Torn between 2 drives

[Skippy35]

Hi Guys and Gals,

I am thinking about getting a new HDD and I would like some opinion on the 2 that I narrowed it down to: Western Digital Elements 1TB and Freecom Classic 1TB.

I had a Freecom (80GB) that lasted 5 years, and I have now a WD (500GB) that is still going from a year and a half ago.

Would anybody reccomend either one in particular? Or another one (preferablly less than £100)?
Which one should I spend all my birthday money on?

Thanks for any help/advice/other things,
Skippy35
:wave:

[saltman]

Who makes the hard drive in the Freecom enclosure? Who has the longest warranty?

[Skippy35]

Hi saltman,

These are the links to the two drives:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Freecom-Classic-External-Hard-Drive/dp/B001C855JU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1225812900&sr=8-1
and
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-Elements-External-Desktop/dp/B001BKSA6O/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1225812953&sr=1-4

I am not sure about the WD's warrenty but Freecom has a 1 year warrenty. Also, I am not sure who makes the HD in the Freecom enclosure, the last Freecom one I had was made by Hitachi but here is the specs on the 1tb one. (Warning, is a pdf): http://www.freecom.com/objects/00013447.pdf

Thanks for your response

[pawel]

I use Seagate, and I have never had a failure (touch wood). If you have comp switched on for 24h check heavy duty drives having NS symbol.

[lounge_act]

you won't go wrong with WD. i have 2 of them and they're reliable. you can hear lots of complaints but they're good.

[saltman]

I used to be a dedicated WD purchaser. Never had failures, cheap, 3 year warranty. I had one fail in a RAID array after 5 years of heavy use which would be expected. We use their externals here at work and they have been failure free for 3 years plus.

I recently purchased two seagates to put in RAID and one failed the day I got it. I think it was a fluke and it was replaced no questions asked. From my research Seagate and WD are pretty much the same in terms of quality. I think Seagate only has a 1 year warranty but they are usually a little cheaper. I don't know anything about Freecom. That is why I asked about the drive in it. Hitachi makes pretty good 2.5" drives. I don't know much about them though.

If it was me, I would get the WD.

[direwolf-pgh]

never met a hard drive that didnt fail.

hello..metal platters spinning at 7200+ rpm

[saltman]

That is true. I think with most you should expect to get 3 years. 5 years if you are lucky. I would be really careful with my data after 3 years and make sure it is backed up are not that important on that drive.

[Jerm]

Solid State
as soon as they can make em big enough and the price comes down!
http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/products/flash/ssd/2008/what/overview.html

[Skippy35]

Thanks for your help everybody, you have made the decision much easier for me. I am just about to order the 1TB WD on Amazon now. If it fails within 2 weeks I will be sure to let you know. :)

Thanks again :thumbsup