There are those who need big honkin’ hard drives and those who don’t.
Typically, those that need the big-big drives do one or more of the following:
- Video editing. Camcorder, DV, DVR, Tivo, DVD ripping, etc.
- Multitrack audio editing. The raw WAV files are quite large.
- Gaming. Many newer games require a significant amount of space.
- Photography. Even on point-and-shoot digital camera photos, each photo can easily be over 3MB in size. If you take a lot of photos this can add up in size rather quickly.
Those that don’t do any of the above or only on a semi-regular basis typically don’t need the big-big drives (or just use an external when required).
With that being said, here are the numbers as of now for what you’d pay if you decide to add on a hard drive.
All prices are listed in US dollars. All drive types are standard 3.5-inch form factor with SATA connector. Links provided are lowest price offerings from NewEgg. Always remember to do your research with hard drives before buying one. Just because something is lowest price doesn’t mean it’s the best offering (obviously).
80GB: $35
It makes no sense to purchase a 40GB any longer because the 80GB versions are cheaper by a few bucks. This is the smallest and cheapest available offering for SATA.
If you are still going super-old-school with Windows 98, this is the drive you want because the 120GB versions are tough to come by new and that is the maximum ’98 will recognize (technically it’s 137GB but you obviously can’t buy a 137GB drive).
160GB: $42
I have no idea why this size is still even offered. It’s too big for old-school operating systems and to small for newer ones. I’d skip it.
250GB: $50
I wouldn’t bother with this one either. See next listing.
320GB: $50
It’s amazing that for just 8 bucks more you double the size from 160GB to 320GB.
500GB: $55
Yes, you can go for the big guns for just 55 bucks. Most would agree that this is the start of big-big territory by current standards.
640GB: $70
The 640GB size is a bit of an oddity because the 750GB version is just 5 bucks more (see next listing).
750GB: $75
We started at $35. Forty dollars later we’re in 750GB territory.
1TB (1000GB): $100
Twenty-five bucks after that we’re in terabyte territory.
1.5TB (1500GB): $120
Twenty bucks beyond that is one-and-a-half terabyte territory.
…and this is where we end.
For now. 
NewEgg currently doesn’t stock 2TB internal hard drives – but I’m sure they’re right around the corner and waiting to be sold in ’09.
Is the terabyte range worth the price?
Yes. When it broke $200 it was worth the asking price.
However for most people that don’t do a ton of video stuff (be it DV and/or DVR, etc.), 500GB will fit the bill nicely.
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The 1.5TB listing links to a 1TB disk.
I suspect some of the oddball sizes still out there and popular have to do with linux based appliances like old TIVOs needing upgrades, etc.
Ah yes, good point. Although one wonders if in a TIVO if the OS “expects” a very particular HD size whereas larger drives wouldn’t work for whatever reason.
Hey Rich. Great article. Just a question. With the larger size HDs doesn’t that mean more of your information will be lost if the drive fails? I know you should back up but I’m reading more and more that CDs/DVDs are not a good way to back up. Where/How do you suggest to back up data? Also if you partition such a large drive like a 1TB or 1.5TB does that work like separate drives when one fails? Just curious.
Thanks for all the great articles and hard work. Happy Holidays
I tell people to use flash drives (i.e. USB sticks) instead of optical media these days. They’re not nearly as prone to physical failure as optical is. Price wise you spend more but the reliability is more than worth it.
Having a big drive fail is the same as having a smaller drive fail. If it busts, the data is gone. The only way around that is to RAID it or use traditional backup methods (separated drives from the primary).
Are the HDs mentioned all the same speed? And if so what speed?
Wow!!! I just bought a 320 gigabite laptop drive last week (SATA) at Best Buy for $115. Do you reckon I got screwed? I try to stay away from those places,but had to have a drive fast.
Well you pretty much answered your own question. You needed a drive right then and basically paid for the convenience of getting it that day. Is that getting screwed? Not really. When you enter the middleman (i.e. the store itself) there’s almost always a premium to be paid for the convenience.
I don’t mind paying a little bit for fast,but 300% is pushing the envelope a lil.