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Looking for a 1TB hard disk to run 24/7. Which do you guys recommend?

H

hurtstotalktoyou

Platinum Member
I'd like to buy a 1TB hard disk. My concerns are, in this order:

1. reliability
2. price (max budget $100)
3. performance

I plan to run this drive every day, 24-hours a day, without exception. So it needs to be a workhorse.

Since reliability is my #1 concern, and since I'm going to need a drive to run 24/7, I have been eyeing the Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS, which Newegg periodically has on sale for $90 shipped. However, Newegg has the Samsung F1 HD103UJ on sale today for $80, which saves me a fair bit ($10 is a lot to this starving college student).

Now, the Samsung drive looks tempting, with only three platters (and therefore with fewer moving parts to possibly malfunction). However, TomsHardware.com had this ominous remark, concerning 1TB drives:

WD's new RAID Edition Caviar GP clearly is the most energy-efficient terabyte hard drive, and is the only terabyte drive besides Hitachi's Ultrastar A7K1000 that is validated for non-stop operation. (source)

Now, that was written back in Nov. 2007, but still... is the Caviar Green the only drive I can count on for 24/7 operation?

So, I'm torn. Do I wait for the Caviar Green to go on sale again? Or do I pull the trigger on the Samsung F1 HD103UJ for $80 right now? Or do I go for something else entirely, like the Seagate 7200.11 or the Caviar Black?

Your wise input will be appreciated.
 
Is the drive going to be actually transferring data 24/7, or just in a system that is on 24/7? Either way, I'd go with a Western Digital Green or RE2. Probably the later, but two of them, and put them in RAID 1.
 
Well...

If you want reliability (i.e. RAID 1 or RAID 5 reliability) I'd suggest getting at least 2 HDDs (for RAID 1), more for RAID 5 and mounting them into a two bay enclosure. A Drobo would be nice (but I suspect you are not really keen on spending a lot of money on such a device). If your motherboard can support RAID, buy two 1TB drives and RAID them together.

Nowadays a single HDD should be very reliable enough to withstand any demands you have (most come with at least 3+ year warranties). Personally just go with the cheapest, yet most commonly recommended drives. If you look up the reviews and a decent amount of reviews are bad (i.e. hardware/firmware faults) then do not go with that drive.

Personally I have not heard any bad things about the Samsung drives. I'd say go for it.
 
Thanks for the replies. Yes, RAID is pretty much out of the question, given my budget. I mean, price is my #2 concern, after all. I'm not even sure if my little Foxconn board supports RAID.

That said, I wouldn't mind spending a little bit more for the WD Caviar, as long as it's actually worth it.

So far, I have one vote saying it's not worth it and one vote saying it is. I await a few more opinions before I decide.

Thanks, guys!
 
Personally I would go with Western Digital .. I have that brand in my desktop and it has been trouble free (not the 1TB size)
And as to leaving it on 24x7 your only concern should be good cooling. When the drive data is not being accessed there is little if any wear.
 
I probably should have mentioned that I have a max budget of about $100. As I mentioned before, that keeps me from going RAID. It also keeps me from going with something like the RE3 enterprise drive.

Right now, the candidates are the Samsung F1, Seagate 7200.12, WD Caviar Green, Hitachi ???, and any other major-brand desktop drives under $100. Given that budget, I'd like to find the most reliable solution.

The obvious stand-out candidates are the Samsung F1, on account of its low $79 price and three-platter design, and the Caviar Green, for its reported 24/7 certification. Which of these do you think are most reliable?

So far, the vote is 2-1 in favor of the WD Caviar Green. And it happens to be on sale today for $90 at newegg, along with a right-angle SATA cable which would come in handy for me. So, with that in mind, I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on the Green.

However, I'm still open to the Samsung F1. The idea of only three platters makes me think perhaps it would be more reliable, after all, since that means fewer moving parts to possibly malfunction. The Caviar Green, in contrast, has four platters. And then of course the Samsung F1 is eleven dollars cheaper, at $79.

Decisions, decisions...
 
The newer version of the 1TB Caviar Green, WD10EADS, is a 3-platter drive. The older version, WD10EACS, was 4 platters.
 
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