Looking for a new 3TB HD


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Hey guys, anyone have tips on how to pick the most reliable HD? Like brand, model and etc. I'm going to be using it for music, pics and movies. I did however found this one on ebay and the feedback appears to be good with this seller but I never bought from that brand before. Any advice would be helpful.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3TB-SATA3-Seagate-Barracuda-Hard-Drive-3-5-7200RPM-ST3000DM001-BIN-QTY-/200914043269?pt=US_Internal_Hard_Disk_Drives&hash=item2ec7690185

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You are going to use it to back up your music, pics and movies or just store them there?

Just to store them. I might buy another one for backup later.
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I've had good luck with 2TB versions of the WD green and red drives (recently) in my NAS. I've been running 6 greens and 2 reds for the past 3 years with a single failure of a green drive . I'd recommend checking out the 3TB versions of these.

Although I also have 2x 2TB seagate baracuda drives in my workstation and they've been solid for about 2 years now; these go through at least 1 power cycle each day.

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You should buy the backup drive ASAP. There's no time period on when a drive will fail. Only that it WILL fail.

I currently have all my data stored on a 1TB HD but I have 40 gb left on it. Everything is backup on another 1TB so in order for me to move to a 3 TB Im going to store it on another 3 TB HD eventually :)

I've had good luck with 2TB versions of the WD green and red drives (recently) in my NAS. I've been running 6 greens and 2 reds for the past 3 years with a single failure of a green drive . I'd recommend checking out the 3TB versions of these.

Although I also have 2x 2TB seagate baracuda drives in my workstation and they've been solid for about 2 years now; these go through at least 1 power cycle each day.

The HD I currently have now is a WD green and sometimes it has to load the content when I tried to locate something on the drive or save data. I believe the black ones are for desktop which I recently saw online..Thanks for the help though!
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Don't buy WD red drives. They are optimized for NAS use.

I've used Western Digital and Seagate for years and both have served me well. The one you linked in your OP seems fine. But as FalsePositive suggested, make sure you get around to buying a backup drive sooner rather than later.

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Don't buy WD red drives. They are optimized for NAS use.

I've used Western Digital and Seagate for years and both have served me well. The one you linked in your OP seems fine. But as FalsePositive suggested, make sure you get around to buying a backup drive sooner rather than later.

So what's wrong with them in fact? Lower performance, data loss? I have two 3TB WD RED and I would listen what is not ok with them.

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Don't buy WD red drives. They are optimized for NAS use.

I've used Western Digital and Seagate for years and both have served me well. The one you linked in your OP seems fine. But as FalsePositive suggested, make sure you get around to buying a backup drive sooner rather than later.

It all comes down to money which is why I cant get the 3TB. I already have everything backed up and up to date.
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Don't buy WD red drives. They are optimized for NAS use. I've used Western Digital and Seagate for years and both have served me well. The one you linked in your OP seems fine. But as FalsePositive suggested, make sure you get around to buying a backup drive sooner rather than later.

I've heard alot about Seagate drives dying though so one might look out for that.

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So what's wrong with them in fact? Lower performance, data loss? I have two 3TB WD RED and I would listen what is not ok with them.

There is nothing wrong with them, but if you aren't using them in a NAS you're paying for a function (time-limited error recovery) they have which you aren't going to use.

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There is nothing wrong with them, but if you aren't using them in a NAS you're paying for a function (time-limited error recovery) they have which you aren't going to use.

Umm, aren't red drives made for RAID, not specifically for NAS enclosures?

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There is nothing wrong with them, but if you aren't using them in a NAS you're paying for a function (time-limited error recovery) they have which you aren't going to use.

First, Reds are intended for RAID setups not just NAS (although most NAS systems employ RAID). Secondly (and perhaps more important) is that the warranty is longer on a Red than a Green. Third, they are slightly more power efficient, a bit quieter, head parking is disabled out of the box and they employ active balance to help reduce vibrations in multidrive setups.

Are these features worth the extra cost? To some yes, others no. For me, the benefits were worth the extra price.

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Umm, aren't red drives made for RAID, not specifically for NAS enclosures?

(although most NAS systems employ RAID).

So, yeah. People knew what I meant.

To some yes, others no.

I'd be in the "no" category. Here in Aus the price difference between a 3tb red and a 3tb green is $30. When I set up my new NAS I probably will go with all red drives, but for what the OP is using it for it just doesn't seem necessary.

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Step 1: Rule out Seagate.

I've lost data with Seagate drives, have stopped purchasing anything from them years ago, and everybody I know who's knowledgeable enough to buy/install a hard drive has reported the same bad experiences.

Even just recently, I was given a system that was headed for the trash (not worth the owner's time to investigate whatever's wrong with it). It's got a pair of 500GB Seagate hard drives. One's completely dead, the other had SpinRite stuck at under 0.04% for one week straight (and not moving)...similar problems with Seagate's own diagnostics tools.

Normally I wouldn't bad-mouth a company based on anyone's personal anecdote(s), but because of the failure rate I've been seeing firsthand, I've sworn them off.

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So, yeah. People knew what I meant.

Then be more percise. Not everyone knows what you mean.

Step 1: Rule out Seagate.

I've lost data with Seagate drives, have stopped purchasing anything from them years ago, and everybody I know who's knowledgeable enough to buy/install a hard drive has reported the same bad experiences.

Even just recently, I was given a system that was headed for the trash (not worth the owner's time to investigate whatever's wrong with it). It's got a pair of 500GB Seagate hard drives. One's completely dead, the other had SpinRite stuck at under 0.04% for one week straight (and not moving)...similar problems with Seagate's own diagnostics tools.

Normally I wouldn't bad-mouth a company based on anyone's personal anecdote(s), but because of the failure rate I've been seeing firsthand, I've sworn them off.

Seagate is not to blame. I had many WD drives die on me. It's a fact of life. Every drive will die, just a matter of time.

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Then be more percise. Not everyone knows what you mean.

WD themselves just use the word NAS. It's good enough for them to, so I don't see why I can't.

3D5onL9.gif

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The right choice!

No other drive is designed specifically for home and small office NAS systems and PCs with RAID.

IIRC, not ALL NAS have RAID capabilities. So a non-RAID NAS will not gain any benefits.

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The WD green drives are great for backups however I'd go with an external drive for backups. I have a Seagate USB 3.0 3TB backup drive and love it.

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Seagate Barracuda

or those other ones are worth a look

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007603%2050001305%20600361769%20600083978&IsNodeId=1&name=3TB

I have experience with multiple Barracudas including many 2TB and 3TB and NEVER had any issues...

But as another said all Harddrives fail eventually

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I have WD green drives in my HTPC, I think my desktop is WD (maybe green too!).

I'll be putting WD in my next PC too.

Remember, you get bad batches in every HD company, so don't delete the data after copying over - check the drive is okay first.

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Whenever I get a new drive these days, I do a full sector by sector scan with HD Tune or similair app, check smart logs, and then put drive into production. If there are any bad sectors, I RMA the drive right away.

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