1TB hard drive only $260

[piano632]

Anyone in need of a single 1TB hard drive, check out Best Buy for the new WD 1TB model. $260 is the cheapest I've seen for a 1TB drive, and it's a new model too...most stores don't even have it in stock yet. Only possible drawback is I think it only has a 1-year warranty. But I suspect this will sell out fast since it doesn't cost that much more than two 500GB drives. The 750GB version of this drive got high marks, but can't find anything on this model.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8492026&type=product&id=1186003685416

[edDV]

Hard Drive prices are dropping fast. $260 is good but 500GB can be found under $100. There is a premium for the TB capacity in one drive but you do get packaging and power advantages. Downside is backup.

[trhouse]

They have been available on eBay for less but no WD warranty,

http://cgi.ebay.com/Western-Digital-WD10EACS-1TB-SATA2-HDD-16MB-CACHE_W0QQitemZ2701618...QQcmdZViewItem

[piano632]

The one on Ebay is used for 2 weeks. Plus you get no warranty.

Another alternative is Best Buy also has 500GB Seagates on sale for $100 this week (both SATA and IDE models). At least you get 5-year warranties on these.

[JohnnyMalaria]

Check this out for $299.99

http://www.unistorage.com/unistorage/index.cfm?fuseaction=shop.dspSpecs&part=1819496

(Other brands exist too).

*External* 1TB dual harddrive (i.e., 2 x 500GB) configured as a RAID 0 or 1. USB2.0, FireWire 400 and FireWire 800. Mac and Windows compatible.

[Soopafresh]

Western Digital - Use at your own peril. Okay as a backup drive, but that brand has created a lot of grief for many people.

[lacywest]

Seagate 500GB Internal Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive

Model: ST3500641A-RK
This premium internal hard drive is virtually silent during operation and lets you store up to 500GB of data, music, movies and more.
500GB maximum storage capacity

Ultra ATA (parallel) interface
Data transfer rates up to 100 Mbps
16MB cache buffer
7200 rpm for fast read/write times
SeaTools diagnostic software continuously checks your hard drive for data safety and drive performance
Whisper-quiet FDB (fluid dynamic bearing) motor
DiscWizard software makes installation easier

Includes cable, software and mounting screws

Compatible with Mac, PC, Linux and Netware

Product Details

Warranty Terms - Parts 5 years

Warranty Terms - Labor 5 years

Internal or External Internal

Drive Capacity 500GB
Drive Connectivity Ultra ATA
Rotation Speed 7200 rpm
Data Transfer Rate to/from Interface Up to 100 Mbps
Cache Buffer Size 16MB
Software Included SeaTools, DiscWizard
System Requirements Windows 98 SE, ME, 2000 Professional, NT and XP; Mac OS; Linux; Netware; ATA/IDE interface; open 3.5" bay or slot

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp;jsessionid=K1EZC5HHOT40DKC4D3EFAHA?skuId=82944...=1172880157783

[betamaxman]

Have four WDs ides for as many years now, no probs with mine. Two satas for a couple of years also no probs. Some people have problems with anything they buy.

[betamaxman]

Yep most 500 gbs are even less than $99. But 1000 gbs in one drive bay is very compelling even if it is more per gb. A small media server in a shuttle box in a home theater for instance.

[JohnnyMalaria]

WD definitely seemed to go through a period of higher failure rates. I used to always swear by WD and Seagate.

Currently, Seagate are my prefered choice for external drives. Nevertheless, I do have a WD MyBook that hasn't given me any problems.

[betamaxman]

I have a newer (6 months old WD) that also works fine, and just bought a 100 gb maxtor sata in a reduced bin at staples for $25. It also works fine though many say maxtors are trash.

Reduced bins in pc shops are a great place to hit on saturday mornings around months end. You never know what little piece of gold you can find for a song, usually full warranty as well.

[Conquest10]

Check this out for $299.99

http://www.unistorage.com/unistorage/index.cfm?fuseaction=shop.dspSpecs&part=1819496

(Other brands exist too).

*External* 1TB dual harddrive (i.e., 2 x 500GB) configured as a RAID 0 or 1. USB2.0, FireWire 400 and FireWire 800. Mac and Windows compatible.

Quick question, does the drive show up as one TB or two 500gb?

[lordsmurf]

Seagate = 1st choice
Western Digital = 2nd choice
Maxtor = crap, not any choice, not an option

Not a fan of the others, like Hitachi, but even those seem better than Maxtor.

[Soopafresh]

I have 4 IBM "Deathstar" drives going 24/7 for 6 years at a client site. Yeah, it's all a crap shoot I suppose. But a pile of dead WD hard drives and 2 WD drives dying at the same time on a Raid 5 system is kinda damning in my opinion.


Conquest10 - That would show up as 1 single Terabyte drive in RAID 0. In RAID 1, the 2 drives are mirror copies, so you see only 500GB of disk space.

[JohnnyMalaria]

Check this out for $299.99

http://www.unistorage.com/unistorage/index.cfm?fuseaction=shop.dspSpecs&part=1819496

(Other brands exist too).

*External* 1TB dual harddrive (i.e., 2 x 500GB) configured as a RAID 0 or 1. USB2.0, FireWire 400 and FireWire 800. Mac and Windows compatible.

Quick question, does the drive show up as one TB or two 500gb?

It's configured as a RAID so it will appear as one very fast 1TB drive (RAID 0) or a single 500GB with a 500GB mirror (RAID 1). To get the full benefit, though. FireWire 800 is necessary.

I'm really quite tempted....

[Lucifers_Ghost]

I personally have never had any problems with any WD or Seagate drive. Maxtor, however .... ugh. Many many a drive have failed.

[JohnnyBob]

Does Seagate have a partitioning tool?
I liked that about Maxtor, their Maxblast utility. But I probably won't buy another Maxtor because of their high failure rates and only 1 year warranty. They also seem to run hot so I had to rig a special fan blowing directly on my drives.
A pair of the 500G IDE Seagates @$99 to replace my aging 160G & 120G Maxtors sounds like a winner. I wonder though about Windows XP activation, because I recently put in a new pair of optical drives. So I might get flagged to phone-in to MS

[srenaud]

Best Buy near me clearanced out the 750 GB PATA Seagtate Drives for $168.
I could not resist.

[mrswla]

Does Seagate have a partitioning tool?

Yes, it is very similar to the one Maxtor has. Just ran the seagate tools on a 500gb sata drive. upgraded from a 250gb ide to the 500gb sata. made the 500 the new master drive and took the 250 out of the system. total time took a little over an hour.

[piano632]

My local Best Buy had a bunch of 750GB external USB/Firewire Seagates clearanced for $199. These are the old square cases not the newer FreeAgent ones.

But anyway, I bought a 500GB SATA Seagate and the Antec MX-1 enclosure both on sale this week.

[Dash1]

Does this soundas a best solution for
Salvage some old VHS tapes I thought I can do it all in one:
Convert to digital from my VHS, save as a digital backup ,edit DIRECTLY
on the external HDD and save the originals as well as edited version back on the same HDD.
I have ~60 hrs. of old VHS plus another 30HRS of DV.
What do you guys think???

[JohnnyMalaria]

In principle, it sounds fine.

If you plan to convert the VHS to DV, then you'll end up with 90 hours of DV. At 13GB per hour, that's 1170GB. i.e., more than 1TB. You also need space for the edited versions. So, if you get 2 x 750GB, you'll have enough. If you do get twin drives, you can consider one of the RAID types that I mentioned above. This way, you'll only need to use one USB2.0 connection (or FireWire).

Of course, if you are digitizing the VHS a different way, you can probably reduce the disk space required since VHS is low quality anyway.

[kush]

Lil' bit of misinformation going on here...

First Seagate has owned Maxtor for a while now. Second, they're no longer 1 year warranties - they now all have 3, like their OEM drives of the past. Third, Seagate has all but absorbed Maxtor - eg. if you buy a 320GB (aka 300GB + 20GB FREE!) drive from Fry's/Outpost (and likely others), it's a Seagate - I forget if it's a 7200.9 or 7200.10, I believe the latter though.

Also, WD isn't bad. ANY company with their amount of drives being sold will have bad drives. I've seen probably just as many complaints for all 3...Still can't beat the infamous Deathstar drives though.

Anyway, most drives are NOT under $99, not regularly and from a reputable dealer that is. Most online retailers avg about $105-115, and that's usually for an OEM drive. As far as B&M stores go it's way worse...I grabbed a Seagate 500GB SATA @ Best Buy today. It's $20 or $30 cheaper than the Seagate 320GB model... FYI -- It's got the model # of the 7200.9 (641AS), but the actual drive is a 630AS (a 7200.10).

[lordsmurf]

While Seagate might own Maxtor, the Maxtor dives are still a lower quality line, and as shitty as ever.

[budz]

I have to w/kush that all manufacturers of hard drives have their quality control issues. I've seen many complaints on WD, SEAGATE & HITACHI DEATHSTARS!

I've got MAXTOR hard drives still running after 8 years w/no problems. I even have a old WD 6gb that still has life in it!

[piano632]

Lil' bit of misinformation going on here...

First Seagate has owned Maxtor for a while now. Second, they're no longer 1 year warranties - they now all have 3, like their OEM drives of the past.

If you look on the back of the Seagate box you will see it says 5-year warranty, not 3. I bought the 500GB SATA model today too. So far it's very quiet and yes it is the 7200.10 model not 7200.09 as reported. The Antec MX-1 external SATA/USB case is pretty nice too (mostly plastic, but well designed to blow air around the drive and rubber/silicone shock absorbers).

Now all I need to know is: is it worth it to buy a PCI eSATA card for an external enclosure? Will you get true SATA speed through a PCI card? (My motherboard is IDE only.)

[lenti_75]

it's all about luck.
but Maxtor and other shit, are by far the slowest.

i have a HP p4 with a samsung drive....slow like shit, but still working after 5 yrs of non-stop operation at my office....

so, does it make the best drive ???? no way, this is just luck.

the ideea is this: you better keep the computer running, for longer lifespan....if you shut it down every hour or so....you have a higher percentage of failure, this is fact.

[stiltman]

I have a Seagate ATA 80gb that's prolly 4 years old
I have a Seagate ATA 160gb that's prolly 3 years old
Neither one has had a problem and both are quite


I'm going to pick up a few of the 500gb from best buy. I already have 3 right now in a raid 5, but what the heck, Intel says I can add drives on the fly....Looks like a test for my new system

[piano632]

Are Maxtors really that crappy? I've used a 300GB Maxtor several hours daily for at least 2 years now with no real problems. Don't you enjoy that lovely grinding noise they make? Never lost a drive of any brand yet (have 4 WD's, 3 Seagates, 1 Maxtor, 1 Hitachi, 1 Quantum). Of course, if you use them 24/7 or don't keep them cool, you are bound to have failures.

[Alendri]

Correct me if i'm wrong here, but don't the 1TB drives currently all have 5 platters?
While 500gb have 3 (or is there any company with 250gb/platter for 2 platter design)? Should not it be logically better to use a 500gb instead of a 1TB inside a small computer or livingroom pc, unless u really seriously need the space?
Less platters does mean less moving parts (less likelihood of failure), less heat (friction) and noise.

So I would say it is better with a USB or NAS drive, and having a slightly smaller drive in your computer, increasing the lifespan of the drive itself and giving you less heat and noise to deal with in your case.

From a price perspective the NAS and smaller internal drive will still be equal or less than the 1TB drive. At least that's what i wound when i did a quick search through Swedish prices.

Any comments on this reasoning? Or am I wrong here?

//Alendri