Need a cheap SATA hard drive... but where?

[mrsilv04]

The Dell that my folks are using (Optiplex GX620- 2.8GHz) needs a new hard drive. The computer is about 5 years old. They only use it for email, browsing, and Office documents.

I don't do this a whole lot, and hate it when it is time... because I don't swap out drives enough.

160GB should be plenty.

 

[SrDriver]

Have you checked with your local Best Buy store?

 

[Coprolite]

I like Newegg.

 

[RiceCake]

160 gigs? You could contact the local small shops if you can. Some might have tested used drives you can toss in there. Yeah, its used, but I used to work in a shop that sold disks like that, dirt cheap, and never had a problem with any of the ones I picked up.

 

[uc50ic4more]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
The Dell that my folks are using (Optiplex GX620- 2.8GHz) needs a new hard drive. The computer is about 5 years old. They only use it for email, browsing, and Office documents.

I don't do this a whole lot, and hate it when it is time... because I don't swap out drives enough.

160GB should be plenty.


160GB for email and office docs?!?!?!?!?!

I think they could run their OS from an Ubuntu live CD and use a $3 4GB USB stick for their files... Or just use Gmail and Google Docs and Picasa, etc. and run from a live CD with no hard drive.

 

[ET16]

Originally Posted By: Coprolite
I like Newegg.

+1

 

[AuthorEditor]

Quote:
Originally Posted By: Coprolite
I like Newegg.

+1


+2 Hard Drives

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: uc50ic4more
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04


160GB should be plenty.


160GB for email and office docs?!?!?!?!?!

I think they could run their OS from an Ubuntu live CD and use a $3 4GB USB stick for their files... Or just use Gmail and Google Docs and Picasa, etc. and run from a live CD with no hard drive.


It has a 400GB drive in it now.

I'm starting to wonder if their documents simply got lost on that 400GB drive... ;^)

A 40GB drive would be plenty.

 

[javacontour]

http://www.microcenter.com/product/385776/35_160GB_SATA_Internal_Hard_Drive_-_Refurbished

$33. My local store had a 250GB for ~$36 as well.

New ones start at about $55.

How cheap do you need it?

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

I've refubed many of those exact systems. If the power supplies don't pop, they last a long while.

The refurb:
a) make sure it's at 2GB RAM or more,
b) any popular faster cheap drive, I like the Seagate 500GB .12 series disks,
c) fresh install of Windows 7 32-bit.

It will feel like new system over WinXP, no joke. I had one user call me and say "thanks for the new computer, it's so much faster than the old one". I replied, "it's the same exact system except for a fresh hard drive and Windows 7".


If Samsung still sells the 320GB drive, it was one of the fastest & cheapest on the market, even faster than the .12 Seagate drives.

 

[Brons2]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
http://www.microcenter.com/product/385776/35_160GB_SATA_Internal_Hard_Drive_-_Refurbished

$33. My local store had a 250GB for ~$36 as well.

New ones start at about $55.

How cheap do you need it?


I paid $58 for my last retail boxed (new) 1TB drive in my work desktop. a 250GB refurb drive for $33-36 isn't a good value compared to that. IMO.

Even with todays slightly higher prices, you can get a brand new WD Green 500GB for $59.99 at Fry's or a 1TB for $79.99.

Or just look on newegg.

160GB drives are obsolete and not worth the obscene prices that people charge for them, especially if you are talking refurb.

 

[Brons2]

To wit:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697

$49 for 1TB, free shipping.

 

[PandaBear]

If you want to pay shipping I can send you my old 80GB SATA.

 

[mrsilv04]

Ended up with a new Samsung Spinpoint 160GB drive for $29 delivered, no tax.

I'm happy.

 

[mrsilv04]

Wow. Do I hate the process of reinstalling Windows...

"Installing update 33 of 116"

Thankfully I have coffee, this laptop, and my new phone to finish setting up.


We'll see how long this $29 Samsung (now owned by Seagate) drive lasts... I wrote the install date on it with a Sharpie, so I'll know.

 

[jdeare]

They're not bad... I have a Spinpoint 1TB drive in a RAID array that I use for backup with a manufacture date in 2008... still going strong.

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Ended up with a new Samsung Spinpoint 160GB drive for $29 delivered, no tax.

I'm happy.


I'm not happy any more...

As an FYI...

I bought (see above) what was described as a "brand new" hard drive from Go Hard Drive ( www.goharddrive.com ). They happen to have a 99.9% feedback rating on eBay.

Crystal Disk Reports shows that this drive has about 25,000 hours on it.

I pitched a fit to the vendor, and they refunded all of my money, without comment.

I'd like to think that this was an honest mistake... but as always... caveat emptor.

 

[DuckRyder]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
http://www.microcenter.com/product/385776/35_160GB_SATA_Internal_Hard_Drive_-_Refurbished

$33. My local store had a 250GB for ~$36 as well.

New ones start at about $55.

How cheap do you need it?


I bought 3 of the 80gb versions of these - one was bad out of the box. FWIW

 

[GMFan]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Ended up with a new Samsung Spinpoint 160GB drive for $29 delivered, no tax.

I'm happy.


I'm not happy any more...

As an FYI...

I bought (see above) what was described as a "brand new" hard drive from Go Hard Drive ( www.goharddrive.com ). They happen to have a 99.9% feedback rating on eBay.

Crystal Disk Reports shows that this drive has about 25,000 hours on it.

I pitched a fit to the vendor, and they refunded all of my money, without comment.

I'd like to think that this was an honest mistake... but as always... caveat emptor.



I bought a new HP computer back in 2003 and it came with an 80GB Samsung hard drive that had a manufacture date of a few months prior and Crystal Disk Report also showed lots of hours on the drive. I trust those programs as much as I paid for it (it was free).

The drive did fail after about 2.5 years though.