Photo: Stock.Xchng

As hard drive technology improves, prices fall dramatically, while entry-level models get dropped. And with SSD drives slowly beginning to etch out a place in the market for itself, it appears the classic moving parts hard drive will soon start seeing a slow death. Still, though, most people will settle for price over newer technology if the benefits aren’t immediately tangible, but that is a dangerous strategy in purchasing storage mediums. We offer advice on how to go about your hard drive buying process.

Tip 1: reputable manufacturers

With computers selling tens of millions of units annually, hard drives have, for the most part become a commodity. The advantage of a fantastic hard drive build isn’t as noticeable as the advantages of a fantastic LCD monitor, for example. Still, this stops being the case when your generic goes belly-up in a manner a reputable brand would not have. Western Digital, Fujitsu, Samsung, Lacie and Seagate are trusted manufacturers. If, during your hard drive buying, you stray from what’s known, it’s difficult to tell what results you’ll get in the long run, making those few pennies you save now not worth it later.

Tip 2: capacity and speed

Though many think capacity is everything when it comes to a hard drive, it actually is not. You need to consider your computer’s setup and what you will use the hard drive for to determine the ideal capacity and speed. A speed of 7200rpm is ideal in a desktop if that drive is your primary drive. If you plan to use a newly acquired hard drive merely as a media centre, a speed of 5400rpm will do fine. Generally, unless you have a fairly beefy computer, a primary hard drive should top out at 500GB.

Photo: Stock.Xchng

Media drives and portable drives can be bigger if you need the additional capacity.

Tip 3: Compatibility

It is quite surprising the number of users who buy hard drives that are incompatible with their computer setups. Make sure you buy the appropriate drive for your computer, whether it is SATA300, SATA150, or the old-school EIDE/PATA interface. A general rule of thumb is, if your computer was bought within the last year, it’s most likely SATA300, if it was bought within the last five years, than SATA150 and if it was bought before, then EIDA/PATA would most likely be your computer’s drive interface.

Not everything, but enough

There are a host of other considerations that go further and further into the minutiae of buying hard drives. But, if you pay careful attention to the three aforementioned points, you’ll pick up a quality device without the need to go too technical if you do not want to.

Photo: Lacie

The latest NAS device from LaCie offers awesome features to keep all your data updated and backed up from all the devices in your home. The Network Space MAX has a storage space of 2TB, but can be upgraded to a massive 4TB for ultimate security from data loss. The hard drive is covered by a glossy black plastic case that has a snazzy electric blue light underneath it, which keeps the design modern and adds a touch of class.

Features

The NAS device can be used as a file and iTunes server for streaming all your favourite tunes. Mac users will be glad to know that the Network Space MAX is compatible with Time Machine, plus it’s able to support media playback for DLNA devices like Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The MAX uses two hard drive systems that can be arranged as RAID 1 or RAID 0 for extra security of your data. The device automatically copies all your information to make sure there is always another back up.

Connecting it up

Photo: LaCie

The LaCie Network Space MAX uses gigabit Ethernet to connect to the home network and adds to the fast accessibility of the device. The USB 2.0 port lets you hook it up a computer if need be, but the NAS product can work even when a computer is off. The MAX requires some of the latest Internet software including Firefox 3.0, Mac OS X 10.5, Safari 3.0 and Chrome 2.0, so make sure you have these versions before purchasing.

Keeping everything in order

The Network Space MAX is ideal for people who have loads of devices at home and need to keep all their data in order, and know that their information can’t be lost. The MAX does this and does it well, with vast quantities of storage space, playback options, audio options and added security. The NAS device is easy to set up and also has a remote control for easy access to the features. The MAX offers a two-year warranty which is pretty standard, and the 2TB system is priced as £234, whereas the 4TB will cost £399.

Photo: Intel

As the moving parts hard drive is slowly being phased out, solid state drives, though still slightly more expensive, are becoming far more commonplace.

Solid state drives explained

A solid state drive is, as its name describes, a drive with no moving parts. Many people have come to know solid state drives as flash drives, due to the wide availability of flash drives, though they come in other formats such as SRAM and DRAM. The major advantage of SSDs over their predecessors is that the lack of moving parts means they are less prone to damage, and since there’s no mechanical movement, they often have far superior memory access times.

Intel X series

Photo: Kingston

Intel’s range of SSDs has been widely praised by DRAMeXchange Technologies, a research company, with Intel’s X25-M 160GB SSD and their X25-M 80GB SSD taking top honours. The company recently introduced its 40GB X-25V, which it’s punting as an affordable drive at £83, showing just how much more expensive SSDs are than regular hard drives.

OCZ Technology

California-based OCZ has emerged as a major competitor in the solid state drives stakes, with a wide range of gear. Since emerging in 2000, the company has focused its efforts on the computer enthusiast market, with its relatively pricey solutions out of the range of the average consumer.

Kingston and Western Digital

Photo: Intel

As with any sub-hardware market, the usual suspects make an appearance, with long-time hard drive maker Kingston making its play for the market with its SSDNow range, and Western Digital with its range of drives, too.

Buy now or wait?

The advantages SSDs present over traditional drives are considerable, and will be exaggerated as manufacturers continue to understand the technology more and more. For now, they offer better read speeds and are less prone to damage and long-term wear and tear. However, the price may make them unjustifiable for some. You can get far more mileage out of a regular hard drive for the price tag you’d pay for an SSD, but keep in mind you would be purchasing dying technology.

Photo: LaCie

Mobility requirements mixed with increasing media size through technology advances such as high definition video has meant the once massive 160GB hard drive space contemporary computers come with now barely copes. As such, external hard drives, both portable and fixed, have eked out a viable market.

iPod classic – the best kept storage secret

Photo: Apple

Long time iPod users realised that the 120GB plus hard drive space on iPod classics was more than enough for storing music, and began using the music player as an external hard drive storage device. Though this is not ideal if you plan on doing heavy lifting, and working from a drive in data heavy applications like video editing suites, that 120GB iPod classic lying in many homes could be all the hard drive space an individual needs. It goes everywhere with most people as it is. May as well put it to good use.

Rough and tumble external hard drives

Portable external hard drive storage comes in many flavours, with the bulk of them requiring one or two free USB dries for connecting them. For those prone to heavy use in hazardous environments, the Lacie Rugged Hard Disk withstands abuse well and cannot be recommended enough.

Large capacity

Photo: Western Digital

It’s now possible to get good, large capacity external hard drives for a decent price. The top selling Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1TB is an example of this, available at under £135 if one looks around carefully.

Running the gamut

The range of external hard drive storage on the market is so vast now that technical considerations are slowly falling to the wayside to aesthetics and costs (this is the case for your average consumer, at least). Insofar as one sticks with a reputable name in storage solutions, such as Lacie, Western Digital, Toshiba and Seagate, the drive should hold up fine.

Photo: Toshiba

Toshiba has just announced a 9.5mm 750 GB hard drive. The MK7559GSXP might be quite a mouthful, but it’s worth remembering. It also claims to be 14 per cent more energy efficient than the company’s previous model. How can you go wrong?

Bigger, and better

The Japanese company has upped its Gbit/inch ratio from 528.5 in its previous 640GB offering, the 750GB MK7559GSXP, to 528.5Gbit/sq in for its MK7559GSXP two platter drive. This is a small increase, but considering the physical size of the 750GB hard drive, represents a big step forward. And if you don’t mind moving up to the 12.5mm class, Toshiba is also bringing out the MKxx59GSM series of 1TB hard drives, fitting in three platters into the 2.5-inch diagonal space. Both drives have 8M caches and use the 3Gbit/s SATA II interface.

The competition

WD announced a 750 GB hard drive, the Scorpio Blue two platter 2.5-inch drive, in 2009, claiming it to be very portable, with low power consumption, and high shock resistance. Seagate is also expected to announce a 5400.8 two-platter model at the 750GB hard drive level too, called the Momentus, in the coming weeks or months.

Hitachi lagging behind

Photo: Toshiba

Hitachi is lagging behind Toshiba and others, with its highest capacity Travelstar 7K500 hard drive at only 500GB. It does spin at an impressive 7,200 rpm, though. They might soon come up with something in the notebook hard drive sector, though, as Seagate’s Momentus 7200 matches its capacity, and Seagate are also busy introducing 10K and 15K SAS 6Gbit notebook drives, leaving Hitachi behind.

Toshiba’s new, more energy-efficient, hard drives use 4KB sector formatting. Expect the two-platter model to be sampled in April. The MK1059GSM 1TB, three-platter model, and a 750GB variant, will be coming in the third quarter. As yet, no prices have been announced.