I'm considering purchasing a used 2TB HDD that shows 95% health. It's only $10, but I'm unsure if I should be concerned about its reliability. Should I go for it? What risks should I keep in mind?
4 Answers
I wouldn't buy used HDDs in general. They can be pretty slow, especially when you compare them to SSDs. If you can, go for a new SSD; it's definitely the better choice!
Sure, but SSDs can be overkill for large storage needs. I have a 20TB setup for my media library; an SSD that big would be way too expensive!
If you're thinking of using it as a standalone drive, I'd recommend getting a new one instead. But if you're planning to put it in a setup with redundancy—like a NAS array—then buying a used drive that's around 95% might be fine. Just make sure you have a solid backup plan in case things go south.
If it’s showing 95% health, that means it's got some degraded sectors, which is a red flag. Once a drive starts to fail, it usually keeps failing. I'd personally avoid buying this one.
Check the actual stats of the drive. If you're not relying on it for critical data and the price is good, it could be worth the gamble. Just remember, always have backups for anything important!
They can still be useful for stuff like long-term storage or NAS systems, though.