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Samsung Spinpoint P80 SP1614N 160 GB
by Seven17
This is my first review with sections so hope this is ok? I saw other people doing this, much more organised.
@ About @
I bought this hard drive as an upgrade for the original one I had and as far is I can tell, it's pretty much just a simple hard drive, nothing fancy, does what it says on the tin, no fuss no frills ... hard drive. The papers that come with this are very straight forward and self explanatory, it isn't shipped in a box with more wrapping than needed, and it doesn't have a load of bits to put together, just fix it in and it works first time.
@ Quality @
The actual body of the hard drive isn't flimsy at all, and the internal components are all securely in place with little movement. There aren't any bits rattling around, and it feels very secure. Once in, windows can see the drive and you can open preferences to see the space and how much you have used. This particular drive likes to file itself under "D:" for some reason.
It isn't actually 160GB of space, because it has reserved a couple gig for itself it would seem, so if you intend to fill this thing up then buy a bigger one if you need exactly 160GB or more space.
This hard drive takes all files and file types, and let's you load on an unlimited file size at a time, and it can queue up files to be transferred so rather than having to wait until one file has finished transferring, click them all, move them all, and it starts on one, then the next then the next until it is finished.
@ Speed @
- A single 3 minute .WAV (Voice recording) file takes less than ten seconds to save from within a software program like audacity
- A single MP3 file takes 1-2 seconds to save
- Copying several documents at a time already on the drive takes seconds (without freezing!)
- A Document of 1000kb saves almost instantly
@ Wear and Tear @
So far so good with this hard drive, it has been in my computer for a few years now and has not broken down or gone wrong mechanically but has had a few glitches and corrupt files. It has had a real task of putting up with dust, when I opened the slot there was clumps of dust all of the components but so far so good, nothing has happened and this hasn't affected it.
I mentioned corrupt files and glitches, simply put, the corrupt files were files that didn't save properly, so without going into jargon, software errors, and file problems. I saved a few word documents and then I could not open them again because it had broken them whilst they were on the disk. This has happened multiple times and really frustrates me, which is why I recommend keeping a back up on say, a pen drive.
@ Noise @
This hard drive isn't perfectly silent, but it isn't loud either. You will hear occasional clicks and a sound like a small computer mouse clicking inside the hard drive, but it's barely audible over the fan, so you only notice the noise close up. When saving big files it does get louder and makes a really long clicking noise followed by a whirl noise. This also happens when you start up and get to the logon screen. It's perfect when you're trying to get children to sleep in the next room, with only a couple rare clicks when your system is on idle and not doing anything.
@ Overall @
All things considered, it's a good quality drive for those that need a bit of extra space, I therefore think it deserves 4 stars. In order to earn 5 stars in my opinion it would need to stop corrupting my files so often and because it reserves some valuable space for itself and isn't actually 160GB.
Whilst I would recommend this hard drive to buy for home use, I would not recommend it for storing very important documents, precious family photos or other files you can't get back, unless you back them up somewhere. Other less important files? No problem.
It's not the fastest one out there, and by today's standards it's not the biggest, but it works well for family use at home, just installing games and documents. Actual instillation process is minutes and windows does the rest.
It's a good hard drive, and well worth the money.
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OCZ Onyx Series 64 GB
by GrayWizard
If you haven't been persuaded to buy a Solid State Drive due to the extortionist prices of conventional mechanical hard drives, then perhaps this one may do just that. I decided to give this a whirl as the prices for SSDs have been coming down quite a bit and it seemed perfect as a primary operating system drive for the OS and ... programs.
A word about installation of this drive - your case needs to support 2.5inch or you need to buy a 2.5inch for 3.5inch cage. Luckily, the HAF 922 supports 2.5inch drives by default so I didn't to buy the cage as well. It was a simple case of clicking it into place as the case didn't require any screws. This is a Sata II model which means that you can also use it with motherboards that support SataIII. It is really a simple case of powering off the computer, slotting the drive into place and connecting the cable to the motherboard and restarting.
The SSD drive is instantly recognised and I would recommend doing a fresh installation of Windows onto it as a primary storage device. Once Windows is installed, you can immediately notice how fast the operating system loads up from boot and how lightning fast applications seem to be. Even ordinary tasks like web browsing is beniftted from the non-volatile flash drive. It is basically like having a large flash memory card but on the Sata interface.
Going back to boot time, there is a stark difference and although I haven't timed it, I can assure you its quite substantial. The best thing is it is completely silent as there are no moving parts! It also draws a lot less power and so if you were to use it on a laptop - you would definitely improve battery life.
After installing Windows 7, all updates, MS Office and numerous other applications, there was still around 15GB left which was more than enough for storing other items. However, the drive isn't really suited for storage - it is more elegant as a primary device for all applications and the operating system.
Advantages
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Windows/OS loads up fast
Applications load instantly
Silent/Noiseless
Draws less power
Disadvantages
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Requires 2.5inch cage
Still expensive compared to mechanical drives
Final thoughts
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This is an ideal drive if you are looking to replace a hard drive and don't require much storage space or you wish to use it as your primary device and have a secondary mass storage. Due to its silent nature and the power consumption - this is perfect for netbooks/laptops and desktops that runs silently.
Its lightning fast, uses very little power, its quite - if these aren't reasons enough to get one - just have a look at the prices for mechanical drives.
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Microsoft Xbox 360 Hard Drive 120 GB
by Randal
We have a Microsoft Xbox 360 at home set up on the main TV, and the kids regularly use it to play their various games etc. But one of the problems we found was that as they downloaded the latest freebies and demos through Xbox live, the basic drive on the box quickly filled up to capacity, and then they would get into the debate of what ... to delete, what to keep etc. So to ease the problem, I decided to buy an extra hard drive for the device to give them that extra bit of breathing space to store all of the games and downloads.
Now to try and replace the hard drive internally would simply void the warranty of the Xbox console, and hence the easiest option was to buy an external hard drive that will connect directly to the console. So to ensure compatibility and hassle free connection, I purchased a genuine 120 GB Microsoft Xbox 360 Hard Drive from Amazon for around the £60 mark a few months ago, although shop around nowadays because prices seem to vary so much between various retailers.
Out of the box, the drive looks more like a door wedge rather than a conventional hard drive, with a thick, plastic cased section running for most of the length housing the drive and electronics, going down to a narrow connection plug at one end. On the outside you also have a silver foil strip detailing the actual size of the drive. All looks quite flash and seems to be robust and well constructed (although I have yet to do a 'drop test' to determine how well constructed!!). To fit is a relatively straight forward process. At the narrow end of the drive casing you have a clip. The idea is to press the clip and then to slot the narrow end of the drive into the connection on the Xbox - either the top if it is upright, or on the left if the console is flat. When the drive is fully home and connected, you will hear a positive click sound meaning that the drive is locked in position. To remove, just press the clip again and pull away from the console. Very simple to fit and remove, and will not invalidate your warranty for the console.
In use, there is loads of space. The kids have started to load all their games discs up to the hard drive in order to save the discs from getting scratched, and with 8 games loaded thus far, it has barely made a dent in the capacity of this drive. We also seem to suddenly be collecting a whole lot more free games and demos from Xbox Live, but I think that is just my kids suddenly realizing that they have all this extra capacity to play with. Either way, we've had this going for a good few months now with no problems, and I envisage that in terms of capacity, it should last us for quite a while yet.
One particular issue that is worth noting is that although the drive says it has a capacity of 120 GB, the actual measured size and available capacity that you will get is about 113 GB. This is because some of the space is reserved by Xbox to allow the drive to operate. I've seen other people notice this capacity issue and automatically thought that the drive was wrong. So it is a point to be aware of that it is actually ok.
In summary, whilst this may be a little on the expensive side for a hard drive, it is a dedicated device for Xbox 360 that is specifically designed to work with your console. Easy to fit, it has loads of capacity and is also well designed and stylish, complimenting the look of your console. Hence, a 5 star recommendation.
Review also on Ciao under Randal1.
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