Hard Drive Buying Guide

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Choosing a hard drive is not as easy as it sounds. Believe me I get questions all the time about which is the best one. And my answer every time is “it depends!” It depends if you plan on if you have a desktop, laptop (2.5), or netbook. It depends if you plan on doing a lot of video editing, downloading, or gaming. It also depends on the connection type inside your computer whether it is ATA, SATA, IDE, SCSI, Firewire, or USB. But there are certain key features that you need to know about buying a hard drive that won’t break down.

You will need to know the capacity of the hard drive that you want. The minimum standard size for most computers these days is 160GB. However, if you plan on doing video editing then 500GB to 1TB (1000GB) would be in order. You should always double what you think you might use. Once you install windows and your personal programs that will eat up some of your precious hard drive space. The requirements of programs are increasing all the time, just as the sizes of hard drives are.

Hard drive speed has always been a factor in purchasing one. Most laptops run at 5400rpm which is fine, many desktops also run at this speed, but you will notice performance boosts with 7200 or 10000rpm. And now there is something called a “solid state hard drive” which runs even faster, cooler, and virtually silent.

Do you need an external hard drive or an internal one? The popular choice today is to use an internal hard drive just big enough for your programs and use an external hard drive to store all of your files on. Typically external drives have USB connections and are adequate for most people.

The brand that you choose is also a deciding factor. You should go with well known brand names like Seagate and Western Digital because they offer excellent support, great warranties, and offer quality products that aren’t prone to crashes.

After you have figure out these key elements you will be ahead of most people when it comes to buying a new hard drive.

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