Cheapest GB/$

  • Thread starter Thread starter Cyde Weys
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Cyde Weys

I'm looking for the best ratio of gigabytes I can get per dollar. The
hard drive must be at least 7200rpm, have an 8MB cache, and be
IDE-compatible. Any suggestions? Also, reliability is a good quality
as well.
 
I'm looking for the best ratio of gigabytes I can get per dollar. The
hard drive must be at least 7200rpm, have an 8MB cache, and be
IDE-compatible. Any suggestions? Also, reliability is a good quality
as well.
Click to expand...

Every week or two Office Depot and Officemax have deals on 80-160Gb
drives, WD & Maxtor... this past week you could've bought an 80GB for
$20 after rebates, after coupon, or a 120GB for $30 AR, AC. By now,
Thursday, both are likely sold out, but keep an eye out for
next/next/next weeks' deals.
 
kony said:
Every week or two Office Depot and Officemax have deals on 80-160Gb
drives, WD & Maxtor... this past week you could've bought an 80GB for
$20 after rebates, after coupon, or a 120GB for $30 AR, AC. By now,
Thursday, both are likely sold out, but keep an eye out for
next/next/next weeks' deals.
Click to expand...

$20 for 80GB? Are you f'ing kidding me?!?! Damn, I'll definitely keep
a close eye on those deals! I have a problem though - my computer's IDE
channels are all saturated. I have a DVD/CD writer, a DVD-ROM, a 40GB
HD, and a 160GB HD. The 40GB HD is my primary partition and I really
don't feel like reinstalling Windows and all of my programs. What do
you recommend? Or is it just not possible to fit any more drives into
this system?

My Linux server (a $199 Walmart PC, 20GB HD), on the other hand, has
only 1 HD and 1 CD-ROM drive, so I could easily pack more HD space into
it. But it'd be more convenient to have the space available on my XP
desktop machine. Any suggestions?
 
$20 for 80GB? Are you f'ing kidding me?!?! Damn, I'll definitely keep
a close eye on those deals!
Click to expand...

Good deals used to be, 20, 30, 40, 60GB for $30 or less, but now that
platters are 80GB and going up, that's the "floor", a single-platter
drive.

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/mes...=273189&highlight_key=y&keyword1=Office Depot
I have a problem though - my computer's IDE
channels are all saturated. I have a DVD/CD writer, a DVD-ROM, a 40GB
HD, and a 160GB HD. The 40GB HD is my primary partition and I really
don't feel like reinstalling Windows and all of my programs. What do
you recommend? Or is it just not possible to fit any more drives into
this system?
Click to expand...

Retail drives typically come with software to dupe an existing drive
to a new one, and also to readjust partition sizes, IIRC. The bigger
issue may be if your case has adequate space... not just an empty slot
in the HDD rack, but where it will get adequate airflow and not reduce
airflow to existing drives.

I often refurb old ATX OEM cases, and when there's not room for all
the drives I want to stuff into one, I'll take a piece of sheet
aluminum and fab a bay, mount it to the bottom front of the case
behind a front intake fan. If fabbing bays isn't your cup of tea you
might find a mom-n-pop computer shop with some old cases, one having a
removable bay that can be screwed or riveted into your case... dunno,
haven't seen your case.

My Linux server (a $199 Walmart PC, 20GB HD), on the other hand, has
only 1 HD and 1 CD-ROM drive, so I could easily pack more HD space into
it. But it'd be more convenient to have the space available on my XP
desktop machine. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

I used to want a ton of storage space in my primary-use system, then
started thinking about it... I don't need lighting fast access for a
lot of my files, they can be stored (anywhere) on the LAN, though I
still want access by 100Mb wired connection, not wireless, it's just
too slow & inconsistent for high-res video.

If you map the drives, it's pretty painless to use 'em over the LAN,
though I don't know how well the Lindows pc is ventilated, what it's
storage bays are like... from what I've heard they aren't all that
great. Some drives used to come with bay adapters, for use in 5 1/2"
bays, though IIRC the last WD & Maxtor drives I bought didn't come
with the adapter, perhaps another cost-cutting measure.
 
Every week or two Office Depot and Officemax have deals on 80-160Gb
$20 for 80GB? Are you f'ing kidding me?!?! Damn, I'll definitely keep
a close eye on those deals! I have a problem though - my computer's IDE
channels are all saturated. I have a DVD/CD writer, a DVD-ROM, a 40GB
HD, and a 160GB HD. The 40GB HD is my primary partition and I really
don't feel like reinstalling Windows and all of my programs. What do
you recommend? Or is it just not possible to fit any more drives into
this system?
Click to expand...

About a month ago, Circuit City had WD 160Gb 8MB 7200RPM's for $79.99 AR. A
few smart ( and lucky ) pricematchers got 200Gb drives for $19.99 AR due to
WD putting 200Gb drives in clear packaging marked as 160Gb drives.

An even luckier person (me) got the drive for $79.99 and I STILL got a $100
rebate. A free HD and $15 thrown in to sweeten the deal.

Kony is right, check for the sales. www.slickdeals.com is a great place to
start. That's where I got my info.
 
Chuck wrote:

An even luckier person (me) got the drive for $79.99 and I STILL got a $100
rebate. A free HD and $15 thrown in to sweeten the deal.

Kony is right, check for the sales. www.slickdeals.com is a great place to
start. That's where I got my info.
Click to expand...

That page doesn't render any useful content in either Mozilla or Safari.
When you got the HD + $15, did you get it in-store or online? And why
didn't you tell the rest of us on here about this great deal to be had -
or was it just a local thing at your store?
 
Chuck wrote:

About a month ago, Circuit City had WD 160Gb 8MB 7200RPM's for $79.99 AR. A
few smart ( and lucky ) pricematchers got 200Gb drives for $19.99 AR due to
WD putting 200Gb drives in clear packaging marked as 160Gb drives.

An even luckier person (me) got the drive for $79.99 and I STILL got a $100
rebate. A free HD and $15 thrown in to sweeten the deal.

Kony is right, check for the sales. www.slickdeals.com is a great place to
start. That's where I got my info.
Click to expand...

CompUSA has a Seagate 160GB HD for $79.99 ($129.99 before mail-in
rebate) ... that's pretty good, at a rate of about 50 cents per
gigabyte. Here's the ad:
http://www.compusa.com/AdProducts/html_ad/2_1_04/2_1_pg1.pdf
It's still not nearly as good as getting the 200GB drive for $19.99
though. I'll keep looking around for better deals.

And can you explain how those "lucky pricematchers" got 200GB drives for
$19.99 AR?! You said that the 160GB drive was $79.99 ... even if they
mistakenly put 200GB instead of 260GB drives in the clear packaging, why
would they mark the price down by $60? And how in the hell did you buy
a 200GB HD for $79.99 BEFORE the $100 rebate?! That just boggles my mind.
 
CompUSA has a Seagate 160GB HD for $79.99 ($129.99 before mail-in
rebate) ... that's pretty good, at a rate of about 50 cents per
gigabyte. Here's the ad:
http://www.compusa.com/AdProducts/html_ad/2_1_04/2_1_pg1.pdf
It's still not nearly as good as getting the 200GB drive for $19.99
though. I'll keep looking around for better deals.

And can you explain how those "lucky pricematchers" got 200GB drives for
$19.99 AR?! You said that the 160GB drive was $79.99 ... even if they
mistakenly put 200GB instead of 260GB drives in the clear packaging, why
would they mark the price down by $60? And how in the hell did you buy
a 200GB HD for $79.99 BEFORE the $100 rebate?! That just boggles my mind.
Click to expand...

With deals like those, you have to be in the right place at the right
time... some people TRY to be in that right place, it raises their
odds, but it was a retailer's mistake, not so likely you can repeat
his good luck.

As in the past, there is a pricing differential between moderate and
higher capacity drives. That cutoff is currently in the 80-120GB
range... if you can settle for a 120GB or smaller drive you'll be
much more likely to get the best $/GB on it with less waiting,
searching... that's today though, wait a few months and the value
range will have increased to 120-160GB, similar to how it has risen in
the past.
 
Chuck wrote:



That page doesn't render any useful content in either Mozilla or Safari.
When you got the HD + $15, did you get it in-store or online? And why
didn't you tell the rest of us on here about this great deal to be had -
or was it just a local thing at your store?
Click to expand...

Well it depends on your local store.

Some are great and some suck royally.
If you are lucky and really diligent you can get them. If not forget
about it !

Its not as easy as it seems. When I was in LA you could pretty much
kiss off any of those deals. Youd see people lining up overnight for
$10 savings.

Locally I was one of those guys bragging about getting such deals
right and left - the local stores were ethical and diligent and not
much population here , competition.

Well if you read the forums many areas suck and mine is one that
totally sucks now. We often dont get any of the deals listed and the
ones that do come through are often pushed up in price.

The website also - takes your order then the local store just cancels
everything they dont have in stock which usually is most of the things
now and the few they dont want to sell you at the price in the
national ads or website.

Im still clining to the hope that there some kind of massive shortage
from the economy heating up. I thought once again maybe Im insane -
but Ive still waiting for a monitor I ordered from ODepot and I keep
hearing from the managers I talk to and people at their website that
there are inventory shortages just like at Office Max.
 
kony said:
Every week or two Office Depot and Officemax have deals on 80-160Gb
drives, WD & Maxtor... this past week you could've bought an 80GB for
$20 after rebates, after coupon, or a 120GB for $30 AR, AC. By now,
Thursday, both are likely sold out, but keep an eye out for
next/next/next weeks' deals.
Click to expand...

You know this is another reason I hate you Yanks! <eg> We *NEVER* get deals
like that! Nowhere does rebates, special offer coupons, anything like that!
A 120GB drive for £30?! I'll take three!
 
Get a Western Digital harddrive model with 8MB cache. They come in a wide
range of GB capacities and are very reliable.
 
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