What is a bare hard drive

[Computer n00b]

I want to buy a hard drive and I see ones labeled "Bare". What does that mean? What are the differences between a regular and a bare? Also, I'm building my first gaming PC, any advice on brands or types of hard drives for gaming?

 

[cjl]

Bare just means that it doesn't come with the manual, or the cables, or any of that kind of stuff. The drive itself should be exactly the same as a non-bare model.

 

[Computer n00b]

Bare just means that it doesn't come with the manual, or the cables, or any of that kind of stuff. The drive itself should be exactly the same as a non-bare model.

do you need the cables or are they included with the motherboard you purchased (sorry first time builder)

 

[mikey5802]

Cables usually are supplied with the mobo.

 

[cjl]

You'll usually get enough cables with the motherboard.

 

[steve9207]

As others have mentioned, it's just the drive w/o any cables / extras / fancy retail packaging.

As far as recommendations...

I've used the Samsung Spinpoint F3 500gb (x2) in a recent build, here's a link to the 1TB version, $90 but it's out of stock on Newegg right now. This seems to be pretty popular amongst members on TH's.

I like the Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB, personally, for $95 right now. It was rated as best 1TB hard drive by Maximum PC in their "Best of 2009" items. I've had good luck with it (just don't go with the 7200.11 version). I use it as my storage drive for media, etc.

Without knowing your budget, not sure if a SSD boot drive is an option. I recently picked up an OCZ Vertex 30GB ($109 after MIR currently) and I'm very pleased with it - if I had the money, I would've went with the 60gb version ($204 after MIR currently).

Hope that helps some...

 

[MrLinux]

Check the warranty, some manufacturers give a shorter warranty for bare (OEM) drives than they do for commencial boxed drives.

 

[Slim Shady]

It means it is just the drive and doesn't contain any cables, manuals, etc. They can sell it for cheaper if they don't include the entire kit.
Sometimes they will buy the OEM version, which typically is meant for companies that build systems and include their own cables, etc, so they just need the drive. Getting it that way is cheaper for them, and buying it ends up being cheaper for you.

Just realize you probably need a cable along with it, unless you already have a SATA connection available in your system.

 

[Computer n00b]

As others have mentioned, it's just the drive w/o any cables / extras / fancy retail packaging.

As far as recommendations...

I've used the Samsung Spinpoint F3 500gb (x2) in a recent build, here's a link to the 1TB version, $90 but it's out of stock on Newegg right now. This seems to be pretty popular amongst members on TH's.

I like the Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB, personally, for $95 right now. It was rated as best 1TB hard drive by Maximum PC in their "Best of 2009" items. I've had good luck with it (just don't go with the 7200.11 version). I use it as my storage drive for media, etc.

Without knowing your budget, not sure if a SSD boot drive is an option. I recently picked up an OCZ Vertex 30GB ($109 after MIR currently) and I'm very pleased with it - if I had the money, I would've went with the 60gb version ($204 after MIR currently).

Hope that helps some...

I only have a hundred dollars and no SSD for boot. So picking one that balances speed with storage is best, I dont need 1TB of memory though 400-600 GB should suffice for my needs at least for now.

 

[cjl]

The Spinpoint F3 is a good choice, as is the Seagate 7200.12.

 

[yumeyum]

So using a bare drive to replace a macbook hard drive (which uses SATA drives) would be ok? The macbook would already have everything we need?