What You Think Is The Ideal Hard Drive Capacity?

Running with that logic it might be prudent when planning a build to take a harder look at the drive size you'll need to have. Instead of just nabbing what floats your boat make a decision based on what the build is going to be used for.

A very true and good point made there Seti, Just because everyone is putting a 2TB-3TB hard drive in doesn't mean you have to as well.
 
Ok then, let's try out a dry run using my setup as an example.

I watch anime series that take up an average of 4 to 6 gigs for 24 episodes. Right now I have 300 gigs worth.
I also have movies that take up the same amount per movie. Don't have too many of those at the moment. Around 50 gigs.
I also collect anime art. Hugh collection there at 200 gigs.

Let's say my collection means a lot to me and even though I cull my collection from time to time I want to keep the majority. Along with backing up my data files, work and personal, I want to back up my media collection.
What size drive would be recommended and should it be internal or external? I have 4 usb 3.0 ports, 2 sata III and 4 sata II ports open.
My drive brand of choice is Western Digital.
Let's set a budget of $200.00usd so the suggestions don't get too out there.
 
To a certain extent I agree that the drive should be sized to the need BUT needs often change unexpectedly. Installing a larger drive in the first place is cheap insurance against the user's needs growing and needing to install a larger or second drive in a short time. I think everyone would agree that it's better to have too much disk space than not enough.

Hard drive space is so cheap today that smaller drives often cost more than a larger drive.
 
Ok then, let's try out a dry run using my setup as an example.

I watch anime series that take up an average of 4 to 6 gigs for 24 episodes. Right now I have 300 gigs worth.
I also have movies that take up the same amount per movie. Don't have too many of those at the moment. Around 50 gigs.
I also collect anime art. Hugh collection there at 200 gigs.

Let's say my collection means a lot to me and even though I cull my collection from time to time I want to keep the majority. Along with backing up my data files, work and personal, I want to back up my media collection.
What size drive would be recommended and should it be internal or external? I have 4 usb 3.0 ports, 2 sata III and 4 sata II ports open.
My drive brand of choice is Western Digital.
Let's set a budget of $200.00usd so the suggestions don't get too out there.

To a certain extent I agree that the drive should be sized to the need BUT needs often change unexpectedly. Installing a larger drive in the first place is cheap insurance against the user's needs growing and needing to install a larger or second drive in a short time. I think everyone would agree that it's better to have too much disk space than not enough.

Hard drive space is so cheap today that smaller drives often cost more than a larger drive.


Here's my thoughts on this. You are both right. Seti, I'd say you should be looking at a 1TB interanl for storage and a 2TB exteranl for backups. However, when doing the pricing I can get a 2TB drive for $109 (Western Digital Elements 2TB Desktop External Hard Drive - Newegg.com) or a 3TB drive for $129 (Western Digital Elements 3TB Desktop External Hard Drive - Newegg.com). For $20 more bucks...duh... 3TB everytime. At that price, you could just go with a 500GB internal, and then get 2 externals - 1 for storage and 1 for backups.

EDIT:
Those are both USB 2.0 so just for fun, here's a 2TB USB 3.0 for $119: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136748
 
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There are certain times where too much is always good.

Too much money in your bank account.

Too many women (or men) that want to be with you.

Too much disk space.

Ultimately, it's the individual's built. If a customer wants me to use a 500GB drive in a build, he gets a 500GB drive.

Nobody should have to justify the size of their hard drive to anybody. Ultimately it is the person who uses the computer who has to be happy. Everybody's idea of "ideal hard drive capacity" is different.
 
:horse: I think we can all come to an agreement that there really is no "ideal" size and it depends entirely on the situation and the individual user. But with that being said, we can also agree that size does matter.

:rofl: :rofl:
 
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