best hard drive

[keith bob]

hey guys--

so i have a 500g wd hdd but i want to add something better-

what is a good hdd to get
should i be looking for something with 6gs or doesnt that really make that big of a difference?
or is there much of a difference between a "fast" and a standard hard drive?

does cache matter that much?
what should i be looking for in a good hdd?

is it worth the money to get a "fast" hdd?

any recommendations would be appriciated--

 

[Puddle Jumper]

A fast drive for you os and programs is comepletly worth it IMO. If you want speed SSDs are the only way to go since they offer performance that is an order of magnitude better than even the fastest hard drives.

Depending on how much you are willing to spend I would go with one of the following

Newegg.com - Intel X25-V SSDSA2MP040G2R5 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Newegg.com - Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2MH080G2R5 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Intel's SSD's are among the best drives on the market and offer a very noticeable improvement in performance over a normal hard drive. They aren't cheap but I feel they are worth it, my SSD was the best purchase I ever made for my pc.

This thread has benchmarks comparing SSDs to conventional hard drives as well as hard drives in RAID.

http://www.techist.com/forums/f10/ssd-hdd-benchmark-thread-226468/

If you are interested in a SSD this article does a very good job of explaining their benefits, how they work, and what to look for in a drive.

The SSD Relapse: Understanding and Choosing the Best SSD - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

 

[Slaymate]

SSD's are the Future
I Luv my OCZ Agility, but SSD's are expensive. The Intel SSD's are the fastest thou I went for a drive with a little more storage space but slightly slower performance.

Newegg.com - OCZ Agility Series OCZSSD2-1AGT120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

 

[keith bob]

ok--
well, a ssd would be awesome but for now i was thinking just a good fast hdd and maybe later i will add a ssd for boot up

sounds like people like raptors-- do you guys like them or is there something better for not a ton of money??

any suggestions??

 

[S0ULphIRE]

Raptors aren't really worth buying anymore. Get a WD black if you're on a budget but still want something fast, if you've got more money to spare get an SSD.

edit: I've also heard that if you get a Samsung Spinpoint F3 or F1 1Tb drive and create a 300Gb partition, speed increases to be comparable to a standard raptor drive.

 

[95BlackGA]

If it were my PC, I would be perfectly happy putting a Western Digital Black drive in it, before I shelled out the cash for a Raptor.

WD Black 640GB = $75

WD Raptor 74GB = $90

 

[keith bob]

ok--so how bout this???

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

 

[Fat.Clown]

edit: I've also heard that if you get a Samsung Spinpoint F3 or F1 1Tb drive and create a 300Gb partition, speed increases to be comparable to a standard raptor drive.

aka short stroking