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    Replacing/Upgrading Failing Hard Drive in my iMac (2008)

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by L3vi, Feb 9, 2010.

  1. L3vi

    L3vi Merry Christmas!

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    I'm looking to put a hard drive to put in my old 2008 Imac. The one in it is basically dying. I'm looking for one with these specs for a minimum.

    SATA II (3 gb/s)
    7200 or 10,000 rpm
    64MB cache
    3.5"
    At least 500 GB

    Here are some that I know that are compatible with the iMac, but I'm wondering if there are better/better valued alternatives?

    Western Digital Caviar Green 500GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive $54.99 + FREE SHIPPING by Newegg.com

    Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive $64.99 + FREE SHIPPING by Newegg.com


    Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive $79.99 + FREE SHIPPING by Newegg.com


    Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drives $94.99 + FREE SHIPPING by Newegg.com
     
  2. Levenly

    Levenly Grappling Deity

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    you're HDD is failing after 2 years?

    from my understanding, the Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 hard drives are wonderful.

    i have a WD hdd in my desktop, though, for some reason my hitachi 7k200 felt much quicker than the WD i have. is there any reason for the 64mb cache?
     
  3. L3vi

    L3vi Merry Christmas!

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    I hear that a bigger cache makes for a better hard drive, helps loading times on programs and stuff. I could be wrong though. But if the difference is negligible then whatever, I can settle for 32MB, it's probably not that big of a deal.

    And yea it is failing, did a hardware test and came up with a HD error. Those barracudas look pretty good. Is it true that they run cooler than other hard drives?
     
  4. Amnesiac

    Amnesiac 404

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    The Seagate 7200.12's are pretty good, but I have heard the Caviar Black line is better, in terms of speed...

    And since this is desktop or AIO discussion, wouldn't it be better put in Desktop Review?
     
  5. SoundOf1HandClapping

    SoundOf1HandClapping Was once a Forge

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    Most things from eBay. On the offchance the one you get from there starts to die itself, you can always RMA through Western Digital. Very painless process.
     
  6. Padmé

    Padmé NBR Super Pink Princess

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