What hard drive should you buy?

For a Os drive 256g ssd : Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (MZ-7PD256BW)   or
                                   : Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (MZ-7TE250BW)
 
For data drives              : Seagate Constellation ES.3 1TB 3.5" SATA3 7200RPM Hard Drive
Part no: ST1000NM0033
 
 
Have a good day!

I guess reliability isn't everything.....

The operational use of a drive also plays a great deal into its expected life. Server banks versus PC usage are dramatically different. Google published a similar, more comprehensive, study in 2007, which was also based on server usage of drives, but they also defined "failure" as "the most accurate definition we can present of a failure event for our study is: a drive is considered to have failed if it was replaced as part of a repairs procedure." People running servers treat drives as expendable, so at the first sign of "anything," they will swap it out (i.e. "fail" it) just to be safe and keep server banks online.
 
There are a lot of nuances that can play into "reliability" of a HDD, so the operation and maintenance of the drive also take a large part in this. Many of the drives mentioned were not designed specifically for server usage, they were designed for desktop usage. Very different environments, so take papers like this with a grain of salt.
 
I don't want to delve too deeply into this, but the big thing to steer clear of has already been mentioned in many threads... "green," low RPM, and drives not SATA III stay clear of... the reason the heads in those drives are there is because they do function, just not at the data rates needed for 7200+rpm.
 
Edit: As far as SSDs, the above recommendation is sound (Samsung 840 Pro Series)... check out the benchmarks of the top SSDs and the price point at the right!! Shop wisely!! (or risk paying 20 times for something half as fast)
 

konradh
Oddly, the data shows Hitachi as most reliable and Seagate as least reliable, but the author sums up by sayng they will be going with Seagate.  So, I am not sure what the message is here.

I noticed while looking at the Annual Failure Rate graph that the Hitachi bars (the red ones) although shorter, have higher numbers. At first I thought fewer Hitachi drives were failing when I interpreted the graph visually, but then looking at the numbers, it seems more like they're failing four times as often (or perhaps four times the data is being lost) as WD.
 
What's mysterious to me is that they aren't going with WD Red which, according to their data, are the most reliable drives; perhaps it's because of the cost. I've always had good luck with WD, even after they were bought out by Maxtor and various places I've worked have used nothing but WD. I've used nothing but WD Black drives since they came out, although I'd be using the Reds if I had the dough.
 
Interestingly, though, one of my WD Black drives did die, a first-generation 1 tb model. It was under warranty, so it was replaced at no charge and the replacement has been working fine for over a year. It must be 2nd generation.
 

 
I'm not sure where you want to go with this, nor where everyone else is going...
 
For an SSD, why not go with the king, Intel ?
 
For hard drives, as far as I'm concerned, WD is the top of the heap.  VelociRaptor for the extreme, black for the rest.
 
Hard drives are so cheap now, it's ridiculous.
 

chuckebaby
 
intel SSD's are money
, your paying for the name

Well, you got to admit that that name is worth money

What hard drive should you buy?
 
The one I bought, of course.
 
Hitachi has always been reliable for me, tho at the moment I'm using Western Digital.
 
Personal experience agrees with the Hitachi vs. Seagate dual. I've had several Seagates go belly up. Even had to have one sent in for the dreaded $1500 recovery ploy. Two days after I got it, it went belly up and had to be replaced too. OUCH! No More Seagate! They have the best warranty (5 years) but you'll need it.
 
Some warranty tidbits for you. If you send one in to be replaced with a new one, you will NOT get a new one. Common practice for computer companies today is to give you a repaired or "factory refurbished" replacement. This means you may be trading in you problem for someone else's problem, as happened to me with a printer once.
 

WD makes a great enterprise drive at 7200 rpm.  http://www.newegg.com/Pro...x?Item=N82E16822136579
 Great for storage.  
SSDs for C drive and sample libraries.
I still like WD raptors 10,000 rpm for actual recording drive

Seagate DID send refurbished drives to me on 2 warranty replacement occasions.
 
Bob Bone
 
 

Vab
I really doubt they replace HDDs with one that someone else sent in that was also broken.

 
By they I am not talking about vendors, like Newegg, who have no choice but to replace your defective unit with another "brand new" item. Instead, I was referring to manufacturers' warranty policies. Call any manufacturer and they should confirm it, even if reluctantly.
 

Also regarding RPM and performance, check out this benchmark:

http://www.tomshardware.c...0dm000-4tb,3494-3.html

I agree,,..WD Black...Are good Drives for the money, and the company stands by their customer base with their warranty, and upgrade policies...I sent in a few drives over the years, and got back same, or better in returns.
So In that regard, I hold them in highest regard, and only use WD Black at the moment.( I am trying ssd )..Although I do not like the usb 3 my books or passports drives, and am thinking Lacie for that, or better thunderbolt next time around.
 
Seagate have had a lot of issues in past years..I know they tried to solve them kind of late in the game of technical returns in R&D failing to test or fix or read the comments of why those drives were being returned by many customers. 
 
I have seen my brother pulling out his hair, and sending back, and sending back, what they recent him over, and over and over again as replacements of the same crap...till enough people complained that the drive was defective in build quality or controller rev being buggy with ide and then sata...etc
 
Now I believe, they are playing the cheaper costing drive game, to regain lost customers.
 
Not saying their drives are unreliable now...But do I want to switch over, and take that chance?...Nope!...I found my huckleberry!
 
Yes, the WD RED Drives would be prudently suggested to get, if you are into Video or audio work, as a more reliable go to for that extra peace of mind, in build quality for a few dollars more!...Maxtor was a big R&D Drive company that was bought out by WD...So they have the plant, the R&D, and the technicians who care about the products they build and sell...
 
I see Seagate is also trying to get in on that server market, with those constellation drives?....Well Good luck Seagate!...I have no Idea about their return policies, or how they conduct that sort of thing, and or customer service...But my Brother does!...He now is a WD user....wonder why?

I have several Western Digital drives that are still going strong after nearly 8 years of use. The only 2 cases of drive failure that I have ever experienced were both with Maxtor drives.
 

I believe it's simply a matter of they all make good stuff sometimes, and they all make bad stuff sometimes. Like Chevys and Fords, you never know what day yours was made on, how happy or crappy the guy assembling it felt, how many times it was bumped, dropped or test driven before you bought it, and so on. If you could oversee the assembly of everything you ever bought from start to finish you'd probably never buy a defective item.
 
Now with 3D printing you CAN!

For platter drives the WD Black and Red are where it's at.
 
For solid state the Samsung Pro's and EVO's are great as well. I love my 840 EVO 250GB.