Internal Hard Drives - Help

AndersonButler

My internal hard drive has died, luckily everything is backed up.

Are they easy to replace and are they all the same size (diameter not disc space).

My old drive was a Seagate Barracude 7200.11, should this one fit in the same space?

http://www.ebuyer.com/319641-seagate-2tb-barracuda-internal-hard-drive-st2000dm001

Thanks for your help.

macman

Desktop PC's are 3.5", laptops are 2.5". If you have a PC, then you need a 3.5" drive. Very easy to fit.
The only other thing you need to know is is the drive is SATA or PATA/IDE. All PC's built in the last 6 years or so use SATA.
If the existing one has the wide ribbon cables, it's PATA/IDE. The newer narrow ones (often red or blue) are SATA.

googler

You don't actually need a 3.5" drive for a desktop - with mounting bracket and cable adapters, it's perfectly feasible to use a 2.5"

macman

If you already have one-yes. But why would you use a generally more expensive laptop drive and adaptor in a desktop if you are buying new?

timbim_2

macman wrote: »

If you already have one-yes. But why would you use a generally more expensive laptop drive and adaptor in a desktop if you are buying new?

The cheapest (in absolute terms) hard drives at the moment are 2.5", I recently built a system using one as a 160GB 2.5" was significantly cheaper than a 320GB 3.5" and perfectly suitable for the job.

macman

But you'd expect a 160GB drive to be cheaper than a 320GB drive (twice the capacity). GB for GB, desktop drives are generally cheaper.
You are not comparing like for like.

googler

macman wrote: »

If you already have one-yes. But why would you use a generally more expensive laptop drive and adaptor in a desktop if you are buying new?

I didn't mention price, nor whether OP is buying new or second-hand, merely that a desktop doesn't necessarily NEED, or have to be fitted with, 3.5" drives. It will still work with 2.5".

This was in response to

macman wrote: »

Desktop PC's are 3.5", laptops are 2.5". If you have a PC, then you need a 3.5" drive.

AndersonButler

Thanks for your helpful pointers.

Should I be concerned about the SATA-III, SATA-II etc terminology or can I ignore all that??

Avoriaz

macman wrote: »

Desktop PC's are 3.5", laptops are 2.5". If you have a PC, then you need a 3.5" drive. Very easy to fit.
The only other thing you need to know is is the drive is SATA or PATA/IDE. All PC's built in the last 6 years or so use SATA.
If the existing one has the wide ribbon cables, it's PATA/IDE. The newer narrow ones (often red or blue) are SATA.

You do also need to consider thickness, especially for laptop drives.

Desktops are usually capable of accepting disks of various thickness.

Most laptops are limited to 2.5 inch disks of 9.5 mm thickness.

I bought some 2.5 inch disks that are 13 mm thick. I got them cheaply as they don't fit in most laptops but they do fit in my external caddy. They have proved to be a very inexpensive back up solution for me.

AndersonButler

Which one would you guys recommend?

http://www.ebuyer.com/264274-wd-2tb-caviar-green-internal-hard-drive-wd20earx

http://www.ebuyer.com/319641-seagate-2tb-barracuda-internal-hard-drive-st2000dm001

Edging towards the WD, as it comes with 3 years warranty - but what is all this Caviar Green stuff about?. I just want a hard drive that is compatible with W7 and is easy to install!

macman

Any 3.5" drive is compatible with any operating system and is the same procedure to install. The only thing you need to confirm is that your PC uses SATA and not PATA/IDE.