Which Hard Drive to get??

[allmashkis]

I am building an i7 860 system for gaming. Which HD should I get? Will I notice any performance difference beside load times?

1x (500GB Western Digital (7200) 16MB
1x (1TB Seagate/Western Digital (7200) 32MB

 

[heymrdj]

Because of the cache and platter densities, I'm almost certain the 1TB will outpace the 500GB. But this post would be best placed in memory and storage.

 

[razorweb]

get the WD black.

 

[Blain]

get the WD black.

Yes, get the "Black" with a 5 year warranty.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

WD Black 1TB and Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB seem to be the best storage options right now, and the prices are amazing.

 

[giveuosam]

i think you should buy western digital, seagate's external drives, but your best bet is to search best buys site, find a few that are in the size and price range you're looking for and check out their reviews on various sites.

 

[allmashkis]

Thanks for the suggestions. I was speaking to a sales person at Micro Center and he was telling me that the 640GB has been found to be the sweet spot in the Black series. I should have asked him why?

 

[Blain]

You only gave us a choice between the 500GB/16MB or the 1TB/32MB.
Are you now adding a 640GB/32MB WD into the mix?

 

[Winterpool]

640 GB drives have two 320 GB platters, thus providing relatively high data density (and performance) but with few platters (less heat, perhaps more reliability). You can Google any number of reviews on the WD6401AALS. I use it as my system / boot drive for Windows 7 Ultimate.

That said, current TB drives often contain only three platters and generally offer a better price-GB ratio than the 640 GB drives.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

The Caviar Black and Spinpoint F3 1TB drives both have 2x500gb platters.

 

[Winterpool]

The Caviar Black and Spinpoint F3 1TB drives both have 2x500gb platters.

Ah... get these! I recall now that the Samsung drive has quite a few good reviews and was in great demand. I feel more comfortable with Western Digital, however.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

I don't buy HDDs very often but I read some amazing reviews for the F3 so I picked a couple up for my new build. I'm sure most people would never know the difference between the F3 and Caviar Black in general use, they're both ridiculously fast, high quality drives.

 

[allmashkis]

Thanks all. This is my first custom build PC and I am getting it from Digital Storm. They only have the 500GB 16MB and 1TB 32MB to choose from besides the SSD and Raptor drives. No 640GB.

If I am not going to come close to filling the 1TB drive should I just go with the 500GB?

 

[ther00kie16]

If the price difference between the two is $50 or more, just get the 500GB and buy a 2nd drive when you need it and know a bit more about what you need and want after gaining some experience. The 1TB is obviously a better drive but online custom build upgrades often times aren't worth it, especially if all that's involved is as simpled as adding another hard drive.

 

[betasub]

OP makes it seem like a self-build. If this is a custom-build, then quite often you can get by with a standard item (500GB here) and add in your own at a later date - external for storage, SSD for speed.

 

[StinkyPinky]

I like Western Digital because of their excellent RMA service. They aren't anal about wrapping and everything is tracked so you know exactly what's going on. That's where Seagate sucks ass.

I have no experience with Samsung, but apparently the F3 1TB is outstanding.

I'd go for the WD 1TB Black though. That's also fast.

 

[bruceb]

I also suggest the Western Digital drives. They seem to be very reliable. Have 2 in my Dell 8200 ... perfect ... I also like Hitachi or Toshiba for laptop drives.