Pros: I've had the least, and fewest, problems with Hitachi drives after some 20 years of replacing 2 or 3 drives per month. Enterprise level are a bit noisier but seem to last well longer. WAY longer. Actually raises a question - there are only a couple places in the world that make the components and drives... so why are some (ok, most) "other" brands going dead with under 2000 hours? I have an external Hitachi I actually dropped TWICE (some days are like that), and it is still running fine - use it almost every day for some reason or other.

Cons: Already had 8300 hours on it when I received it - actually two of them that both had 8200-8300 hours, an aspect that kinda would be nice to see beforehand. The first SMART test will show that, and if you're smart yourself you'll run a test the day you get the drive to be sure it is good. Ya never know what happens on the truck. OK, it's a refurb, but these are made to run 50k+ without failing so should still have lots of life left.

Overall Review: The brand is good, but the sales pitch could at least mention the fact these are not "new". Misleading probably to the uninformed - although those of us who handle drives a lot pretty much know how the deal works. Other reviews have mentioned the facts that seem to be hidden. For the cost however - worth it.

Pros: excellent price, always good service from New Egg, always find what I need. Would rate a 5 for my past experiences.

Cons: Shipped loose and bouncing around in box, no wrap or drive protection. Sloppy job, worse I have ever seen. No way can a loose drive take the beating these were probably subject to. Shipping was slow, but I understand the season contributed to that, and expected it. Had to rate this low for the terrible packing, hopefully just an aberration.

Overall Review: Never had problems with NewEgg before, but just received 2 drives loose in box, bouncing around, with a few large bubbles that didn't even fill the empty space. Can only imagine what they went through in shipping, have not tested them yet, but at this point fully expect to need to return both. In the past any drives were ALWAYS fully wrapped in bubblewrap and secure. Sloppy shipping this time, holiday is no excuse.

Pros: HGST has always been excellent and few problems, but I've learned to check even a new one. This one came sealed from EOL Tech - who is a great seller - but was 4 years old and had several hours on it when opened. I know from experience that when you get something new for half price, it probably sat on someone's shelf in a warehouse for a long time before being bought up by a wholesaler. That wholesaler has limited knowledge of the conditions and treatment - so some may even be DOA. I realize that, but it always happens at the wrong time and drives me crazy. ;-) Fortunately. after contacting the seller, I actually got a phone call right away from Hugo - who immediately resolved the issue. Not everyone is that interested in support, so remember those who ARE and purchase from them.

Cons: You really should scan the drive and check the SMART on every drive you receive - mechanical drives are so easily bounced and bumped, even with parked heads. Don't blame the seller in most cases, that volatility is an accepted fact - even with top quality drives. At some point, you as the purchaser have to take some responsibility before blaming everyone else - there are too many variables along the way before it reaches you.

Overall Review: HGST is a good quality drive, and for me - EOL Tech is a great seller that I would use again.

Pros: Finally a power adapter that sits sideways in a strip, the nicest feature! Enough room to plug the IDE and power in with my clumsy fingers, bracket screws on easily. I just needed to transfer files quickly, didn't even put the cover on the first time - just plugged in the USB. Maybe 2 minutes until plugged in.

Cons: A little loose once the whole thing is inserted into the enclosure - I doubt it will be an issue. It was more difficult pulling the HD to put in this!

Overall Review: I use NexStar for laptop drives, this went together just as easily. Time will tell if it is as reliable, but I see no problem at this point.