How big a hard drive should I go for?

I am looking to supplement my measly 80GB HDD.

Whats the best value for money size category I should be looking at right about now. 320 GB, 500 GB or 640 GB?
Which of the three have a better Paisa per MB ratio?

My main storage need is for all the photos and videos I take. I dont really need speed. Should I go for a 32MB buffer or 16MB?

Which brand/line should I be looking at. Samsung/ Western Digital/ Seagate?
Are these "green" lines worth the premium they demand. Do they actually result in any real energy savings?

My budget varies between 3-5K.

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In continuation to the question,

After I get the new HDD should I:
a> Remove the Old HDD and use it as portable storage. Keeping it inside will only hamper airflow.
b> Retain both drives internally.

I think its worth buying 1 TB HD, its available for 4.7k I think. Otherwise go for 500 GB HD. These two are the best VFM drives. And from these 3 brands, go for WD. Their green series r good.

And regarding old HD, which 1 u have, it depends. If its RPM r low, then its better for u to just use ur new HD.

saqib_khan said:
And regarding old HD, which 1 u have, it depends. If its RPM r low, then its better for u to just use ur new HD.

Yeah,even 80 GB is not enough these days.And carrying around your old drive around may lead you to nearest service center.

My old drive is a 7200 RPM drive.

The cost per MB for the 500 GB drive is working out to be the cheapest. I think I will go for it.

I am considering these:
* Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500410AS
* Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS
* Western Digital Caviar Green WD5000AACS

Anyone know the prices of these drives?

R

Yes, 500GB is the cheapest in terms of cost per MB and I would suggest -you go for the 7200.12 which has lesser no. of platters

Here's a review:

*www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2009/04/13/seagate-1tb-7200-12-review/1

You can go for WD500AAKS. IMO WD is better than Seagate.
There is a HD Docking station available in the market you can get it for Rs.1750 (Sunbeamtech make). That would be the best if you want to connect your internal HDDs through USB. It works like a charm.

I would pick WD Black edition drives or Seagate 7200.12

No rkarthea, as of now 1TB HDD is the cheapest if you want to go only in terms of cost per GB then it is just RS 4.7/- per GB as it is available @4.7K. A 500 GB HDD costing RS 5.6/- per GB at least. And even a 640GB HDD cost lesser then 500GB HDD in terms of cost per GB as it is available in 3.2K model number WD6400AACS costing just RS 5/- per GB and yes it is from green power series as well.

Done then.
Ill go for the WD6400AAKS. [Not the green power one coz I heard it spins at virtually 5400RPM]

Thanks Surinder, and thank all you guys for the suggestions.

H

Green ones are much more energy efficient and as people say "Go Green"!!! They are really good! A bit expensive compared to the Blue ones. Although the best one of WD is the Caviar Black ones. They rock in performance and are very expensive than the other two also high in energy consumption! Seagate have reduced most of their warranty to 3 years! So better not go for Seagate!

Do the green ones lag significantly in performance?

If the do I will get a blue one else I will consider a green one if the performance hit is not significant.

H

Nope. They perform almost same. Green would be best if you are using your PC for long working hours! Blue<=Green<Black.

Depends on kind of application and very few applications including games can be hurt for its slow data transfer rate instead of a blue series HDD. And yes for 24x7 kind of system it is a blessing.

My system is 24x7 all year, all seasons.

I will go green then. (That was my original intention neway.)
Whats a good price for the WD640AACS these days?

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The question of the old HDD still remains. Keep it in or pull it out?

WD640AACS @3.2K.

Use your old drive as slave for Backups etc