Planning to buy a new harddisk …
 

Hello,

I'm seeking your advice.

My plan is to buy myself this year (if things hgo well) a new harddisk and Windows 7 Ultimate. I want the whole thing, so I won't argue about the "Ultimate Edition" (sounds somewhat like a "Collector's Edition" to me, lol :D ).

However, I'm still pretty clueless about harddisks.

My thoughts are :

- it should be silent
- it should be somewhat around 500 GB to 1 TB disk space
- it should be able to run under Windows XP 32bit, which I plan to keep
- it should be - if possible - under 100 Euros, 200 Euros is the highest border
- it should be relatively easy to cool
- it should not draw too much energy
- it should have some kind of guarantee
- it should be long-lasting - I'm upgrading my stuff only somewhat around 5 years or even more.

What it most definitively shgould NOT have, is, to be an 4kn harddisk.
It shouldn't even be 512e, because that's too dangerous for (backwards compatibility again).
( More here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Format )

Apart from that, I'm pretty clueless.

I think that I'd need a new mainboard as well at some point, since my "gaming PC" is from 2009, I think.

My current "gaming PC" mainboard is an ASUS mainboard called P5KPL-CM.
Its specs taken from the ASUS web page :

Important regarding the HD is this part :

More here : http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P5K…pecifications/

This means that my HD should be able to run with this mainboard until I can afford a new one - the question for compatibility comes to mind.

Any recommendations ?
And any recommendations for a new mainboard as well ? (It should be unter 100 Euros, if possible, and have at least 1 PCI slot for backward compatibility reasons, if possible, especially for my Soundblaster X-fi Fatal1ty soundcard).

Alrik

What is your budget for the HD?

I say get SSDs HDs but 512GB will cost you about £150. Note that your motherboard has SATA II connector so it won't make use of SSD full speed now.

Here is one of the cheapest but good SSDs

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-500G…ywords=500+SSD

I'd vote SSD, too. They make a huge difference in overall snappiness and speed of your PC.

If possible under 100 Euros; however, I won't pay much more than 150 Euros.

Is WinXp able to handle SSDs, by the way ?

WindowsXP on a SSD is not a problem, there are some excellent guides on the internet on what you need to change in your system settings to have it "do the right thing" with that drive (no defrag, etc). However Windows7 and even more Windows8(.1) offer way better performance and support for SSD's and games. Apart from potential security issues with WindowsXP since it's not longer supported and patched by Microsoft, I would say go for an SSD. The new Crucial MX100 series offers very good bang for buck!

Get the mx100 256gb for about 70 euro.

WinXp should be fine on a SSD. Here are some nice tips for installing WinxP on ssd http://www.mysolutions.it/tips-migra…indows-xp-ssd/

You have one other option, buy 256GB SSD (£75) and then 1 or 2 TB HD (£35 or £60). However this mean you need enough slots on your PC case etc. This is the setup I use. I have OS on the SSD and that few games I play regularly. I move the games I don't play on to the HD.

Note that the prices I quotes just comes from first page of amazon, so you can get cheaper if you shop around.

Also why do you want "Windows 7 Ultimate". Whats in there that you need?

Everything. :D

I just want no compromize in things. I want everything they have to offer, nothing else.

On the other hand it'll have to stay there with me for at least another 7 or more years … ;)

Everything ? Windows 8 :p
Seriously, maybe wait for windows 9

Hello Alrik, I highly suggest NOT getting Seagate. I've had 2 (2TB and 3TB) drives fail on me within 5 years. I will never buy a Seagate again. On the other hand I have multiple Western Digital drives still running fine. Even have one from 1998 still works!

I currently run a Samsung 128GB SSD for my OS (Win8) and a 3TB drive for applications/misc (2 mirrored 3TB drives, one being a remanufactured Seagate I recieved from the failed one the other a NAS rated HGST). The SSD is…very fast.

I would also say do not be against Windows 8…it runs perfectly fine once you set it up to your liking. I switched from WinXP to Windows 8…at first I hated it and missed XP badly. Now its perfectly fine once I installed ClassicShell and set it up to my liking.

Well, I just abhor the UI of Windows 8. I'm forced to work with Office 2010 and Office 2013 at work - I just hate it !

About Seagate … Yes, I had made bad experiences with Seagate in the past as well. However, I do not recall what HDs I'm using right now …

How long do SSDs last, by the way ? How many years ?

I use these at work in my servers. Never had one die yet. Pretty cheap also.

http://www.amazon.com/WD-Red-NAS-Har…=red+hard+disk

This is my first foray with an SSD so I'm not sure how long they last. However I ghost the image to the larger drives every month or so.

That WD RED drive is very nice. NAS rated drives, from what I've researched, have better reliability.

Thank you so far. A few bills have made my income a bit smaller, so I just can't afford that this month again … But you gave me enough food for thought !