Re: Hard Disk Drives: Is there a clear Leader???
DISCLAIMER: I work for a hard disk drive company. As a result, I'll give a general opinion, but will not make any recommendations for or against any manufacturer.
1) Keep in mind what capacity, size ( form factor ) and interface of hard drive you are considering. Many manufacturers have, for example, a 3 1/2" parallel-ATA drive of at least 40 GB capacity: however, very few have 1" drives, as an extreme example. Obviously, the more entries into a particular segment of the market, the more competition will force prices down for that segment.
2) Like everything else in the world, first revisions of a disk drive may not have the quality and yields that later versions may have. Manufacturers of disk drivers, automotives, and pretty much everything else usually learn how to improve their processes during revisions of a product launch. I personally avoid first-year releases of a new car, as they tend to have more problem spots than 2nd- or 3rd- year models. Similarly, it wouldn't surprise me if newly-announced hard disk drives have a higher incidence rate than products that have been rolling off the production line for months.
3) Enterprise ( business-class ) drives have a high premium on price, but typically use higher-quality components ( and have more stringent testing ) than personal-storage products. I've never been willing (personally) to pay the premium for the extra reliability, but if money is no object you may want to consider them.
4) Consider the benefits and disadvantages of rotational speed. As you increase RPMs, you increase the speed of the disk drive (generally), but also increase power requirements, and create excess heat.
5) Consider the drive's warranty and company's history and current situation. If the company is in financial trouble, it may or may not be around to honor the warranty if problems occur several years down the road. As a result, check out the company before assuming that a "five-year warranty" is better ( or worse ) than a lesser warranty.
6) As others have said, backups are essential.
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