Hard Drives

Ratings and Reviews of Hard Drives

 

Hard Drives

MP3 audio files, video, digital photos, presentations, large documents and drawings - it seems we never have enough storage. 

 

 That 40GB hard drive that looked like it would be more than big enough to meet your needs is now more than 80 percent full and you just  KNOW that it won't be long before you'll need to do something to add more storage capacity to your system.  And, the thought of that almost full hard drive failing...well...

So maybe it's time for a new hard drive - to add capacity, back-up your system or add capacity AND backup your current system as a whole.  But which hard drive is "right" for you, your business and your system?  There is an abundance of type of drives that support a number of interfaces, capacities, speeds and formats.  And that's just the beginning.  So before you purchase that new hard drive for your system,  here are some of the factors you should consider in your hard drive purchase:

  • Form Factor - Internal or external?  Do you have an open drive bay in your desktop or laptop?  Then an internal drive might be the answer.  But if you don't, an external drive is your only option.  And, with an external drive you'll need to make another choice...
  • Interface - USB 1.1 (12 Megabits per second), USB 2.0 (480 Megabits per second) or 1394 FireWire (400 Megabits per second and now FireWire 800 at 800 Megabits per second) are the easy port standards, however, there are also SCSI connected drives on the market (80 Megabits per second) as well as PCMCIA for your laptop.
  • Speed - Speed for a hard drive is measured in a number of ways:
    • Rotational Speed (RPM) - the faster the better
    • Seek Times - Read, Write, Track-to-Track and Full Stroke - in other words, how fast does the drive get to the data you or your applications require.
       
      Google
       
      Web Home Office Reports
    • Transfer Rates - how quickly data moves from across the interface between the drive and the system itself.
  • Capacity - the "big" issue.  Prices for hard drives have fallen dramatically over the last few years so you don't have to spend a lot to get a lot of Gigabytes these days!  But consider - you can purchase anything from 20 to 400GB fairly cheaply and very easily.
  • Compatibility - PC or Mac of course, but some drives don't function with some file systems (Windows oriented ones in particular).  Make sure that your OS and file system are compatible with the drive you choose.

So, ready to take a look at what is out there?  We've tried to hit on the majority of hard drives and their manufacturers.  In fact, the number was so large, that we had to build a separate document with all the choices on them (and relevant information).  You can find this document at:  Hard Drives.  Additionally, we've done a quick analysis that will tell you the cost per GB of every drive and drive size so you'll have an even better idea of what you're paying to store your data.

  $15 Off $200 Coupon! Click Here!

And, as always, we've chosen our favorite drive from every manufacturer.  Just look for the symbols!

Hard Drives Review

Hard Drives*

(Rankings - best, 5 symbols, worst, 1 symbol)

Company Best For* Simple Start-Up Cost Time Savings Ease of Use Works With Support Features Overall Rating
Actiontec ARP

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Adaptec ARP

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Apricorn

ARP

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ARCHOS

ARP

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AVB

ARP

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Buffalo

ARP

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BUSlink

ARP

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CMS

ARP

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CODi

ARP

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Creative

ARP

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D-Link

ARP

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Edge Tech Corp.

ARP

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EZ Quest

ARP

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Fantom Drives

ARP

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Freecom

ARP

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Fujitsu

ARP

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GeCube

ARP

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Inc.

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Inc.

Hitachi

ARP

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Inter-active Media Corp.

ARP

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IO Gear

ARP

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I/O Magic

ARP

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Iomega

ARP

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LaCie

ARP

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Lenovo

 

ARP

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Linksys

ARP

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MCE

ARP

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Memorex

ARP

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Plextor

ARP

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Pocketec

ARP

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Samsung

ARP

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Seagate

ARP

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Shining Tech.

ARP

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SimpleTech

ARP

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SmartDisk

ARP

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Sony

ARP

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SOYO

ARP

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Inc.

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Inc.

TEAC

ARP

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Toshiba

ARP

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Tritton Tech.

ARP

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Verbatim

ARP

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