Comparing 2tb hard drives. WD vs Seagate

[whs]

Then let's look at it in a different way. Why don't you get an SSD and transfer your Windows7 to it - very easy. Then you split your current HDD into a data partition and an XP partition and install XP there. Wouldn't that make sense. That could even be cheaper if you go with a 64GB SSD (I run all my desktops with 64GB SSDs).

 

[computergeekguy]

Ok i have kept looking and have found this with seagate drives.

Go beyond 2TB with DiscWizard™ software

The sure way to get native access to hard drives bigger than 2TB is to adopt the new BIOS standard called UEFI. If you’re not ready for the new standard, Seagate provides an alternative.
Free DiscWizard™ software from Seagate provides you a means to effectively utilize your 3TB and 4TB Seagate Desktop HDDs, even with Windows XP and using the standard PC BIOS. Get your free copy to go beyond 2TB today!

I will have to keep researching that but it looks somewhat promising.

Edit: Sorry whs once again i posted after you did and didn't see what you said.
I am interested. What programs would I need to use? I have never transferred an operating system so what would it take?

 

[essenbe]

Im surprised the wd blue only goes up to 1tb. That is strange. It also has higher reviews on reliability. It is the only one i saw were you don't have a 1 in 5 chance of a doa.

Newegg.com - Western Digital WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive, Blue

I was saddened to see the caviar black wd had the exact same reviews. It too seems to fail just as much for $70 more lol

I own 2 1TB Western Digital Black drives. I find them no faster or better than any of the other drives I have, only a lot noisier. As for the 1 in 5 chance of a DOA, it's honestly harder to say how much of that is the manufacturer and how much is UPS/Fed Ex.

As you can see, a lot of the opinions you are getting are completely different on the brands. That leaves me to believe there is actually little difference between too many of them. Like SIW just had 2 Seagates die on him and I just had a Western Digital die. I really don't think there is much difference.

As for as the advanced formatting I have never formatted any disk any different than I always have and really found no difference in the way any of them operate. I've run Windows 7, XP, Linux, Windows 8 andHome server both actually installed on a disk and in a VM. And for a while I had them all on the same machine at the same time. All of them ran as they were supposed to. I don't own a desktop computer without UEFI so I find no difference.

 

[AddRAM]

I`ve been using WDs and Seagates for years, and not 1 has ever died on me.

 

[whs]

What programs would I need to use? I have never transferred an operating system so what would it take?

You can go by the tutorial I made:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/149969-ssd-install-transfer-operating-system.html

Or you can go with the Paragon Migration Tool. That does the job with 3 clicks.

 

[essenbe]

I can vouch for the Paragon Migration tool. I've used it at least 100 times and it has never failed on me. In fact I used it today when switching SSDs from one machine to another. 15-20 minutes and you will be up and running on your new drive, just doing it much faster.

 

[computergeekguy]

Im back had to call it a night it was midnight my time and i was getting tired.

Any way I am liking the ssd idea.

Alternatively i was thinking i could partition my old 500gb drive install xp and 7 on that one and use the 2tb as a backup data drive.

So now it is 2tb for 100 bucks or nice 120gb ssd for 100 bucks. Can I put 7 and xp on the ssd? Or is that no good.

Thanks

P.s. I know ssd has so many write read sessions before they go. I know it would take years to go through them all but when they do finally get used, can you still READ the drive and copy the files to a different drive or does it fail and you loose all your data.

P.P.S. The same drive you have suggested to me has a 240 gig model for only $20 more. Double data for $20 more sounds good.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-226-237

 

[Britton30]

These Seagate Constellation drives have a 5 year warranty too, but are pricey. They are Enterprise class designed to run 24/7, I have a 50GB version as my Data and Users drive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...iption=Seagate+Constellation+&N=-1&isNodeId=1

 

[whs]

Can I put 7 and xp on the ssd? Or is that no good.

You can, but I would not do that. I would make 2 independent installations - Win7 on SSD and XP on HDD. Already because XP does not support TRIM and would mess up the SSD.

I know ssd has so many write read sessions before they go

Don't worry about that. You won't live long enough to see that limit.

And yes, the 240GB model is a real good deal, but you have to hurry to get it. I have the exact same model that I bought 3 months ago. I also have a 60GB Mushkin that I bought 2 years ago. They are good drives.

The 240 GB model is really a 256GB SSD. There are 16GB reserved for overprovisioning.

 

[OldMX]

In my experience, WD drives while they have a great support team for rma and stuff, they are not as reliable as they used to be, a couple of years ago, before the tsunamies i went full Seagate on all my computers and never looked back, great performance and reliability.

 

[computergeekguy]

Well this is going to turn out to be more costly than I first planned, but i will get a pretty nice system. I am a little bummed xp wont work with ssd's but it is an old os. The ssd's seem to last a lot longer than standard HDD's although there size is a lot smaller.

The ssd $130
Paragon Migration tool $20 I want to get it due simplicity.

$150 I feel poor but am confidant it is a good system

As whs signiture says Keep it as simple as possible - that keeps you out of trouble.

 

[whs]

Congratulations. You made a good choice. But unless you plan to install big games on Win7, you could really get away with a smaller SSD. Remember, all my desktop SSDs are 60GB and are half empty.

BTW: it is not that XP would not work on a SSD but you run into 2 problems:

1. XP does not support TRIM and that would slow down the write operations on the SSD - for XP and Windows 7

2. In a double boot, you have both bootloaders in the bootmgr and that is a bit iffy the day you want to delete one system. If you install XP on the HDD, make sure the SSD is disconnected. Then once both systems are installed, switch between the 2 systems with the boot priority of the BIOS - F12 during boot (ESC for HP PCs).

 

[madcratebuilder]

5400RPM is noticeably slower than a 7200RPM drive. But if you are in no hurry, that will be OK.

Only with some operations, they (5400rpm) are slower when it comes to latency/IOps, but sequential I/O is very good. The 5400 rpm date density is so high they can actually be faster at sequential I/O than a 10,000rpm hdd.

In day to day operations my 10,000 rpm VelociRaptor is noticeably faster opening large files like Photoshop or Office. Once everything is open and cached there's not that much difference. There is little difference in opening small files

7200 and 10,000 rpm drives use more power and produce more heat, this is important if you have a lap top. Faster spinners tend to make more noise but in my experience this can be overcome with proper mounting.

If speed is the primary goal then SSD is the wise choice. Newegg and TD have factory refurb ssd's dirt cheap. They have a factory warranty and the two I have bought seem fine, show 100% in Hard Disk sentinel health reports. These have been in operation for several months now and not a single hiccup.

My oldest drive is a 20 year old Maxtor and it still runs Linux on one of my boxes. I've managed to kill WD and Seagate drives in the past, it appears to be luck of the draw as far as life span. I know heat seems to be a common factor in the hdd failures I have experienced. They do not like being dropped