Help choosing SATA HDD

[SpydaMan]

I incorrectly ordered an IDE hard drive for a new build, and want to order a SATA drive now. Can someone tell me the difference between these 3 drives??? They look the same to me...

Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3160811AS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148149

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3160815AS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148230

Seagate SV35 Series ST3160812SV 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148163

[Cricket]

For a new computer I wouldn't even get any of those...they only have 8MB cache. You want the 7200.10 16MB cache models.

The SV35 series hard drives are said to be optimized for surveillance video use...not sure what that means though.

Cricket

[SpydaMan]

OK I found these two. Whats the difference between them besides $10.00? I was not going to get one that big for programs, but that's all they had to offer with Seagate...

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148144

Seagate Barracuda ES ST3250620NS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148155

[Cricket]

The Seagate Barracuda ES HDDs are designed for enterprise/mission critical/server use...I'm guessing they're very, very reliable.

For home use I would just use the 7200.10 16MB models...been getting the 320GB models recently as that seems to be the sweet spot (cost vs. storage size) right now, although the 400GB and 500GB models are becoming more affordable lately.

Cricket

[SpydaMan]

What I am wondering is how many GB's is enough to buy? Is there ever a time when a hard drive can have too much storage capacity and cause problems??? Hope that was not listed under the stupid question section...

[freakitchen]

No such thing as too much capacity! The only thing you need to keep in mind is that the very largest capacity physical drives - we're seeing a terrabyte now - command a significant price premium; being as they are the 'best' that money can buy. Price per gigabyte is the most important consideration.

[SpydaMan]

Originally Posted by Freakitchen No such thing as too much capacity!

I was just not sure if have alot of unused space was a bad thing. Since I cannot find a Seagate 7200.10 with less than 200 or 250 GB, I will just get another 320 GB for my programs and operating system.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by SpydaMan What I am wondering is how many GB's is enough to buy?

I usually just get the biggest Seagate HDD $100 will get me.

Originally Posted by SpydaMan Is there ever a time when a hard drive can have too much storage capacity and cause problems???

No, too much empty space won't cause problems...but having too little empty space will cause Windows to get fussy or flakey. Generally less than 15% free space doesn't give the swap file much room to expand if necessary. The swap file is dynamic and will expand or contract depending on what you're doing with the computer. The more free space your C: has the happier the swap file will be.

Cricket