[buchanan]

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130454
Samsung SpinPoint HD501LJ 500GB SATAII Hard Drive 16MB Cache - OEM
£56.99

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/141471
Maxtor 500GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm *32MB Cache* - OEM
£59.99

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124741
Western Digital WD5000AAJS 500GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200RPM 8MB Cache - OEM
£62.61

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124228
Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB SATA II 7200RPM 16MB Cache - OEM
£62.62

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130826
Seagate ST3500320AS 500GB Hard Drive SATA II 7200rpm *32MB Cache* - OEM
£65.99

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139212
Western Digital 500GB Hard Drive SATAII 8.9MS 7200RPM 16MB Cache - OEM
£69.38

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139739
Samsung HD753LJ 750GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm *32MB Cache* - OEM
£89.99


here is the enclosure i will probably use
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/136248 (thanks for the recommendation phil).
this seems the same but with esata too so maybe get this one.
http://svp.co.uk/products-solo.php?pid=5407

these drives are all from ebuyer, are there any clear winners from the ones here or better drives i have overlooked?
i included the 750gb drive because it looked good value but i will probably stick with a 500gb i don't know.

would it be worth getting a drive with 32mb cache?

i read good things about samsung but also that they can be unreliable compared to others.
i really want the most reliable drive i can get for backing up my data, i have included prices here but really i would prefer to pay a little more for best reliability.

there were also some hitachi drives i did not include here.

i would be grateful to hear your opinions phil and alex (and anyone else)

cheers guys

buchanan

[Carbon]

Of those, the £69.38 one is the best imo. The C is 2 platter unlike the other one (K), and WD is the best brand of those.

[philthomas]

Yep ... I agree with Carbon, the WD @ £69.38 would be my choice.

A drive with 32mb cache, in theory will be faster, but USB will govern speed here anyway .... also WD is probably a better drive than Maxtor, Seagate or Samsung.

[buchanan]

thanks a lot guys,
could you explain the platter and why it is better than the other 16mb western digital (WD5000AAKS).

are there any better drives out there you would recommend over these?

many thanks

[buchanan]

the 750gb samsung is £10 cheaper now: 79.99, i am tempted by the value here now, do you think it is much inferior and less reliable than the WD?

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139739

thanks in advance

[philthomas]

I have used Samsung drives a few times in the last few years and they have been very reliable.
The spec. of this one is quite good, so I'm sure it'll be fine.

[Carbon]

I've heard nothing but bad things about Samsung drives..

[philthomas]

Well the thing is this, you will always get several different opinions when looking for recommenadions on a specific brand, these will differ, depending on who you talk to.

From experience, I believe Samsung are excellent drives that are both quiet and reliable, definitely preferable to Maxtor and Seagate (since the Maxtor takeover). WD are excellent too, but it's fair to say that any make/model can fail and when it does, folk who have lost precious data, are very wary to recommend or to buy the same make again.

At the end of the day, you pays your money and takes your chance

[philthomas]

If you dont mind a little reading, this article covers larger capacity drives and is from a reputable stable (toms hardware).

As you will see the 500gb Samsung got there "Best Buy" for price/performance recommendation and comes with a 3 year guarantee.

[buchanan]

ok guys, i just bought this enclosure:
http://svp.co.uk/products-solo.php?pid=5407

and this hdd (750gb samsung,)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139739

got free shipping from ebuyer and 99p shipping from svp so i'm not expecting them for a few days at the earliest but i'll let you know how i get on, cheers for the help.

buchanan