Hard drive help!

[gwc1023]

We are looking to purchase a new hard drive for our computer (a Dell Dimension 2350(?) bought 4 yrs ago, currently 40Gb HD).

I'm looking for the best deal/quality right now and am getting very confused - I'm pretty sure we need IDE as opposed to the new SATA(?), but there seem to be other differences between drives that make a big difference in price but I'm not sure what we actually need. Drive will be used almost exclusively for media (images and audio) storage - main drive for programs, etc, will remain our original drive.

For instance, why is an 80GB hd $59 and the 200GB only $79 by the same manufacturer here?

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=322750&CatId=134

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=423018&CatId=134

I notice these are both OEM versions so don't come with cables, software, or brackets/screws. Will I need to buy a kit somewhere with these included???

Thank you for helping a hard drive dummie - I think it's the one piece of computer equipment I haven't bought before!

[jargaguy]

I guess you have a desktop. If so you might wanna decide to get an external if you may upgrade your CPU soon. However, if not then check to see if you have the space to add a second hard drive. It's a good idea to have 2 drives for backup and saftey purposes. 80 gigs will prob not be enough and for taht price you can get a lot more now as internals. check this out...

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=564538&CatId=523

You should have all the mounting tools in your curent case from Dell. It's a green bracket (maybe) located in your case. regular phillips screwdriver will work. All you gotta do is attach the EIDE cable and the power cable and your all set. When you turn on your CPU insert the installation disk and follow the instructions. Pretty quick and painless. Then just move all your files into the new drive and clean your old drive and defragment.

** You might consider getting a bigger drive as your main. It may be a 5400 and if it's too overloaded with stuff it will not run as fast as if it's 1/4 full.

Good Luck



JA

[rwolson]

Two quick things I noticed.

1. 80 GB uses an EIDE interface while the 200 GB's using an Ultra EIDE. I suspect you can use the 80 without a problem, may run a bit slow. Ultra EIDE's definitely faster.

2. 80 GB's are very rare now. So, cost is higher.

I'm not certain, but your older system's BIOS may only support smaller drives. Consequently, you may run into problems using the 200 GB. Also, I think you need to upgrade your disk controller, but no certain.

I suggest you go to the Dell site and search thru their forums for disk upgrade recommendations plus look thru their KB. Also, I believe they have an upgrade configuration utility online. You'll need to create a login and look around.

[rw2]

I have added 2 hard drives to my computer. One external and one internal. I started with an 80 gig dell. The external connects by a usb. It is used as a backup only. It is only plugged in when backing up. It is a 250 Gig western digital I book. I added an internal 120 gig drive that is where I place my photos when I first put them on my computer. Neither have Windows on them so the full drive is recognized. I am in the process of replacing the 80 gig original drive with a 300gig drive.

[Dan-o]

It is a IDE and I don't think there is room in your case for another HD. Best to open it up and see. I had to buy a new case when I added one to my HP. I also have an external and they work fine.

[Baadil]

Are you using WinXP? If yes, most likely your system is new enough to support a big drive. TigerDirect is OK but my personal choice is newegg.com. Depending on how many drives you want, and how long you want them to last, here is a good choice.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148139

This is an IDE drive compatible with most older systems. If you wish, you can get a SATA drive right now and get an external enclosure. This way it will be compatible with any system you may get. External enclosure cost $25-30 and make any internal drive hot-swap external.

Another thing you want to keep in mind is the amount of cache. Cache is the amount of memory (not storage) a disk has. Cache memory is much faster than accessing data from the disk platers themselves. Disk controller predicts (and they are good at it) what data you are going to ask for any put that in cache ahead of your request. The drive I recommended has 16MB of cache which makes it a decently fast drive. You also 320GB of storage with this :-)

Have fun.

[Baadil]

External Enclosure for IDE:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817609001
$16

[gwc1023]

Thank you everyone for your help! I hadn't thought to check if Dell had forums, but I got a ton of great information there, including how to add a bracket to install a second HD in my tower (which I never would have realized I needed). I've ordered the bracket kit and drive today and can't wait to install and move my photos over where I don't have to check the hard drive size every day to make sure we're not running out of room, lol!

Thanks!