Hard Drives
The available space on your hard disk drive is getting smaller by the day as you’ve stored so many photos, music files and video clips on your desktop computer. It’s also slowing down your PC as retrieving files can take ages. You definitely needs a bigger capacity hard drive to cope with your ever growing collections of files. Having your hands on some of the best hard drives not only gives you more storage options but ultimately speeds up your computer as well.
Hard Drive Buying Guide
1) PATA/IDE Or SATA?
The Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA) or IDE hard drive has been around since 1980s and is based on 16-bit parallel interface. It has reached its maximum data transfer rates of 133 MB/s (ATA-7) and further push above this value will cause many problems because of signal timing, electromagnetic interference and others.
The new standard adopted is the Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) hard drive based on serial signaling technology with faster data transfer rates of 150 MB/s (SATA 1.0), 300 MB/s (SATA 2.5) and above. Besides lower power usage (250mV) as opposed to 5V for PATA hard drives, it also uses longer, slimmer cables and fewer pins. Thinner cables causes less disruption to the airflow of the case while fewer pin conductors reduce electromagnetic interference.
** Recommended hard drive is the SATA interface.
2) Rotational Speed
This refers to the speed at which the hard disk spins while in operation, expressed in revolutions per minute (rpm). The faster the rpm, the faster the information can be transferred to the hard disk. Typical rotation speed for consumer hard drive is either 5,400 rpm or 7,200 rpm (recommended) while 10,000 rpm - 15,000 rpm hard drives are reserved for high speed servers.
3) Capacity
Obviously the larger the better because more storage means more space to store lots and lots of photos, music files and video clips/recordings. For normal home use, 80 GB capacity is more than enough for email, word processing and surfing. For storage hungry consumers, even 500 GB capacity hard drive may not be enough!
4) Internal, External Or Portable?
This is a matter of preferences. Unless there is really no space inside your PC, internal hard drive would be the viable option. External hard drive is usually meant as a back up and portable hard drive is useful if you intend to carry it around with you from time to time to access files.
Hard Drive Reviews
We found the best hard drive reviews from CNET, Hardwarezone, ITReviews, PC World, PCMag and PCStats. Expert reviewers there reviewed some of the best hard drive models from top-notch and well-known makers such as Iomega, LaCie, Seagate and Western Digital. Hard drive ratings based on file transfer speed determines the best hard drives in their class.
Best Hard Drive (External)
Hard Drive Reviews #1: Intelligently designed with rave hard drive reviews from owners and expert reviewers is the best rated Western Digital WD10EACS Caviar GP 1 TB SATA II 3.5-inch Hard Drive. For all your storage needs and more, look up to this Western Digital hard drive to provide one. This best hard drive from Western Digital features 1 TB capacity 7200 rpm SATA-interface with 16 MB cache and 3.0 GB/s transfer rate for fast, top-performance solution for PCs. With IntelliPower, IntelliSeek, IntelliPark & Perpendicular Magnetic Recording, you can be assured of superior performance and reliability. Able to store 285K photos, 250K MP3 files, 25K songs etc.
Hard Drive Reviews #2: Eating up the competition with unreserved hard drive reviews from reviewers and users is the best rated Seagate Barracuda 1 TB 7200 RPM 32 MB Cache SATA Hard Drive. For cost-effectiveness, top-notch performance and reliability, store it all up in this Seagate hard drive. This best hard drive from Seagate features 1 TB capacity 7200 rpm SATA-interface with 32 MB cache and 3.0 GB/s transfer rate including PowerTrim (energy saving) and perpendicular recording technology for the ultimate in efficiency, performance and reliability. 1 TB capacity provides more than enough storage to store all your files and some more.
Best Hard Drive (Internal)
Hard Drive Reviews #3: Leading the way in storage technology with impressive hard drive reviews from reviewers and consumers is the best rated Western Digital My Book Premium Edition II 1 TB Hard Drive. For the perfect storage solution you can rely on, trust this Western Digital hard drive to keep it safe and sound. This best hard drive from Western Digital features RAID mirroring / striping for optimum data protection and high-quality performance respectively. With triple interfaces FireWire 800 / FireWire 400 / USB 2.0 plus a whole host of advance features makes it the leading choice for business and consumers. Generous 1 TB capacity stores 284K photos, 250K MP3 files and 24K CD songs.
Hard Drive Reviews #4: Making life easier with generous hard drive reviews from users and pro reviewers is the best rated Seagate FreeAgent 1 TB USB/eSATA/FireWire400 Hard Drive. For quick and easy storage solution, let this Seagate hard drive shows you how. With 1 TB eSerial-ATA-300 MB/s, 7200 rpm, FireWire 400/ USB 2.0 / eSATA interfaces, this best hard drive from Seagate is designed with user-friendly approach so you can transfer files anywhere with relative ease for later retrieval, be it copying music files to MP3 player, transfering files to flash drive or moving entire folder to external hard drive.
Best Hard Drive (Portable)
Hard Drive Reviews #5: Making light work of your storage needs with excellent hard drive reviews from owners is the best rated Western Digital 250 GB USB Portable Hard Drive. Style meets portability to create this Western Digital hard drive that’s simple to operate yet easy to carry around. Being portable means greater freedom to store all that files you want to carry around for usage later on, be it songs, movies or even office documents. What a way to multi-task! At just 0.59" x 5.1" x 3.14" and weighing less than 4 ounces, this best hard drive from Western Digital is light on the pocket.
Hard Drive Reviews #6: Moving around in style with fantastic hard drive reviews from users is the top rated Iomega 250 GB eGo USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive. For mobile storage on the go, this Iomega hard drive will make it easy. This top rated hard drive from Iomega features Drop Guard for extra protection against shock and drop for greater piece of mind. 250 GB storage capacity stores 1 Million photos, 4625 / 375 hours music / video files respectively. With USB 2.0 at 480 Mb/s transfer rate, copying / uploading / moving files is fast. At just 2.1" x 0.7" x 6.6" and weighing 0.48 lbs, it’s not that hard to carry around.
Resources: Hard Disk Drive (Wikipedia)