I had a hard drive go bad in a Dell Optiplex GX520 desktop computer. I was going to take out a hard drive from a Dell Optiplex 170L desktop computer and put that in the GX520, but the cable connectors were different. The GX520 had the connectors in the ...25 screenshot and the 170L had the connectors in the ...22 screenshot.

So I resolved to buy a new hardrive. The hard drive that went bad in the GX520 specs are in the ...23 screenshot and the main picture is in ...03 screenshot.

A big issue for me is like in this link:

https://www.discountelectronics.com/...rd-drive-80gb/

that they say the size of a hard drive for the GX520 is 3.5" by 5.8" by 1".

Well, I measured the hard drive I removed from the GX520 and it is 1" thick and probably the 5.8" long but it is also 4" wide. NOT 3.5".

So, if I buy a 3.5" one (which almost all the ads are for) it won't fit in that blue plastic case (in the ...03 screenshot).

So, what do I do?

Plus is that hard drive in the Discount Electronics link decent? WILL it fit?

And (I don't know anything about hard drive quality) they have all these inexpensive hard drives at Newegg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...%204093%204814

but I don't know if one's better than another. I know that 80GB would be plenty for me but how important the cache size or the different types of SATA, I just don't know about them. (And I don't need an SSD.)

Thanks a lot.

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start reading wikipedia?

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3.5 is a standard form factor for desktops. The 3.5 is the size of the disk platter and not the width of the physical device. All like drives will be the same width and are interchangeable.

That website is wrong...

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Hi Gregg...

How about this one instead? Or, if you want to purchase one that is exactly like the drive that went bad, take a look here.

Regards...

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Gregg,

The drive in the first photo is the current SATA drive with 2 data and power connectors.

The drive in the second photo is an old IDE/PATA drive with multiple pins.

If you are looking for a replacement SATA HDD, then ardvark71's recommendation is fine:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9SIA4A03X89349

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Western Digital has been great for me

last week i actually had one die -- finally after 16 YEARS

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Thanks yooy. I had no idea, especially since the 5.75" and 1" are the same.

I wouldn't spend any money on something that old but you have to decide and watch every penny of your own money.

Some of the drives are sold with a kit or as a kit (metal bars) that makes smaller drives fit in older slots. I use RTV silicon to hold wrong sized stuff in too.

I have purchased stuff from Discount. Generally they get pallets of used Dell stuff both from dell and off the street. Their information tends to be good. As to the quality of the drive you would have to hope. They will usually run a smart report for you if you ask them and they have time. Bet I have that drive in my junk drawer too. Can't imagine it is a new drive for $15.

I have had wonderful luck with newegg. I tend to prefer new stuff but saving money isn't bad if you can justify any price difference. Free shipping and no tax is always a plus.

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Thanks Michael.

Thanks ardvark. This computer I'd be buying the hard drive for, well, I'm starting to wonder if it's worth it or if so, maybe just going with the least expensive one. Please see the last post (that I'll soon make).

Thanks for the explanation, beachboy2. If you would,check the post I'm going make soon.

Thanks John. I've heard nothing but good things about Western Digital. At this stage I think that's the only brand I'd buy.

Thanks jefro. Appreciate the feedback about Discount. And I like Newegg too, but even with them you've got to read the fine print. (They tend to exclude (inconvenient) things in the specs. And there's a lot of comments about how some of the refurbished units aren't quite what the descriptions called for.)

And I hear you about: I wouldn't spend any money on something that old

See my next post if you would.

Just to throw another one into the mix, here is my own thread from 3 years ago on the same subject.

I was also looking at WD but in the end I went with a Toshiba 2TB drive and have been very pleased.

In fact, I have since bought two more of the same model. They are solid, fast and cool and none has yet reported any errors from continuous use.

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I inherited this Optiplex GX520. (It crashed for the boss. Found out the hard drive was bad.) I thought it might be good because it was 64 bit and the computer it would replace is only 32 bit. And so, I lost Chrome because of Chrome no longer supporting 32 Linux machines. So with the GX520 I could get Chrome back. But, as Jefro said, it's a really old machine and I'm wondering if I'm throwing money away.

But I'm still thinking about it. Check the attachment, which is a screenshot from Newegg from this link:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100167523%2050001306%204814&IsNodeId=1&Manufactory=1306&bop=And&Com pareItemList=14|9SIA4A03X89349^9SIA4A03X89349%2C9SIA5AD2N46613^9SIA5AD2N46613%2C9SIA5AD3JZ6501^9SIA5 AD3JZ6501%2C9SIA5AD3S65664^9SIA5AD3S65664&percm=9SIA4A03X89349%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24%3B9SIA5AD2N46 613%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24%3B9SIA5AD3JZ6501%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24%3B9SIA5AD3S65664%3A%24%24%24%24 %24%24%24

I don't see any huge difference between the computers and I could live with the 80 GB drive of the 14.99 one.

The 24.99 is cool but unless I'm missing something the 25.95 one is a better value. A dollar more and twice the hard drive and a bigger cache.

The 23.98 one has a 250 GB hard drive and is supposedly a real energy saver and "heavy duty" and "green."

So I don't know. The computer is 11 years old. It has a DVD drive (but I doubt I can burn DVDs with it) but that I need to stick a paper clip into the reset hole to get it to open. The computer has 2GB RAM (2 X 1GB sticks). It can be upgraded to 4 GB RAM.

But then I think I can get a pretty decent refurbished computer from Newegg for $79.

Plus, I have no experience (beside adding memory sticks) switching stuff out and replacing it with new stuff. Is it easy enough? (As an example, I was Googling and a Youtube video said: "Some new SATA II drives you need to adjust the jumper on the back in order for them to work with older SATA motherboards." Well, I'm pretty sure the GX520 would have an older motherboard and I don't even know what he means by a "jumper.")

Any thoughts for a very indecisive shopper?

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