Is This Cheap 1TB SAS Hard Drive a Reliable Choice for a New PC?
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MellowOrbit42
I'm putting together a PC and found a 1TB enterprise hard drive at an unusually low price. It appears to use the SAS interface rather than standard SATA. Is this drive likely to be reliable, and would it be a sensible choice for general PC storage?
Answers
First, check whether you actually have a SAS controller. SAS drives do not work when connected to a normal SATA motherboard port, although SATA drives can work with many SAS controllers. Most consumer PCs do not include SAS hardware, so you may need an additional controller and compatible cables.
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The low price is probably not a loophole so much as a sign that the drive is specialized or previously used. Before buying, verify the interface, capacity, warranty, return policy, and whether the listing provides health information such as power-on hours and remaining SMART status.
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I’d avoid it for anything important. Extremely cheap enterprise drives are often used, refurbished, or have reduced remaining drive health. Storage is one of the components where saving money can be painful if the drive fails, so a new SATA SSD or hard drive from a reputable seller would be safer.
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It could be acceptable for replaceable data such as a game library or temporary files, assuming you have the required SAS setup. I would not use it as the only copy of photos, documents, backups, or anything you would hate to lose.
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MellowOrbit42: That makes sense. I was hoping to find a cheap way around storage prices, but it sounds like the compatibility and reliability risks make it a poor choice for my main PC.