Most reliable HDD for External storage?

My sister needs a external storage solution. I figured she wont be needing anymore than 160gb. I need to know which is the most reliable drive so she doesnt come back and bug me about issues

I went to look around for cheap HDD's and came across these options:

-Samsung® HM160JI, 160GB, SATA, 8MB Cache, 5400RPM
-Hitachi TravelStar 5K250, 160GB, 2.5", SATA, 5400RPM, 8MB Cache
-Seagate Momentus ST9160821AS, 160GB, SATA, 8MB Cache, 5400RPM
-Western Digital Scorpio WD1600BEVS, 160GB, SATA, 8MB Cache, 5400RPM

In your opinion or experience, which do you think is the most reliable for her data?

I was leaning towards the WD and samsung. I took out the fujitsu drive because my current one is a fujitsu and it making ticking noises

Ive already purchased a Vantec SATA enclosure.

 

I like Hitachi, but that is just opinion, and I think that is all you are going to get. I would say any of the big three would be fine. Hitachi, Seagate or WD.

 

if it were me i'd get this
http://www.stuff-uk.net/?s=ST-ST3250410AS
and this
http://svp.co.uk/products-solo.php?pid=5407&ref=froogle&ci_src=18615224&ci_sku=44223
the seagate has the fastest read/ write according to tom's hardware charts but is also cheap. The enclosure allows you to connect your drive via usb, but if you have an esata port ( or adapter) that would be much faster imo

 

Dont care about speed or performance. They will all perform at an acceptable standard anyway.

All im after is reliability and my options are above

I expect the drive to outlast the 3 or 5 year warranty. Which drive has had the most success?

 

honestly my fujitsu drive on my dell 8200 has been going for 7years now no probs and it doesnt make a sound! haha 7 years!!!

ive been using hitatchi but its a bit noisy.
ive had bad experience with WD. but maybe i was just unlucky.

 

If you want a very durable drive, I would go with the Hitachi or the Seagate.
But the way you make it sound, you may want it to last more than 5 years. In that case, I would look into getting a 3.5" harddrive. A desktop drive will out live any laptop harddrive. They can withstand much higher vibrations.
But since you already have the case, I would get the seagate. They tend to be a bit slower than the hitachi drives, but in my opinion, they last a long time. I have had many seagates live longer than 5 years. Seagate also usually has can withstand a higher shock than other drives.

K-TRON

 

I was thinking of getting a 3.5" at first but my sister needs the portability of USB power.

I went through newegg for the HDD's feedback and it seems like Seagate is my best choice

I just purchased it, thanks guys +rep

EDIT:

Okay i ran into this 160gb Hybrid Seagate drive ive never seen before. According to the info it has 256mb flash memory installed for quicker access. Sounds like another gimmick like 'ReadyBoost' to me. Any truth to this?

http://www.mwave.com.au/newAU/mwave...S3IJPVSDN1FROH3898C1W1MVU68B4MWR&sku=22070037

 

the hybrid harddrives, show 0 performance gain over the traditional laptop harddrives. This is why there are no other drives which use the flash memory. It really does not help

Just go for the standard 2.5" seagate drive.

K-TRON

 

I thought so too, another racket

i purchased the standard one beforehand anyway

 

Hitachi...

 

I opened up my current external drive and realised it was a 80gb 4200rpm IDE all along! Ive always assumed it was a 5400rpm SATA. I i never really checked on the specifics when i bought it 7 months ago

When i ran the HDtune test i still got a max of 26mb/s so i guess the USB throughput will always be the bottleneck

The new drive should arrive tommorow, payed express shipping

 

I would go with the WD drive. I've had really good performance with my 320GB Scorpio drive, and I love it to death. Barring the WD choice, my next would be Seagate or Hitachi, although I feel Hitachi's can be a bit more expensive that it's compeititors without really offering anything in return for the extra cost.

 

I already have a 250gb scorpio on right now but im not sure how reliable its going to be in the long run. I really like it in terms of performance and heat but im after reliablility

I had to go with Seagate because it had the best lifetime from what i read

How long have you had your scorpio for?

 

I'd say four months or so. 'Course, my Scorpio has been everywhere with me and thus taken one helluva beating yet still keeps on trucking. =)

As far as reliability in hard drives goes, that's a mixed bag. At any time, any place, a hard drive could go bad, regardless if a manufacturer has a good reputation for producing quality hard drives.

Other than a MTBF rating, there's really no way to tell if the hard drive you researched and bought has superior reliability and will really live up to it's potential.

Personally, it's a chance we all take when it comes to this sort of thing. Any hard drive is capable of shelling out on you, regardless if that HDD manufacturer is known for their reliability in hard drives.

 

I have a Samsung 80GB, two 250GB, one 500GB and another 1TB, all 3,5". My Notebook will also get a Samsung(if I evr get my notebook^^).
No problems or issues or whatevr.

 

I have Hitachi 4200rpm in my USB caddy. What i like most about it is its very low noise. Also have a Hitachi 5400rpm in my laptop and have to say, it's quite noisy.

 

the price of hdd's are dropping like everything else.........

I noticed in the Staples flyer Sunday(USA) they had a Western Digital 500GB SATA Internal Hard Drive (destop) for sale for $89.98 and a 500GB Maxtor One Touch 4 USB external for $89.98(instant coupon)

not bad prices.........

 

If you have money to blow, you can always get an SLC SSD - they will essentially last for a lifetime. The con is that max capacity for now is about 64gb and prices are still expensive.

All kidding aside, I think Seagate is an excellent choice. They have great customer support and generally offer 5 year warranties on their retail kit drives.