I want to add an additional hdd on my pc since i am running out of space. Is this hard drive going to work on my dell inspiron 580? ... I want the HDD mostly to install games and some programs. Also i have never added an hdd before what do i need to do
Edit:I have also found those two:
Seagate 500GB Internal Hard Drive SATA 3.5
Western Digital Blue 500GB SATA II 3.5
The one is Sata 3 and the other one Sata 2. My motherboard only supports Sata 2. Is it worth to install the Sata 3? If yes, will my motherboard support Sata 3 data cable?
3 Answers
The WD 500 gig is the best of a very bad bunch of options. It should perform more reliably, and a lot faster then the WD Green drive. Likefor-like the WD drives of that era are more reliable then Seagates, but they are both crap because of age and the reduced precision caused by factory changes in the aftermath of the Flood in Thailand. (The WD blue and Seagate Barracuda are the same class drives)
( The WD Green drive should work OK in the system - but its not a great choice of drive for most uses. Its a low-end drive, small (so older - indeed likely 4 years old old stock and probably refurbished - which means even lower reliability - you should check), slow. Note that while they do work, these drives are not designed for use in a PC. If you are wanting scratch space to store copies of movies you are torrenting they may be OK, but I would not use them for much else. )
I've installed drives in plenty of Dell computers, but not this specific one.
The general overview is:
- Turn off and unplug the computer [ there is minor controversy over unplugging it or leaving it plugged in for better grounding]
- While continually touching a metal part of the case with some part of your body open up the case, insert/mount the drive (may or may not require screws and SATA cable - so you may want to look first / get these in case ),
- Connect the power and SATA cables
- Close the computer, start computer and load into BIOS.
- Make sure hard drive is detected and set boot order as appropriate.
Done !
13Will it work? Yes.
Is it a good choice? No, for several reasons.
- First, it's a "Western Digital Green" drive. These drives are designed to maximize power savings, at the cost of being much, much slower than other drives. You say you're going to install games on this drive: picture what your game experience would be like if you had to wait ten seconds for the hard drive to power itself up every time you changed maps.
- Second, it's an "OEM" drive: the package contains the hard drive and nothing else. It's intended for computer builders and others who have things like spare SATA cables and mounting screws just lying around in their parts box. Someone who has never installed a hard drive before probably won't have any of these parts.
- Third, it's old. It's quite likely that this hard drive was manufactured in 2012 or so, and has been sitting around in a warehouse ever since. Things with moving parts don't do too well just sitting in storage.
Given your budget, you're pretty much stuck with getting an old drive, but the other two points can be avoided. Look for a hard drive in retail packaging: it will cost you an extra 5-10 euro, but it will come with all the parts you need to install the drive in your computer. And get something -- anything -- that isn't a Western Digital Green drive.
3Yes it will work. Nowadays the most common connection is SATA and as long as the form factor is compatible you can use them on any computer. Desktop PC like your can accomodate 3.5" and 2.5" drives, while notebook only 2.5" ones. Newest computer can attach also M2 drives, but on desktop computers you can mix almost everything.
The Hard Disk you are linking is very common so you can safely go for it. I don't recall if they come with a sata connector included so, if you don't have a spare, better buy it also.
2
