Need help deciding on a Harddrive.

BrooksyX · Jan 13, 2008

I am wanting to order a new hard drive for my new build in the next few days but I am unable to decide what to get. I just sent this drive back (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822144701) because the seek noise was way too loud. I am wanting a sata 3.0 drive with at least 16 mb cache, but I don't want to spend over $75.

Right now my top choices are:

Seagate 320GB Serial ATA/300 16MB Buffer ST303204N1A1AS-RK
http://shop3.outpost.com/product/5296757?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
$65 + $5 shipping

or

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262
$70 w/ free shipping.

I would prefer the one that is going to be quieter and faster. The difference in size isn't a big deal. Maybe you know a better HDD in the same price range?

Cold Storm · Jan 13, 2008

I'd go with the Barracuda because it has the quite tech... and the fry one shows a pata one and not the sata.. don't like those types of things...
I can't suggest anything else because you sent back a wd so i know i can't show you a wd... But, the barracuda is a good one...

Laurijan · Jan 13, 2008

A test winner in read/write speed here in Finland was the T166 - Samsung 500Gb, Sata 3.0, 16Mb - it cost a little bit more than 75 bucks - about 110€

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152052

I got one as network drive and it is very quite..

JrRacinFan · Jan 13, 2008

You mind generic(store brand)?
I can find you a 250GB 8Mb cache SATA2 for $48.

BrooksyX · Jan 13, 2008

I just want the best quiet sata 2 drive I can get for under $75. This is going in a build I just put together:

AMD Athlon X2 4000+
Gigabyte GA-M61P-S3
G. Skill DDR2 800 (2 x 1 GB)
Leadtek 8600gt
Thermaltake TR2 430 watt psu

This computer will be used for light gaming, homework/web, and a media center for my bedroom.

Right now I am using a WD 80gb Sata 1 hd from my old computer so I am wanting to upgrade as soon as possible.

Laurijan · Jan 13, 2008

That has the same interior (technically identical) as the 500Gb but is only 320Gb and your price

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152054R

BrooksyX · Jan 13, 2008

Hmm... How quite is this drive. I am really wanting a silent drive since my computer is pretty quiet for a budget build.

Would anyone else recommend the Samsung drive over the 250g Seagate barracuda. I am leaning towards the barracuda but the only thing I am worred about is the chance off getting the AAK firmware and the seagate - nforce compatability issues (I think this was solved?)

Laurijan · Jan 13, 2008

BrooksyX said:
Hmm... How quite is this drive. I am really wanting a silent drive since my computer is pretty quiet for a budget build.

Would anyone else recommend the Samsung drive over the 250g Seagate barracuda. I am leaning towards the barracuda but the only thing I am worred about is the chance off getting the AAK firmware and the seagate - nforce compatability issues (I think this was solved?)

The drive is really quite i havent heard it working once.. And it outperformend the seagates in the test i read..

Laurijan · Jan 13, 2008

Laurijan said:
The drive is really quite i havent heard it working once.. And it outperformend the seagates in the test i read..

A western digital 500Gb i lately bought was working very noisy compared to the samsung

Mussels · Jan 13, 2008

Laurijan said:
A test winner in read/write speed here in Finland was the T166 - Samsung 500Gb, Sata 3.0, 16Mb - it cost a little bit more than 75 bucks - about 110€

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152052

I got one as network drive and it is very quite..

my vote goes for this drive, i had 8 arrive yesterday, and they just kick ass.
uploading a screeny of drive to drive between two of em in vista...

every drive is very quiet, they're fast, and they're cheap. havent had any fail yet either, and i've been using heaps of em.

BrooksyX · Jan 13, 2008

Okay you guys got me set on this samsung drive. I usually use WD or Maxtor/Segate but ill give samsung a chance. I have never had a problem with any of the samsung electronics I own so why should a hard drive they make be any different. The only thing that worries me is that its an open box item. Do you guys think that I will end up getting someones garbage or I will get good drive?

trog100 · Jan 13, 2008

u need to think about cushion mounting your drives.. the case acts like soundboard and is what makes most of the noise..

i always buy samsung spinpoint thow.. but only cos they are cheap in the UK..

trog

BrooksyX · Jan 13, 2008

Okay I have one last question? Would my system benifit at all by uping the ram to 4gb or would it just be overkill. Im not really thinking for performace in gaming but performace with windows vista 64 bit. I am planning on upgrading in the next few months.

Here is the ram I have right now:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231098

Would it be worth buying another set of it.

Laurijan · Jan 13, 2008

BrooksyX said:
Okay I have one last question? Would my system benifit at all by uping the ram to 4gb or would it just be overkill. Im not really thinking for performace in gaming but performace with windows vista 64 bit. I am planning on upgrading in the next few months.

Here is the ram I have right now:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231098

Would it be worth buying another set of it.

ddr2 ram is so cheap nowerdaysthat it would be a loss to no buy 4gigs - but i dont know if vista gets any faster with 4 gigs because i dont use it. Edit: And buy the same sticks you already have

Cold Storm · Jan 13, 2008

what vista x64? you'll most likely need 4gbs to run it... Vista x86 requires 2gbs to start up while x64 requires 4gbs... its better to get the ram... You'll need it.

BrooksyX · Jan 13, 2008

I am probably going to go with vista home premium x64 oem off of newegg.

So looks like I am going to go with the samsung and then pickup some more ram on payday next week.

If I bump my cpu up to 2.6 ghz and oc the video I should have a nice little system for under $450.

Thanks for the help!

edit: looks like I got the last samsung. They are sold out now.

Cold Storm · Jan 13, 2008

read this before getting trying to get that oem...
remember to get the same ram as you have gotten before...

BrooksyX · Jan 13, 2008

Yeah, ill make sure to get the same ram again. I also realize that vista oem is locked to the motherboard but ill probably use this set up for the next few years. The only upgrades I can see myself making is upgradeing the cpu and the video card.

Cold Storm · Jan 13, 2008

If thats what you want, then go for it man. I don't see the point for the simple fact that if that mobo dies... IMO... But the only thing you will want to upgrade and should is those two things.

BrooksyX · Jan 13, 2008

I guess it depends on the price a few months from now and if some of the bugs get fixed. I do have a Business 32-bit upgrade edition of vista so I might use that for a while. But eventually I want a x64 copy of home premium or ultimate.

I don't know if it is really worth paying twice as much for the retail version. I heard that if you complain enough about your motherboard dying M$ will reset your key.

Cold Storm · Jan 13, 2008

I use x86 ultimate and runs great... right now im stuck on xp because of my mobo going under... I have windows media center up and running with xbox and its beautiful... I think you'll have a better experience with x64 ultimate.
and for price.. its been going down and down... was almost 400 and so when it first came out.

Mussels · Jan 14, 2008

Cold Storm said:
what vista x64? you'll most likely need 4gbs to run it... Vista x86 requires 2gbs to start up while x64 requires 4gbs... its better to get the ram... You'll need it.

vista 64 needs no more ram than x86. its merely that the 32 bit version cant use more than 3GB, so everyone who goes 4GB of ram has to go x64.

4Gb helps, because a lot of games use 1.5-2.5GB of ram, this just leaves ram for whatevers left in the background (OS, Antivirus, etc)

Cold Storm · Jan 14, 2008

all right.. from what I was told is that it needed 4gb... and from everyone that I've seen that has vista ultimate x64 they all run 4gbs...

Mussels · Jan 14, 2008

Cold Storm said:
all right.. from what I was told is that it needed 4gb... and from everyone that I've seen that has vista ultimate x64 they all run 4gbs...

you just got it backwards is all.

4GB of ram = 3GB of ram under 32 bit OS

Vista 64 runs on 512MB ram if you try

Cold Storm · Jan 14, 2008

if I can get a hold of vista ultimate 64 I will do so! thanks again mussles

System Name	Main / Home Media Serever
Processor	Intel i5 2500k @ 4.75ghz / AMD AM3 5200+ x2
Motherboard	ASRock Fatal1ty P67 Performance / Biostar 790GX
Cooling	Xigmatek Dark Knight / XIGMATEK Apache
Memory	12gb of G.Skill Value Series DDR3 / 4x 1gb DDR2
Video Card(s)	XFX Radeon 6870 1gb / Asus Radeon 5450 512mb
Storage	2x Samsung 830 64gb SSD Raid 0 & 750gb WD Blue HDD / OCZ Vertex II 80GB & 10TB of HDD Space
Display(s)	2x Acer 24" LED / Samsung 50" LED
Case	Xigmatek Asgard II / APEX PC-389-C
Power Supply	Rosewill 750w / Antec EArthwatts 380w
Software	Windows 7 Professional x64 SP1 / Ubuntu 14.04

System Name	Haro
Processor	AMD 1700x
Motherboard	AsRork x370 Taichi
Cooling	EK Custom Loop - CPU only
Memory	32gb G-Skill Trident Z
Video Card(s)	EVGA 1080 Superclock 2
Storage	Too Many
Display(s)	Viewsonic VX2450WM-LED 24" & LG 32 IPS
Case	Cooler Master Cosmos II
Power Supply	Cooler Master V1000
Mouse	SteelSeries Rival 500
Software	Win10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	i5 750 4.62ghz pi runs // Evga FTW p55

System Name	Enslaver :)
Processor	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	ASUS TUF Gaming B650-Plus
Cooling	CPU: Noctua NH-D14 with LED fans, Case: 2 front in - 1 rear out
Memory	2x16GB Kingston Fury Beast RGB 6000MHz
Video Card(s)	ASUS TUF RTX 4070Ti OC
Storage	Samsung Evo Plus 1TB NVMe , internal WD Red 4TB for storage, WD Book 8TB
Display(s)	LG CX OLED 65"
Case	Lian Li LANCOOL II Mesh C Performance
Audio Device(s)	HDMI audio powering Dolby Digital audio on 5.1 Z960 speaker system
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x
Mouse	Logitech G700
Keyboard	ASUS Strix Tactic Pro
Software	Windows 11 Pro x64

System Name	Dual Build Streamer
Processor	Ryzen 7900x3d : Ryzen 4600G
Motherboard	AsRock B650E Steel Legend : Giga B450i Aorus
Cooling	Custom Water 1x420 : Stock
Memory	32GB T-Force Deltas : 16GB Dominator Platinums
Video Card(s)	PowerColor 7900 XTX Liquid Devil: iGPU
Storage	20+ TB
Display(s)	Sammy 49" 5k Ultrawide
Case	Custom White Painted Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2
Audio Device(s)	Onboard : Onboard
Power Supply	EVGA 1200W P2
Mouse	Corsair M65 RGB Elite White
Keyboard	Hyperx Origins 65
Software	Windows 10

System Name	Main / Home Media Serever
Processor	Intel i5 2500k @ 4.75ghz / AMD AM3 5200+ x2
Motherboard	ASRock Fatal1ty P67 Performance / Biostar 790GX
Cooling	Xigmatek Dark Knight / XIGMATEK Apache
Memory	12gb of G.Skill Value Series DDR3 / 4x 1gb DDR2
Video Card(s)	XFX Radeon 6870 1gb / Asus Radeon 5450 512mb
Storage	2x Samsung 830 64gb SSD Raid 0 & 750gb WD Blue HDD / OCZ Vertex II 80GB & 10TB of HDD Space
Display(s)	2x Acer 24" LED / Samsung 50" LED
Case	Xigmatek Asgard II / APEX PC-389-C
Power Supply	Rosewill 750w / Antec EArthwatts 380w
Software	Windows 7 Professional x64 SP1 / Ubuntu 14.04

Need help deciding on a Harddrive.

BrooksyX

Cold Storm

Battosai

Laurijan

JrRacinFan

Served 5k and counting ...

BrooksyX

Laurijan

BrooksyX

Laurijan

Laurijan

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

Attachments

BrooksyX

trog100

BrooksyX

Laurijan

Cold Storm

Battosai

BrooksyX

Cold Storm

Battosai

BrooksyX

Cold Storm

Battosai

BrooksyX

Cold Storm

Battosai

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

Cold Storm

Battosai

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

Cold Storm

Battosai

System Name	Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor	Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard	Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling	Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory	2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s)	Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage	2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s)	Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) \| Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) \| Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case	Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s)	Logitech G560 \| Corsair Void pro RGB \|Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply	Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse	Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard	Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD	Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software	Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores	Nyooom.

System Name	money pit..
Processor	Intel 9900K 4.8 at 1.152 core voltage minus 0.120 offset
Motherboard	Asus rog Strix Z370-F Gaming
Cooling	Dark Rock TF air cooler.. Stock vga air coolers with case side fans to help cooling..
Memory	32 gb corsair vengeance 3200
Video Card(s)	Palit Gaming Pro OC 2080TI
Storage	150 nvme boot drive partition.. 1T Sandisk sata.. 1T Transend sata.. 1T 970 evo nvme m 2..
Display(s)	27" Asus PG279Q ROG Swift 165Hrz Nvidia G-Sync, IPS.. 2560x1440..
Case	Gigabyte mid-tower.. cheap and nothing special..
Audio Device(s)	onboard sounds with stereo amp..
Power Supply	EVGA 850 watt..
Mouse	Logitech G700s
Keyboard	Logitech K270
Software	Win 10 pro..
Benchmark Scores	Firestike 29500.. timepsy 14000..