Buying a Internal HD

[Angel25]

I'm building my first PC, and I got must of my parts already, but I still need to buy my HD.

My question, what HD should i buy and what I should know before buying? There are so many out there. Some say OEM,
Bare, and others don't say either one.

Also I have a budget strain, it can't go beyond $80.

Thanks!

[taekvideo]

You won't get much for $80 right now... hdd's have doubled or quadrupled in price due to the flooding in thailand.
Even a 160 gb moderate speed drive will eat up your whole budget.

[Goonygoon]

First off, I have a little bit of a concern with you building a computer without knowing what goes in one, but, I will just assume that you are going to have someone to help you, when the time comes for the build.

OK, HDDs crash course:

What are all these strange letters?
OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer. Basically means that it doesn't come in a box, and id doesn't come with instructions.
Bare: Most likely means that it doesn't come with any connecting cables
SATA: Serial ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) - Currently the most widely used connection interface between motherboard and HDD (or other device) it comes in 1.5, 3, and 6 gbps. Reference your motherboard to see which you need.
IDE: Integrated Drive Electronics. 'Ribbon cable' interface between motherboard and HDD (or other device). Not used much anymore.
RPM: Revolutions Per Minute (you probably knew that already). How fast the sucker spins.
GB: Gigabyte. Today's current norm for space (quickly being taken over by Terabyte (TB).

What to look for?
Manufacturer: Seagate, Western Digital (These are my suggestions as I have been using there products for roughly 20 years)
Storage Capacity: How much do you think you need? I would say that currently anything above 100GB is fine.
RPM: You really have two choices here, 7200 and 10000. With your money constraint, you are going to go with 7200. I personally have never really seen a quantifiable difference in the two. The next step up from these is 15000 which is fast.. but expensive. Honestly a Solid State Drive is the fastest and when you get there, ask me again. I would stick with 7200rpm
Package: OEM, BARE, BOX.. really up to you. OEM is going to have everything you need, really.. and if you need instructions you can find them free on the Interwebernets.

You can find a good selection at these fine retailers
www.tigerdirect.com
www.newegg.com
Hope this helps.

[OmnitronDefenseSystem]

As taekvideo said, you won't find anything good in the area of HDs for the moment/next six months due to flooding in thailand. If there is any way of scavenging one off of an old system and replacing it with a new one later would be your best bet.

[pyrotemplar]

edit. took to long to post and questing was already answered by someone else.

[Angel25]

Thanks for all your inputs!
@Taekvideo: I wasn't aware of the flooding in Thailand.

@Goonygoon: I'm pretty sure I know what goes in one, that's why I'm building it myself. I was just asking, since this is one of my
remaining parts that i need, and prices have gone up intensely. One of my sources for learning how to build a PC is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56k...feature=relmfu and it seems quite easy! Newegg!

Also does anyone think this one will be a good one? at least for now until prices drop again: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Western+...&skuId=8682311

[Meleti]

Caviar Green drives aren't very fast, but there just aren't good deals in the hard drive market right now. If you can't salvage a drive from another computer I'd pick up whatever drive you can cheaply and then get a better drive next year.

[Angel25]

I don't have any HD laying around!

---------- Post added 2011-11-06 at 10:55 PM ----------

Will the RPM affect gameplay? I just play Rift!

---------- Post added 2011-11-06 at 11:07 PM ----------

If anyone can help me with that last question, much appreciated. I googled it but some says yes other say no, and I trust MMO champion
more than google! lol

[FlawlessSoul]

I used to work for a company called CEX. They have stores in the UK, a few in the US and a couple of European countries. Just checked their site, and their prices for second hand drives hasn't changed a bit.

They offer 1 year warranties on their hardware, so if you want to get something cheap, see if theres a store near you or if you can buy on the website and have it shipped to you.

[Angel25]

I used to work for a company called CEX. They have stores in the UK, a few in the US and a couple of European countries. Just checked their site, and their prices for second hand drives hasn't changed a bit.

They offer 1 year warranties on their hardware, so if you want to get something cheap, see if theres a store near you or if you can buy on the website and have it shipped to you.

Thanks I'll check them out!