Been out of the hard dive loop lately

[SonicIce]

I bought an 80gig western digital 7200/8mb last year thinking it was plenty. Now i've filled it up with games. Now I need the best drive that I can get under 100 bucks. I hear Seagate is good. I'm looking for speed+capacity (160-200gb or more). I don't think my motherboard has all the new fancy SATA specs. mobo specs

What are the advantges/disadvantages of SATA?
Will I be able to move my current data onto the new drive easily?
Will I be able to afford at 16mb drive? (are they any better?)

EDIT: Just got the WD2500
I cloned the drive using Acronis True Image. I didn't need to install drivers, it booted fine. Why do I have a safely remove hardware icon in my system tray?

 

[Bozo Galora]

the only advantage to SATA is reduced cable clutter
if you already have Nero, you can use Back It Up module with new drive (jumpered) and slaved to old

for $100 you can buy 3 of these
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=40&threadid=1770264&enterthread=y

 

[0roo0roo]

anything on sale or with rebate at the local frys or whatever is good enough and much faster than your old drive. at 100 dollars you aren't going to be spending on raptors or such so the differences aren't worth worrying about. sata is unecessary at such a price/performance level.

 

[mwmorph]

you have SATA it says it 2 sata ports in the spec sheet. just get any drive on sale at best buy or circuit city or whatnot/ there was a 300GB WD drive for sale for $70 last week. I prefer Samsung since it's about as fast as Seagate while being quieter and cooler, but Samsung only sells OEM to pc manufacturers and Newegg and for the most part, Newegg isnt the best for hard drive deals.

 

[Bruizer]

I'm a fan of my Maxtor Diamondmax 10. I got the 200gb, SATA150, 7200rpm, and 16MB CACHE version! The 16mb Cache is sweet! I play BF2 and maps load up in about half the speed or less from what i went up from(Maxtor Diamond Max 9 plus). Transfers are quick and things run great. They make bigger ones and i think WD has one out now. Just go check newegg. I recommend a 16mb cache drive to anyone not wanting a new raptor. I paid about 90 dollars.

 

[SonicIce]

What do you guys think of this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144701

Western Digital, 250GB, 16MB cache, $110. I thought SATA 3Gbps was the specification, but WD lists theirs as 300MB/s. Is it backwards compatible with mobos that only have 150MB/s?

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: SonicIce
What do you guys think of this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144701

Western Digital, 250GB, 16MB cache, $110. I thought SATA 3Gbps was the specification, but WD lists theirs as 300MB/s. Is it backwards compatible with mobos that only have 150MB/s?

don't let the "sata 3Gbps" fool you, that drive will probably max out at 65-70str, just like all the other current gen sata hdds...get the ones on sale

 

[neutralizer]

Good choice.

 

[ribbon13]

think of the 3Gb/s (300MB/s) like governing speedometer of the interface. And the hard drive is the actual engine. Does it matter if your speedometer reads 150MPH or 300MPH when your car only reaches 75?

 

[Jeffito123]

I have the 2xdiamond max 10 300gb in one comp and 2xseagate 7200.9 500gb in another...they're both great but i perfer the seagate b/c of lower temps and it just seems faster (the benchies don't matter to me for HDs)

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: SonicIce
What do you guys think of this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144701

Western Digital, 250GB, 16MB cache, $110. I thought SATA 3Gbps was the specification, but WD lists theirs as 300MB/s. Is it backwards compatible with mobos that only have 150MB/s?

perfect. i was about to recommend this and yes, i believe it IS backwards compatible

 

[SonicIce]

got drive, edited post
Why do I have a safely remove hardware icon in my system tray?

 

[SilentRunning]

Originally posted by: SonicIce
got drive, edited post
Why do I have a safely remove hardware icon in my system tray?

Why not have it?

Seriously, it is there because SATA is plug and play like an external USB or firewire drive. If you wanted to disconnect it with the computer's power on, you click on the icon and dismount the drive first. Being that it is internal is not likely you will ever do that.

 

[SonicIce]

how do i disconnect drive when its the only one in there? it has my OS on it

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
anything on sale or with rebate at the local frys or whatever is good enough and much faster than your old drive. at 100 dollars you aren't going to be spending on raptors or such so the differences aren't worth worrying about. sata is unecessary at such a price/performance level.

Thats just not true 0roo0roo......
The standard is 7200rpm with 8mg buffer.......
How could anything he buys be better than what he has now???

 

[SilentRunning]

Originally posted by: SonicIce
how do i disconnect drive when its the only one in there? it has my OS on it

You don't. It is just that SATA is designed as plug and play. If you removed a plug and play drive while it was in use you would risk corrupting the data on the drive, so they give you a nifty little safely remove icon so the drive can be dismounted first.

For your case, just stare at the icon. (I know that if I told you to ignore it you would be fixated on it so I am trying some reverse psychology)

 

[SonicIce]

lol thanks.
edit: its safe to plug it the sata data and power back into it while the computer is on too?