300GB SATA II HDD Recommendations Please?

[cheekster]

Hi.

In the market for a new SATA II internal HDD, approx. 300-320GB for a Dell E520 desktop. Reliability is the most important deciding factor as it will be running my part-time business, followed by quietness (don't fancy listening to a noisy HDD scratching away for hours on end!). Performance, i.e. running speed isn't a huge factor as it will be running basic software such as e-mail, internet etc.

Read a couple of reviews on other sites and think I've narrowed my choice down to these two:

Samsung Spinpoint T166 320GB (model: HD321kJ) SATA300 7,200RPM 16MB cache (3yr warranty) £44.05 incl vat

Seagate ST3300620AS Barracuda 7200.10 300GB, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache (5yr warranty) £40.88 incl vat

Any comments on the above two drives from peeps currently using them? Any others I should consider?

Looking to place an imminent order so that I may receive it ready to re-install OS etc on Monday.

On a slightly different subject but related to this all the same, what back-up options would peeps recommend other than RAID 1 (for the simple fact I've never used RAID before and it seems to involve more than I first thought!)? I am thinking along the lines of either having a second internal SATA II HDD in my Dell desktop that backs up on a regular basis via the use of automatic backup software. Would this be a better/worse option that using an external HDD connected via USB 2.0? Which software would peeps recommend?

Thanks.

Cheekster.

[ikix]

I have the Seagate and can't recommend it enough, never heard a peep out of it and just fantastic all around.

On your second issue i have no idea either so take this with a massive truck load of salt but if it is for backups the external might be usefull because if the reason for HDD damage is power supply issue it shouldn't suffer. Ofcourse i have no evidence for this but it just seems to make some sense to me but im sure others have better advice on that issue

[aidanjt]

The best £/GB ratio is at 500GB now, just fyi. WD SE16 is fairly quiet, fast and ammung the most reliable drives right now.

[cheekster]

Thanks for the replies guys. Tbh I probably don't need anything more than 40GB, so even going for a 300-320GB HDD is way more than I need but I wanted to be somewhat futureproof. 500GB is deffo gonna be overkill.

I already have five of those WD Caviar SE16 500GB HDD's.

Cheekster.

[jackvdbuk]

you can get a 500gb for just under £60!! even the best samsung drives

might aswell, even if you dont need the space now... you might do in a years time or something ?

EDIT: ok... nvm 500gb is overkill if you have 5 of them already xD

[Mad-Max]

To be honest put the extra in and get a

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=530765

[Phil_P]

I have the 320GB Samsung HD321KJ. It's highly recommended for a silent drive, if that's important to you. I got it from scan on Today Only for £39

For backups, I'd simply add another drive. Personally, I'd avoid RAID at all costs as IMHO it can introduce more problems than it will solve. Spreading your data over two or more physical disks reduces the risk of data loss should one fail. An internal drive should give better performance than an external USB2 drive, but if removable backups are important (ie storing backups off site), then an external drive would be preferable.

[Zak33]

Samsung seem to be a tad slower than most drives, but definately give less grief as the years roll on.

Western Digital make a good drive in the form of the AAKS drives, tad faster than the Samsung.

In my opinon the Seagates are slightly ahead in speed terms, but also more people here on HEXUS have had them die than either Samsung or WD.

[peterb]

Therev are different grades of disk, if you are after reliability you should really go for enterprise grade, although I'm not sure where you get them from - mfr websites might give you model numbers.

RAID 1 would give you increased reliability, but a dedicated controller would be the way to go - which adds to the cost (unless you are using a Linux system which has software RAID built in.

That said I am using a Samsung drive in a web server - running 24x7. It is a standard component and is very quiet. I do back up critical data fairly frequently though, and at some point when I get round to it, I may consider RAID 1 purely for reliability purposes.

[Queelis]

I've read some complaint that some Seagates are noisy, so have in mind that.

[Zak33]

Therev are different grades of disk, if you are after reliability you should really go for enterprise grade, although I'm not sure where you get them from - mfr websites might give you model numbers.
.

WD drive as follows:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=377777

Enterprise drive. I have one.

[this_is_gav]

I've read some complaint that some Seagates are noisy, so have in mind that.

Depends. Generally the Chinese 7200.10s are very noisy, the Taiwanese 7200.10s are quite quiet. It's not cast in stone, but that's the general consensus. I'd recommend neither. Of the 2 I've owned (coincidently 1 of each) both have failed, in a system where I've not had a WD failure for 7 years, and a Samsung is also running smoothly.

I'd go WD every single time myself - only got the Samsung as the equivalent WD was out of stock when I needed it.

[Magnets]

I have two Seagate 320GB 7200.10's (ST3320620AS), they both make loud seeking noises, i would avoid them.

edit: one is made in China, the other in Singapore, both 'pink goo'.

[Zak33]

I'd go WD every single time myself - only got the Samsung as the equivalent WD was out of stock when I needed it.

what Gav say's is now my exact choice too.,

WD first...Samsung after.

[Mad-Max]

Check Scans Today's only page, they have WD hard drives on there