Hello, I was wondering if anybody could answer some of my questions --
A couple of days ago I had my Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ die on me after about 1 and a half years of use as a storage drive (disappointing). I was able to back up all my info to an external drive, so I haven't lost any data.
Link to F3: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=22-152-185&SortField=0&SummaryType=1&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo
Now I am looking to buy 2 identical 1TB HDD's and set up a Raid 1 array. They will still be used primarily as storage, but I will be installing some secondary programs and using the drive for video editing as well (there isn't enough room on my SSD boot drive to store my productivity programs and large HD video files to edit at the same time).
After a few days of constant research I arrived at the same conclusion I did when I bought the F3 a year ago, that it provides the best speed and performance for the price over the competition. I would probably just go ahead and buy the F3 again but since Samsung's HDD division got bought out by Seagate, I have been concerned that the production facility, or worse, the components used are now all Seagate. I personally have had zero experience with any Seagate drives, but from my research I see that most people tend to prefer other brands than Seagate (and something about a horrible driver problem a couple years back leaves me un-trusting of them). Everywhere I look I can't get a straight answer if the remaining F3 drives are still just overstock from when Samsung made them, or if they are now manufactured by Seagate.
As well, has anybody else had problems with Samsung drives in the past? I was happy with mine until it started to get slower and slower (a few people report this happening too in user reviews) until it reached the point where it died.
My other choice is to get 2 Western Digital Caviar Blacks (WD1001FALS)
Link: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=22-136-284&SortField=0&SummaryType=2&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=5#scrollFullInfo
These almost have the same performance that the F3 does, but they are quite a bit more expensive. I have also never had any personal experience using WD drives, but it seems like more people seem to trust them than Seagate.
I understand that reliability for all HDD's is essentially a coin toss, but I want to be able to semi-rely on my investment.
So to re-cap:
1. Are the current F3's being sold overstock from Samsung? Or are they now manufactured by Seagate. Are they reliable still?
2. Should I get the F3, or the WD Blacks? Which would you personally recommend (either from experience or some other means)?
3. Should I be looking at other drives? Is there a better 1TB drive than the F3 for around the same price?
Any help would be appreciated, buying computer hardware is a very important deal for me, especially when that hardware stores my important data on it, making an HDD selection is always so difficult for me to make
Thankyou
A couple of days ago I had my Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ die on me after about 1 and a half years of use as a storage drive (disappointing). I was able to back up all my info to an external drive, so I haven't lost any data.
Link to F3: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=22-152-185&SortField=0&SummaryType=1&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo
Now I am looking to buy 2 identical 1TB HDD's and set up a Raid 1 array. They will still be used primarily as storage, but I will be installing some secondary programs and using the drive for video editing as well (there isn't enough room on my SSD boot drive to store my productivity programs and large HD video files to edit at the same time).
After a few days of constant research I arrived at the same conclusion I did when I bought the F3 a year ago, that it provides the best speed and performance for the price over the competition. I would probably just go ahead and buy the F3 again but since Samsung's HDD division got bought out by Seagate, I have been concerned that the production facility, or worse, the components used are now all Seagate. I personally have had zero experience with any Seagate drives, but from my research I see that most people tend to prefer other brands than Seagate (and something about a horrible driver problem a couple years back leaves me un-trusting of them). Everywhere I look I can't get a straight answer if the remaining F3 drives are still just overstock from when Samsung made them, or if they are now manufactured by Seagate.
As well, has anybody else had problems with Samsung drives in the past? I was happy with mine until it started to get slower and slower (a few people report this happening too in user reviews) until it reached the point where it died.
My other choice is to get 2 Western Digital Caviar Blacks (WD1001FALS)
Link: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=22-136-284&SortField=0&SummaryType=2&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=5#scrollFullInfo
These almost have the same performance that the F3 does, but they are quite a bit more expensive. I have also never had any personal experience using WD drives, but it seems like more people seem to trust them than Seagate.
I understand that reliability for all HDD's is essentially a coin toss, but I want to be able to semi-rely on my investment.
So to re-cap:
1. Are the current F3's being sold overstock from Samsung? Or are they now manufactured by Seagate. Are they reliable still?
2. Should I get the F3, or the WD Blacks? Which would you personally recommend (either from experience or some other means)?
3. Should I be looking at other drives? Is there a better 1TB drive than the F3 for around the same price?
Any help would be appreciated, buying computer hardware is a very important deal for me, especially when that hardware stores my important data on it, making an HDD selection is always so difficult for me to make
Thankyou