Question Recommendations For New HDD, Safe Places To Buy ?

[sdfbvcxbf]

Hello,
I've got a failing 80% fragmented Seagate Barracuda ST31000528AS 1TB SATA HDD that I need to replace. I posted a thread with the details and asked for help:

https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...-optimise-drives-program-doesnt-help.3842613/

Thanks for the replies. I've been told to avoid SMR. and go for CMR where possible. I was wondering, considering that the failing drive that I have lasted more than 10 years, and as far as I can see it was a "Seagate Barracuda ST31000528AS 1TB SATA",


https://ibb.co/0DxH1jg


https://www.disctech.com/Seagate-Barracuda-ST31000528AS-1000GB-SATA-Hard-Drive


It appears to be an earlier version of this:


https://www.cclonline.com/st2000dm0...7_1713458319_f4522e1993e5e1641df136f4266d4deb

Seagate BarraCuda 2TB SATA III 3.5"" Hard Drive - 7200RPM, 256MB Cache


The last link shows that the
Seagate BarraCuda 2TB SATA uses SMR, which as you say is not preferable.


I can't find out whether my failing drive uses SMR or CMR.


If it uses SMR, then I'll go for the
Seagate BarraCuda 2TB SATA, despite the fact it also uses SMR; if it lasts me 10 years as this failing drive has, then I'll be happy with it - especially for the price it's being sold at.

p.s. This was the website I used to find/compare prices for the HDD:

https://skinflint.co.uk

https://skinflint.co.uk/?cat=hde7s&...&dist=&mail=&t=v&sort=p&bl1_id=30#productlist

Is this a decent one ? What site do you all use when looking for parts ?

My thanks to you all for any assistance !

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

what would you be mainly using this drive for?

if for game installations, large file storage, or other large projects i would definitely be upgrading to a larger SSD.
if just for basic storage(basic images, txt documents, etc) then an HDD would be okay.

 

[geofelt]

I would look at a 1tb or larger ssd in the first place.
Amazon or newegg are safe so long as you do not buy from affiliated vendors and buy sold and shipped direct.

 

[punkncat]

Something else to mention. If you purchase from an online retailer try to pick ones that show something to the effect of "shipped in retail packaging" (or similar) rather than where some will say "bare drive" (I cannot recall the exact wording here) where it will not have the protective packaging. Make sure to only purchase from somewhere with a good return policy. HDD are very susceptible to shock and can readily be killed in transport.

 

[sdfbvcxbf]

what would you be mainly using this drive for?

if for game installations, large file storage, or other large projects i would definitely be upgrading to a larger SSD.
if just for basic storage(basic images, txt documents, etc) then an HDD would be okay.

It's for storing large video files, phone back ups, system back ups. I think a 2TB HDD would be more useful than a 1TB SSD - I have a 500GB SSD as my main drive that suits my needs.

Do you think the "Seagate BarraCuda 2TB SATA III 3.5"" Hard Drive - 7200RPM, 256MB Cache"

https://www.cclonline.com/st2000dm0...7_1713458319_f4522e1993e5e1641df136f4266d4deb

would be suitable despite the fact it uses SMR instead of CMR for recording ?

Thanks for the help !