However, I am curious as to what to consider when selectiing a hard drive.
It certainly can be a much more complicated decision than it needs to be.
I personally have not seen the "trend" of failures for Seagate (parent company of Maxtor), but have seen multiple reports similar to the one above (not sure if they all used the same raw data source, however). And I have consistently had good service from WDs - and
outstanding WD Tech/RMA support on the few WDs that did fail (I think after-sales support matters). On the other hand, I have had several Hitachi drives over the years that had to be retired because of size - not due to any reliability issues. So this might cause me to lean towards Hitachi. That said:
1. Select drives with 5 year warranties. Many come with 3, some with 2, and some with just 1 year. This is no guarantee of years more service - but 5 years is a warm fuzzy compared to a cold, hard 1 year warranty.
2. If budget allows, I would consider SSD over HD for the OS and apps, and if "mass storage" for "static data" (files not likely to change like tunes, images, videos and backup images) is required, use a HD for that (I like Samsung SSDs).
3. If going HD, select a "hybrid" HD for better performance. A hybrid HD uses SSD technologies for the drive's buffer instead of slower RAM.
4. If conventional HD (standard RAM buffer), select one with at least 32Mb buffers, preferably 64Mb.
5. If low noise weighs high, get a 5400RPM drive. If performance weighs high, get a 7200RPM. I don't recommend 10K "raptor" drives because they tend to cost more, are noisier and generate more heat. Plus faster moving parts wear out faster. If performance is that important, go SSD.
6. Estimate how much disk space you need, then double it, then consider doubling it again (or go
256Gb SSD for C drive and an HD for D.
7. SATA III.
I really would like to stress SSDs here. Yes, they cost more up front, but you should expect this computer to last 5 years or more. Spreading an extra $200 over 60 months for an SSD is just $3.33/month for 5 years of much better performance, less heat, and less power consumption.
