Buying a Laptop Hard Drive Online
Many people turn to eBay for computer parts. This has both benefits and drawbacks. The chances of finding the right hard drive for your laptop, at an affordable price, are high. It can be difficult to know exactly what you are getting, however, and if the hard drive is dead on arrival or does not fit your computer, it can be difficult to get a refund or exchange- and you are left without your computer for longer than you expected.
When replacing something as important as your computer hard drive, it is preferable to stick with reputable dealers. Newegg.com offers a large variety of laptop hard drives ranging in capacity from 20 gb to over 200 gb with speeds of up to 7200 and 16 mb cache sizes. Prices range from $25 to $125. Brands available include Toshiba, Seagate and Western Digital. There are some open box specials and certain drives are eligible for free shipping. If you need a new drive for a child's laptop, Newegg.com has many drives that work well in older computers. Shipping is fast, with most products arriving in three days or less.
Tiger Direct does not offer the wide variety of choices as Neweg.com, but they do offer excellent customer service and reasonable prices on new and open box laptop hard drives. Prices range from $60 to $150, with sizes ranging from 60 gb to 160 gb.
The large big box retailers also have a web presence. Best Buy, CompUSA and Circuit City all have notebook hard drives available in stores and online, but the selection is limited to fewer than five models and the prices are higher than you will find on online only retailers. You can also order a replacement hard drive through your laptop manufacturer. You have the advantage of knowing that the part is the correct one for your laptop, but be prepared to pay a high price if you go this route.
When your hard drive crashes, it is tempting to buy the first hard drive you find, but a few minutes of research and price comparisons can save you money and headaches.
Published by Kari Livingston
Kari Livingston is a freelancer writer living and loving life in the foothills of the Arkansas Ozarks. She specializes in local restaurants, attractions and family events. Her work has appeared on HubPages,... View profile
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- Laptop hard drives are easy to replace.
- eBay has a large selection, but it can be ahrd to know what you are getting.
- Online retailers offer better prices than traditional retailers.