What size of hard drive should I get?

[THEW97]

I'm not sure what size hard drive I should get for my computer. I would appreciate it if anybody could give me an idea of what to get.

This is what I'm going to be using my computer for:

I would be using it for school (some engineering applications). I would have some MP3's and a few other various things downloaded on it. I would use Windows 2000.

I don't like having a lot of extra **** that I don't need on my computer. I would transfer some files over to floppys or CD-R's. I DON'T PLAY GAMES.

Looking forward to hearing from somebody.

[Nomadd]

I am surprised to here that W.D. drives are performing "great." I have seen and heard nothing but bad things about them. IBM from my experience, has been a supper HDD. Ultra fast and quite. With the prices of HDD's so low now (a built a pc with a 20g drive the other day, it was $99 dollars) you might wanna go for something that big. The problem with the drives that would be practical for your use, like a 4 or 6 HDD is that there so **** hard to find these days! Bigger does seem to be plentiful and cheap these days. I'd find a 15gig IBM drive for your storage needs.

[RataToo]

you could pick up a six gig for **** cheap...a friend of mine had had one for YEARS and she's never managed to fill it up...mostly cuz she doesnt game

[jad1097]

I have a 30gig drive and 8.4gig drive. I laso have almost 10gigs in Mp3's and 3 gigs in movies. Plus my gaming partition has about 3gigs, 4 or 5 games copied to the drive instead of running them fron the cd.

If you don't have a high speed connection then I would not think you need much more than 20 gigs.

[NDC]

In my opinion, with the prices of hard drives so cheap these days why not pay the LITTLE extra and buy a large drive. You never know what you will save to the drive. 20GB and 30GB hard drives have such a small price difference. But buying 10 more gigs later will cost you more.

30GB - $130
20GB - $115

(ONLY $15 difference!)

HONESTLY, which seems like a WISER buy???

Would you rather save the $15 and get 20GB?

[This message has been edited by NDC (edited 08-30-2000).]

[Ruahrc]

Where are you getting these prices?

I did a system overhaul at the beginning of August, and as part of it I bought a WD 20.5 5400rpm (Please don't start with all the "you shoulda got a 7200" http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif I made my decision and am sticking by it) OEM for $100. Did Hard Drive prices suddenly drop like a rock or is it because I chose WD (Because they're personally my favorite)?

Thanks

Ruahrc

P.S. 20.5GB is plenty for me- I have 3.3GB used, although 1.9GB of that 3.3GB is my games folder. Although my mp3 collection could be considered "limited" (only about 130MB).

But keep in mind- never think you have enough space. I got a 486DX2/50 way back in the day with a 212MB hard drive- and thought then that it was bigger than anything I'd ever need. Just say to yourself I'll spend X dollars on a HD and buy as big a hard drive as you can with that money, no more, no less. Chances are you'll be happy with what you get.

---EDIT:---
One of my pet peeves is a "cluttered" hard drive (relics of the days of my 212MB HD http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif if I'm not using a program actively, away it goes. This could probably explain my 3.3GB usage hehe http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif.

[This message has been edited by Ruahrc (edited 08-30-2000).]

[qball]

I'd get a 3.5" drive as the take up less space than the 5.25" full size drive of old, lol.

I'll assume an IDE (ATA) drive. With 30 gig drive going for around $100, I wouldn't get any smaller (I'd get the largest for the budget). You may think 30 gig is huge for your needs, but remember 5 years ago 2gig was huge.

[NDC]

just think of a Hard disk as if it were a refrigerator, more things pile up in there than things that get taken out. Bigger is better. Make sure to get a fast hard drive. 7,200rpm UDMA66 30GB would be in a reasonable price range.

[AuraEdge]

Id say 6gb is adequate for any non MP3er and non gamer.
Take 6GB and add on as many MP3's as u think your going to download.
I would get a 15MB IBM 75GXP, since they are the newest tech as far as Harddrives go, and they are also dont cost all that much compared to other Harddrives. 7200RPM is very imporant in my opinion..if you dont get the IBM, make sure you get one with 7200 RPM.

[NDC]

Get Western Digital 7,200RPM, I have 4 of those and they work flawlessly, and very fast compared to other 7,200rpm drives.

[Warthog]

I have a 10gb hd.

It's more than enough for me. I'm a mp3 guy, moderate gamer, "file collector" (wavs, videos, midi's, etc.) and have MANY programs intstalled. I'm using 4gb right now.

Warthog

[KAknight]

30GB would be better, but I wouldn't go any lower that 20GB. You would rather have space and not need it than need space and not have it.

[Warthog]

Yeah, but for one person???

I am the only one who uses my comp. It is more than big enough for me. No, I don't have 5gb of mp3s either and don't have 10 games installed at a time.

Warthog

[linux_guru]

The answer is simple: As big as you can afford ! You can never have too much disk space.

[NDC]

That's the way to go! Get the NICE BIG CHUNKY drive, and you WON'T regret it! http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[qball]

Ygor, excellent advice for setting up any system, something I always do, but take for granted.

HD prices are falling, as they always have.

Bigger and not needed is far superior than smaller and needed but not there. If you are worried the drive will get busy and it will be tough to find stuff, bone up on Disk Admin skills.

Prices;
www.pricescan.com (http://www.pricescan.com) www.pricewatch.com (http://www.pricewatch.com)

[Savant]

ok I have to put in my suggestions first I'd go for a 13GB Seagate- Seagates have in my experience been fast, reliable, and quiet. (sorry all you buy 30 GB nuts) I play games (full installs) have a decent size mp3 collection and 2 OS's (98 and NT- both kinds) I also use it for school stuff and..... It all fits comfortably in under 6GB! so 13 is good

Western Digital has not been good to me, they tend to die,
Niether has Maxtor, though the warranty is good, called em up said it died, they asked for a number off the top, then sent me a new one no questions asked! twice as big too
little experiance with Ibm so I'll hold my tounge on that one

[Ygor]

Whatever size you get, it's a good idea to put the OS on it's own partition and everything else on the other partition(s). That way if you have to reinstall the OS, you don't have to reinstall everything else all over again.

[ablang]

You should get the hard drive size at the present that gives you the most bang for the buck.

Getting the smallest size HD (in GB) will actually make you pay more, so you must find that "sweet" spot.

[NDC]

Exactly! Bigger is better! http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[ablang]

Bigger isn't always better, when you factor in cost. You want a cost / MB that works out in your favor. If you pay too much for one, you'll regret it 3 months later since prices always go down.

Just go for the HD that has the best price for the best size w/o paying more than you have to.

I don't know if I'm explaining it right.

[NDC]

Yeah, I agree with you to a certain extent, Ablang, but the price difference being SO SMALL per GB, why not play it safe and pay the LITTLE extra, Like I said before:

just think of a Hard disk as if it were a refrigerator, more things pile up in there than things that get taken out. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[PassnThru]

Divide price by GB(capacity) and determine how much you are paying per Gig. Beyond that - yes, earlier suggestions are true - go for a 72000 RPM drive only - they are newer, pack more data on the disk, and spin faster. A no lose situation.. Most even include a larger buffer than 5400 RPPM drives which tend to be old tech. I own Western Digital exclusively - why? Started that way, always had good luck with them. An endorsement? Not that type - worked well for me over the years - just to let you know. I would add - don't fret over it too much - if you look at your PC you will probably have space for another hard drive = just make sure that you don't slow down the new guy by slaving him to the old guy. If that is the situation, post again if you need slave/master suggestions.