwhile, an ultra-secure Transcend 64 GB 2.5” solid state drive with 1500 G-force shock tolerance sells for about $440.
ii. 128 GB Internal Solid State Drive
For more storage flexibility, a Wintec 128 GB SATA II 2.5” internal SSD will double your secure memory sectors for as little as $175. For a 128 GB SSD with a reading speed of up to 160 MB/sec and an amazing “Mean Time Before Failure” (MTBF) of 1,000,000 hours, a Kingston Series V drive is the way to go (price: about $212).To up the ante on reading speed to a remarkable 355 MB/sec (with a writing transfer rate of 140 MB/sec), you can purchase a 2.5” SATA 128 GB model from Crucial for about $257. And for a super-fast, easy to install companion SSD with an unbeatable 5-year limited warranty, try Imation’s M-Class drive (with upgrade kit) for $348.
iii. 256 GB Internal Solid State Drive and Higher – and Hybrid SSDs
When nothing but the largest sized internal SSD will do, Kingston (price: about $420), Crucial ($450) and PLDS ($480) all offer competitively priced options (with the PLDS drive generating astonishing 480 MB/sec read and 330 MB/sec write transfer rates!). Even larger SSD models are now making their way onto the market, but these do tend to sell for much higher prices. For example, Kingston’s best 512 GB SSD will cost you about $914. Beyond that level, you are entering into very limited-availability items, selling for experimental prototype prices – i.e. Hewlett Packard offers a 640 GB model for the rather daunting price of $18,864.
If, like most Canadians, you would find that an inconceivable amount to pay, but you are committed to the idea of combining SSD functionality with higher storage capacity, a Seagate Momentus hybrid drive is just what the technician ordered for you! Bringing together an adaptive solid state memory drive with more traditional HDD storage, the 2.5” SATA II Momentus provides dramatically faster transfer rates, added durability and 320 GB of memory storage for the low price of about $110.
C. Laptop HDD or SSD
As very specialized and space-conscious machines, laptop computers require very specific types of HDDs and SSDs. Almost all of them, for instance, interface exclusively with 2.5” form factor drives – and many of them will only work with drives designed specifically for the model that you own. Always make certain, before taking the plunge, that your new drive will be able to work with your laptop computer – as a great deal won’t seem so great if you can’t install it. If you don’t have a hard copy of your laptop manual anymore, just search the model number followed by specifications – all laptop manufacturers provide digital copies of the specifications online.
If your laptop specifications indicate that you have some flexibility with regard to the choice of hard drives, which almost all will, you can pick up a basic 500 GB 2.5” Samsung Spinpoint internal notebook hard drive for as little as $55 or an SATA-300 Momentus model from Seagate for about $60. If you’d prefer to go with a more shock resistant, high efficiency solid state drive, a basic 128 GB 2.5” SATA II Notebook pack from A-DATA sells for about $220. Meanwhile, if you’ve got a more finely tuned machine like a Lenovo ThinkPad to provision, you can pick up a 128 GB 2.5” SSD for about $350.
Installation for a laptop hard drive is easy – 99% of today’s modern laptops provide an access panel on the bottom of the laptop. Simply remove the retaining screw and the drive should pop out. If your laptop requires the entire bottom section be removed to access the drive, consider taking it into a computer shop and have a tech swap the drive out. Some retailers can even copy over the old data onto the new drive for a small fee.
2. External Drives
Sometimes, upgrading or adding an internal HDD or SSD to your computing set-up is the wrong choice. This is obviously the case if you have a particularly inflexible mainboard – but it could also be true if you have storage capacity needs that transcend the available range of options in internal devices.
In either event, the external drive can become an extremely attractive alternative for the canny mass-quantity data hoarder! With 3 TB models now entering the budgetary range of ordinary middle class Canadians, external HDDs can give you a lot of storage bang for your buck, and are ideal repositories for important back-up files (not to mention completely digitalized security copies of your DVD, CD and even book collections) Most external drives are easily connected to your computer via a USB cord. While this might not be the most convenient arrangement for laptop users, you always have the option of storing only the most vital day-to-day items on your notebook’s internal drive and saving the vast majority of your data onto the external drive (transferring it onto the laptop itself as needed).
A. External HDD
i. 1 TB External HDD
A few years ago, a 1 TB external HDD would have cost you a small fortune, but today these magnificent memory machines can be had for as little as $60, with the Buffalo Technology DriveStation. If you’re looking to amp up your transfer speeds (especially useful during those time-consuming back-up sessions), consider purchasing a Cirago 1 TB drive with USB 2.0 interface (which will send the data flying from drive to drive at a breakneck pace of up to 480 MB/sec) for about $90. And for a state-of-the-art Mac- or PC-compatible machine protected by a 5-year warranty, 128-bit hardware encryption, 24K gold-plated USB 2.0 and Firewire cable contacts, LaCie’s 1 TB Quadra Enterprise HDD will cost you about $315.
ii. 2 TB External HDD
To go even further and double your external storage potential, a basic 2 TB XL Desk USB 2.0 model from Hitachi will cost you less than $80. For a speedy 150 MB/s data transfer speed and whisper quiet fan-less design, try the Fantom GreenDrive 2TB (compatible with either PC or Mac computers), which sells for as little as $100.Sometimes the key element in a data transfer situation is the cable – and that’s certainly the case with a Samsung USB 3.0 2 TB HDD from Samsung, which can triple your speed for the incredible price of $144!And if you like the idea of an instant, automatic data back-up system, Clickfree’s 2 TB Easy Imaging Desktop USB 3.0 drive is a no-brainer, as it can be configured to create a mirror library of all of the data on your internal hard disk drive. This model, which sells for about $178, also contains top-notch security features like the EASYfix program, which will keep your data safe from harm, even if your computer’s Windows system breaks down completely.
iii. 3 TB External HDD (And More)
For the absolute best deal on external storage, pick up a Seagate 3 TB GoFlex USB 2.0 HDD for as little as $130! If you’re looking for a 3 TB HDD with even quicker transfer times (up to 640 MB/sec) and compatibility with a PC or a Mac to boot, you can’t go wrong with a Buffalo Drive Station USB 3.0, which sells for about $162. For an attractively contoured drive that was designed to complement your modernistic Mac, consider a stylish companion 3 TB HDD (in either black or silver) from Iomega, priced at around $303. And for the ultimate storage solution, G-Technology offers an incredible double 3 TB external hard drive (with easily swappable individual disks so that you can keep the array functioning for years and years to come) that will provide the safest possible haven for your entire digital empire (price: about $584).
B. External SSD
As with their internal counterparts, external solid state drives are still in their infancy as major consumer items . SSDs remain much more expensive – and their maximum storage capacities are still much lower – than hard disk drives. On the flip side, however, SSDs are undeniably faster and infinitely less susceptible to shock and wear and tear than the more established HDD technology. The choice is yours!
If you do opt to explore the brave new world of completely non-volatile memory, you can pick up an excellent entry-level 64 GB Superspeed USB 3.0 model from Iomega for as little as $165. A comparable 64 GB model from Verbatim (with a 160 MBps read rate and 120 MBps write rate) sells for about $181. To double your solid state pleasure, progress to the next level of Iomega SuperSpeed capacity with a 128 GB model (price: about $292). And to take it even one step further, the same company offers a 256 GB external drive for about $517.
3. NAS – Network Attached Storage
Network Attached Storage offers all of the functionality of an external HDD, with the added bonus of shared access between a number of computers. Depending upon the individual characteristics of the device and the specific needs of your networked computers, the NAS can be connected via Ethernet, SATA or USB interfaces, and can really help to simplify data heavy group projects and other file sharing bottlenecks! Some wireless routers even provide a separate connection for connecting these network drives, making it even easier.
A. 1 TB Network Attached Storage
If your network sharing needs are few but vital, a 1 TB NAS might provide all of the functionality that you require. This small scale device is probably best suited to family networks – keeping all members of the household in the loop and connected (enabling parents, children and guests to share iTunes music or NetFlix movies, for instance). You can pick up a basic 1 TB Western Digital My Book NAS for as little as $125. For a slightly more sophisticated and speedier device (configured to interface easily with video games like the Xbox360 or the PS3 and with modern flat screen TV sets), try a 1 TB Stora Home Media NAS from Netgear (price: about $150). And for maximum flexibility, go for a D-Link 1 TB ShareCenter 2-bay NAS that features 3.5” SATA Drive interface, along with a Gigabit Ethernet port, a USB port and 4 different hard drive configurations (price: about $312).
B. 4 TB Network Attached Storage and Higher
For the more data-intensive and hurly burly atmosphere of the small office, a 4 TB or higher NAS device is the way to go. You can pick up a basic Network Space MAX model from LaCie (with both Gigabit Ethernet and USB 2.0 options) for as little as $280. For even better flexibility, you can add easy remote access to the mix (along with print server functionality and Jumbo-supported Ethernet connectivity) with a 4 TB StorCenter NAS from Iomega (price: $400).
If 4 TB just isn’t going to provide enough room for your organization to spread its wings, you can double the size of that NAS with an 8 TB Linkstation Pro Quad model from Buffalo for as little $825. To make sure everyone’s connected, you might want to opt for an 8 TB Sabio Storage NAS that comes equipped with a full complement of SATA II, USB 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet and Wireless-N connectivity (along with powerful network recovery RAID technology), and sells for about $965. And if a truly heavy-duty sharing device is required (enough to keep an entire medium sized office in on the action), consider an amazing 32 TB G-Speed NAS from G-Technology, which also features the acclaimed RAID recovery controller and multiple connectivity options, including a PCI-E card (price: $12000).
A “Space Race” That Everyone Can Win
With the accelerated pace of technological development, even the most basic desktop or laptop computer is capable of miraculous things! From the latest video games to extraordinary sound and graphics editing programs to incredible movie and music access via internet purveyors like Netflix and iTunes, your PC can literally do it all – as long as you’ve got the storage space, that is. Fortunately, memory-expanding technology has kept pace with the rest of these exciting innovations, providing capacious, lightning-fast and easily affordable solutions to any storage crisis you might be on the verge of experiencing. So what are you waiting for? Load up on the internal, external HDD (or SSD) or NAS devices that you need and let the gigabytes fall where they may!
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