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iMac HD failed - need replacement suggestion

djc6

djc6

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 11, 2007
930
699
Cleveland, OH
I have a 2008 2.8Ghz iMac. The HD failed. I need a new one, but I never know what brand to get. I've been burned by most of them at some point in my life :)

My priority list is 1) Reliability 2) Performance 3) Capacity. Can anyone offer any suggestions? I tend to go on newegg and see which has the most stars. If I delve too closely into the reviews, I'll find failures for all of them (which I know to expect..)
 
djc6 said:
I have a 2008 2.8Ghz iMac. The HD failed. I need a new one, but I never know what brand to get. I've been burned by most of them at some point in my life :)

My priority list is 1) Reliability 2) Performance 3) Capacity. Can anyone offer any suggestions? I tend to go on newegg and see which has the most stars. If I delve too closely into the reviews, I'll find failures for all of them (which I know to expect..)
Click to expand...

I've used Hitachi and Samsung drives that have worked well. All purchased from Newegg.

Here is a 500GB one with 5 stars:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

But you have lots of choices. Just make sure you have a backup!
 
If your main concern is reliability, get an 'enterprise' class drive. They have higher lifespan ratings and longer warranty terms. Do expect the price to be higher.
 
djc6 said:
I've got time machine AND carbonite, so I'm good there. My main concern is reattaching the temperature sensor on the HD. Not sure what adhesive to use.
Click to expand...

How about a really good fan? Then you don't need to worry about heat!
 
djc6 said:
I decided to go with a 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 (HD103SJ):

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/HDD-6Gbit,2528-3.html

I've had good luck with Samsung in the past. It seems fast and runs cooler than most - a winning combination. Affordable too, like $60 shipped on newegg.
Click to expand...

I've actually heard that those are very reliable drives and a lot of good things were said about them. If you don't get that one, then get a western digital black caviar hard drive.
 
flipster said:
I've actually heard that those are very reliable drives and a lot of good things were said about them. If you don't get that one, then get a western digital black caviar hard drive.
Click to expand...
Big fan of both. Some Caviar black samples I have found quite loud (though extremely quiet relative to the noisy 1TB Seagate in my iMac which I am keen to change). The performance of the Caviar Black makes any criticism almost seem churlish. Though customer reviews of the Samsung on ebuyer are almost universally excellent for quiet, I know from experience that even Samsungs have had bad batch runs. I don't know how either drive performs acoustically in your model but if performance is your main priority and you are confident in what you are doing I would go for the Western Digital CB.
 
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