What is the best size for a hard drive for a new desktop computer without spending more than $100?

[froggyboy604]

I think 2 TB is the best hard drive size for desktop computers since a 2 TB hard drive cost about $90 or less at online stores like Newegg, Tigerdirect, Amazon, etc while a 1-1.5 TB cost between $60-80 online, or even $90 depending on the brand, features, cache size, and model.

Although, there are also 3TB desktop hard drives which cost $119 which could be worth it if you share your desktop PC with many pc gamers, video editors, and other people in your home which also use a lot of storage space for movies, games, programs, music, and high resolution photos.

500GB drives don't really seem like a good choice these days unless you just plan on using it to install Windows, or Linux at a Internet Cafe, Library, or a old person's computer who mainly use their PC for checking e-mail, Facebook, YouTube, Typing documents, and printing stuff. Plus, 500GB drives can cost between $55-60 or more, and if you pay $30 more you get more 1.5 TB more of free space.

 

[Black Angel]

It all depends on where you get it, but 3TB is a lot of space.. I wouldn't know what to do with all of it..

 

[froggyboy604]

Indeed, 3TB is a lot of space. I remember a computer video saying bigger hard drives are slightly faster because files are packed closer together on the spinning disc inside the drives, and bigger hard drives usually have bigger Cache Sizes like 64MB, and other newer features which may not be on older 500GB-1TB drives.

I most likely will use the 3TB to backup my DVD movie collection, CD music collection, files from older drives, and computers, and install a lot of PC games which I still have on disc, and use Steam, and other online services to download free and paid software and games.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

holy crap, there selling 3TB already? I still thought it was at 2.

but yeah, if you do a ton of media or gaming then you need at least 1 TB. If you're a general user then I say about 700GB is more than enough.

 

[froggyboy604]

There are 4TB drives for $159 on Newegg which has great deals on electronics and computer hardware compared to Bestbuy which has higher prices.

1TB may seem like a lot of space now, but I think as more people buy games and software, or download free software online, it may get filled up faster espiecally people who have very fast Gigabit internet.

I think if you share a computer with a few people, it is best to buy the biggest hard drive you can afford, or see if they are willing to help pay for the hard drive since you never know who would suddenly buy a lot of Steam Games on Steam, or take a computer course like video editing, game making, or 3D animation at a school or an online school.

 

[Yoshi]

1TB may seem like a lot of space now, but I think as more people buy games and software, or download free software online, it may get filled up faster espiecally people who have very fast Gigabit internet.

Froggyboy's right about this, at least if I'm understanding the intent behind it right. 1TB may seem like a large amount, but now-a-days, most games are anywhere between 10-20GB, some of which can be even bigger. Not including your OS and programs that you need, you're going to fill that drive up fast.

 

[froggyboy604]

Also, Steam and other online digital stores could be having a sale or giveaway on PC Games, and software which may make you buy a lot of software, movies, tv shows, music, and other digital files you want because they are being sold for a few dollars, or given away for free during a promotion like buy one game, and get another free.

With all these online sales and giveaway which online stores like Steam, iTunes,etc are having, you quickly fill up a lot of space on a hard drive with the games, music, movies, and TV shows you buy online.

 

[zoldos]

I just bought a 2TB drive for $99. It's awesome.  Say 50+ games installed and I haven't even used 25% of the space.