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Which hard drives?

slifer
By slifer
in Storage Devices
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So I'm looking for a new hard drive to expand my game library :P

I'm looking at 1tb - 3tb.. I'm looking for moderate speed storage (probably not WD greens or slower)

1) What capacity drive should I get for games? Are there any sweet spots?

2) What model should i get? Which brand?

3) How should I run my drives? I currently have:

      - 480 gb intel 730 SSD

      - 500gb seagate drive.. don't remember what model

Should I run the extra drive as drive F? Or use it to replace my 500gb drive?

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buy a 2-3TB seagate barracuda (or WD black if you have extra money)

 

your 480GB SSD should be for OS+programs+important files/games

use your 500GB old HDD for running weekly backups of your SSD

then use the new 3TB HDD for all other media and games not on your SSD

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2TB would probably be the sweet spot, though the 3TB and 4TB drives are available for a good price as well depending on what kind of games you plan to store on it. You'd be better off replacing the 500GB drive in your system, but buy an external enclosure for it to keep it around as a backup drive.

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buy a 2-3TB seagate barracuda (or WD black if you have extra money)

 

your 480GB SSD should be for OS+programs+important files/games

use your 500GB old HDD for running weekly backups of your SSD

then use the new 3TB HDD for all other media and games not on your SSD

Would the fact that my 500gb hd is around 3 years old drive me away from the backup part of that? But I guess it doesn't really matter since I don't have much important stuff on my computer.. I'm a gamer :P

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Would the fact that my 500gb hd is around 3 years old drive me away from the backup part of that? But I guess it doesn't really matter since I don't have much important stuff on my computer.. I'm a gamer :P

the reason i said to use it for backups is because its that old, and I personally wouldnt want to put my important stuff on it

im using my 5 year old 500GB WD blue for running backups of my SSD just so that I can "use" the drive while not risking any of my data

 

pretty sure you will never have to use a backup because SSDs have a very long life, but its nice to keep the old HDD from feeling useless :)

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Hi there @slifer!

 

Since you're going to use the drive for gaming I would suggest WD Black because it has build-in features like dynamic cache (which optimizes the cache allocation) and no touch ramp technology (the recording head never touches the disk) that will give you faster loading times in gaming, and 5 years limited warranty as well.

 

As for the storage configuration, I agree with @Enderman - SSD for the OS and programs, the new HDD for games and storage and the current HDD you have for backup.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Cheers! :)

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Hi there @slifer!
 
Since you're going to use the drive for gaming I would suggest WD Black because it has build-in features like dynamic cache (which optimizes the cache allocation) and no touch ramp technology (the recording head never touches the disk) that will give you faster loading times in gaming, and 5 years limited warranty as well.
 
As for the storage configuration, I agree with @Enderman - SSD for the OS and programs, the new HDD for games and storage and the current HDD you have for backup.
 
Hope this helps.
 
Cheers! :)

 

So the WD black will be a lot superior in contrast with the seagate barracuda? I guess I'll have to wait till the next big sale to pick up a 2tb for cheap :P

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I lot of people here are saying WD Black, but I would personally go with WD Red Pro. They are about the same speed as Blacks (In some tests, even faster) and have a much lower failure rate. The only major downside is that they are a bit more.

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1) What capacity drive should I get for games? Are there any sweet spots?

2) What model should i get? Which brand?

3) How should I run my drives? I currently have:

      - 480 gb intel 730 SSD

      - 500gb seagate drive.. don't remember what model

Should I run the extra drive as drive F? Or use it to replace my 500gb drive?

1- As much as you think you'll need.

 

 

2- Let me start off with my rule: If you can get Hitachi, you get Hitachi. Now that's done.

1TB - http://pcpartpicker.com/part/hitachi-internal-hard-drive-hua721010kla330

 

2TB - http://pcpartpicker.com/part/hitachi-internal-hard-drive-0f10452

 

3TB - As much as I don't like Seagate, their 3TB drives seem to be somewhat decent from what I've heard, not that I'd recommend a 3TB drive though, seems like a waste really. http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st3000dm001

 

 

3- I'd run the extra drive.

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1- As much as you think you'll need.

 

 

2- Let me start off with my rule: If you can get Hitachi, you get Hitachi. Now that's done.

1TB - http://pcpartpicker.com/part/hitachi-internal-hard-drive-hua721010kla330

 

2TB - http://pcpartpicker.com/part/hitachi-internal-hard-drive-0f10452

 

3TB - As much as I don't like Seagate, their 3TB drives seem to be somewhat decent from what I've heard, not that I'd recommend a 3TB drive though, seems like a waste really. http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st3000dm001

 

 

3- I'd run the extra drive.

any reason to why a hitachi drive would be better? Everyone seems to be installing a WD or seagate drive nowadays

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any reason to why a hitachi drive would be better? Everyone seems to be installing a WD or seagate drive nowadays

Reliability.

 

Generally, Hitachi's cheaper drives are older drives so speeds will be a bit slower but it's only a minor setback for a more reliable drive.

 

As for people not recommending them... IDK why they aren't. I'd say it's the age but Seagate's drives aren't exactly young either. I honestly don't know, the HDD market is strange like that, kinda like the SSD market. People seem to recommend 840 Evos all the time despite their flaw and the pathetic way Samsung is handling it.

 

I think it's just a case of WD and Seagate being bigger in the US and people aren't willing to try other brands that are big in Europe and/or Asia but not in the US. 

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Do not get segate drives,just dont they are crap..... get a wd black or red drive 2tb would be nice

No. WD and Seagate are equal. I have been running Seagate for a long time without any problems.

LTT's unofficial Windows activation expert.
 

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1 - I would say 2-3TB if you are using the drive for mass storage along with your games

2 - WD Blacks, they have a built-in smart cache and a 5 year limited warranty

3 -  SSD for OS and main programs

HDD for mass storage (pictures, videos etc.) and games (Battlefield 4 takes 50+GB alone...)

Old HDD for backup; you could take it out, put it in an enclosure and run it externally so it's not always on when you don't need it.

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WD Red or WD Black. Don't buy Seagate drives, they are too bad. After warranty period it just dies. Even it died before warranty expires. I had so many problems with those HDDs. 3 of my Seagate HDDs failed.

Now using WD Green. Happily with it.

 

SSD is recommended for OS and other heavy programs like PS, AE and any content creation applications.

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Seagate just forget it they have the best return/defect ratio and that the most drives I see in case every time on a disk failure, you can go to Toshiba who's the less expensive and good too for a 500gb but 1TB or more is better for mass storage.

 

You also have the last Blue of WD more expensive but good to.

 

Which kind of usage are you looking for??

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 (or WD black if you have extra money)

 

Aren't blues (The recent batch) just the same as the blacks but without the five year warranty (it's three years) and a lot cheaper.

 Two motoes to live by   "Sometimes there are no shortcuts"

                                           "This too shall pass"

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Seagate and WD are equal these days, (Seagate slightly better than WD)*

 

Don't listen to the choir of seagull preachers who still claim Seagate are bad because of a nonscientific "test" of stripped external 2.5" hard drives being run in an industrial 24/7 environment.

 

The Barracuda 3TB may be worth avoiding though, actually it's not a bad move to avoid all odd-number capacity hard drives.

 

Here are the 5 least dependable models by return rate:
 
- 4,76% WD Black WD4001FAEX 
- 4,24% WD Black WD3001FAEX
- 3,83% WD SE WD3000F9YZ
- 2,56% HGST Travelstar 7K1000
- 2,39% Toshiba DT01ACA300 
 

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Aren't blues (The recent batch) just the same as the blacks but without the five year warranty (it's three years) and a lot cheaper.

i think blues only go up to 1TB size...afaik

NEW PC build: Blank Heaven   minimalist white and black PC     Old S340 build log "White Heaven"        The "LIGHTCANON" flashlight build log        Project AntiRoll (prototype)        Custom speaker project

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Everyone seems to be pointing at the WD blacks :P So I'll be using the drive for mass game storage (for anyone who is asking) WD black sounds great but Ill pick it up on the next big sale (I'm in Canada)

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i think blues only go up to 1TB size...afaik

Yup . Oh well they will be no good as two-three TB drives then. :)

 Two motoes to live by   "Sometimes there are no shortcuts"

                                           "This too shall pass"

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