Building my first system. What HDD to buy?

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James Legault
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Building my first system. What HDD to buy?

Post by James Legault »

A week ago, I knew nothing about SATA, SATA II, etc. Now I'm about to buy one! :roll:

I'm building a budget minded system that has headroom for upgrades down the road. I started with an ABIT KN8 SLI mobo, which has 4 SATA II ports. My next purchase is the HDD I think, and right now I can only afford a single unit.

So the question is which one? First, OEM or retail? This being my first build, I'd like to get all the help I can. Is a retail kit better for a newbie or is installing an OEM no big deal?

As for cost, I'm thinking in the $150 to $180 range for a retail drive, or about $100 to $150 OEM. I could go a little higher, but the more I spend on the drive, the less I can spend on the processor.

As for storage requirements, I don't require a massive amount.

The new machine will be used mostly for online racing sims like GTR and GTL. Both are a little too much for my current system and given its age, I just can't do much in the way of cost effective upgrades.

Any suggestions as to specific HDD units would be reatly appreciated! 8)
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infinitevalence
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Post by infinitevalence »

there is no real difference between retail and OEM other than the retail pack will come with cables and a useless install disk.

I would suggest getting an OEM Seagate as they have SATA2 and a 5 year warranty :)
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KnightRid
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Post by KnightRid »

I love Western Digital, but with the 5yr warranty and SATA2 on Seagate ,t hey cant hardly be beat.

Heck you could probably just put a 80gb in there and have plenty of room. Might be able to do less, but I would stick with at least 80, as things tend to pile up on your hard drive after a while :)

example - I dont know if this is the cheapest price, it is just an example

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148107

80gb Seagate SATAII - $58 + 4.99 shipping - OEM

for that price you could almost get 3 of them...buy 2, use one for windows and programs, the other for your swap file and data files, backups, etc.

Mike
Remember, I am opinionated and nothing I say or do reflects on anyone or anything else but me :finga:
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James Legault
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Post by James Legault »

I ended up buying the WD2500KS. :)
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Kalko
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Post by Kalko »

You should look for the Seagate 320 Sata II it's about 110$. It's silent and very fast
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