Hard Drive manufacturers; who to go for?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

I'm looking to buy a 160gb+ hard drive in the next couple of days, to
replace my (don't laugh!) 20gb Maxtor drive which I've had for far too many
years now! My m/b can support up to ATA133.

What manufacturer would you experts advise me to go for, or is there nothing
much between them these days? I was considering Seagate. Is there really
much real-world difference in speed between a 7200 or 7800 rpm drive?

Mike.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

~mike~ wrote:
> I'm looking to buy a 160gb+ hard drive in the next couple of days, to
> replace my (don't laugh!) 20gb Maxtor drive which I've had for far too many
> years now! My m/b can support up to ATA133.
>
> What manufacturer would you experts advise me to go for, or is there nothing
> much between them these days? I was considering Seagate. Is there really
> much real-world difference in speed between a 7200 or 7800 rpm drive?
>
> Mike.
>

You probably can't go too far wrong with a Seagate although their drives
certainly aren't bleeding edge. But given their quiet and cool nature I
don't ask them to be the fastest in the pack. I've got three of their
current 200gB PATA drives in my "server" in the basement and they are
totally troublefree and since not one of them cost me more than $70 new
in retail packaging and they have longer warranties than anybody else's
I couldn't ask for more. Oh yeah, the 300gB SATA in my main production
system is very nice too although I can't recall how much I paid for it
(given how cheap I am it probably wasn't more than $130).

But which maker is that sells 7800 rpm drives? I know of 4200 (old
laptop), 5600 (old desktop and new laptop), 7200 (most mainstream
desktop and bleeding edge laptop), 10000 (nearly bleeding edge desktop),
and even 15000 (flaming server) speeds, but have never heard of 7800
rpm. If that really is the speed, I wouldn't expect more than a 10%
speed boost over 7200 rpm if the areal density of the drives is similar.
--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com

 

[guido]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

ANY effort on YOUR part to research your inquiry would have ponted you
here:

http://storagereview.com/

So when will you get off your fat ass ??




"~mike~" <account.managementNOSPAM@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:1vZxe.14578$iT1.10569@newsfe1-win.ntli.net...
> I'm looking to buy a 160gb+ hard drive in the next couple of days, to
> replace my (don't laugh!) 20gb Maxtor drive which I've had for far too
> many
> years now! My m/b can support up to ATA133.
>
> What manufacturer would you experts advise me to go for, or is there
> nothing
> much between them these days? I was considering Seagate. Is there really
> much real-world difference in speed between a 7200 or 7800 rpm drive?
>
> Mike.
>
>
>
>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Sun, 03 Jul 2005 22:18:37 GMT, "~mike~"
<account.managementNOSPAM@ntlworld.com> wrote:

>I'm looking to buy a 160gb+ hard drive in the next couple of days, to
>replace my (don't laugh!) 20gb Maxtor drive which I've had for far too many
>years now! My m/b can support up to ATA133.

Nothing wrong with a 20GB drive, if you don't need the
performance or storage space- except by now it's age makes
it a liability.



>
>What manufacturer would you experts advise me to go for, or is there nothing
>much between them these days? I was considering Seagate. Is there really
>much real-world difference in speed between a 7200 or 7800 rpm drive?

5400 vs 7200 RPM?

7200 is noticably faster, and a little louder though now
that manufacturers have moved to fluid bearings, the
difference isn't very significant unless you need a REALLY
quiet system. Even so, 7200 drives can be really quiet too.

8MB cache is preferred over 2MB, presuming the
price-difference isn't much. Besides these obvious
comparable specs, there isn't a lot of difference between
them. Some days you'll find everyone trashing Maxtor, other
days every trashs WD. The last two I had fail were Seagate
and Samsung- take all info with a grain of salt especially
when contrasting any manufacturer's past models with current
ones.

I'd lean towards Seagate at similar price-points because of
the longer (5 year) warranty. WD retail 7200 (Caviar)
drives are now only 1 yr., some OEM 3 yr. Maxtor is also 1
yr. now, and Samsung still 3 yr., IIRC. 1 yr. is too short
IMO.

Given the recent sales and rebates, you might find
particular drives cost significantly less than others.
Within the last week or so WD and Seagate have been under
$50 after rebates for 160GB 7200 drives. Check your local
newspapers for deals.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

Many thanks for the good advice

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

"~mike~" <account.managementNOSPAM@ntlworld.com> wrote...
> Many thanks for the good advice

Additional:

For a desktop 3.5" drive, get no slower than 7200 RPM; get 10,000 RPM (available
in SATA and SCSI) if you can afford it.

For a laptop 2.5" drive, get no slower than 5600 RPM; get 7200 RPM if you can
afford it. No difference in noise; BIG difference in performance.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Sun, 3 Jul 2005 20:32:11 -0700, "John Weiss"
<jrweiss98155(at)@[nospam]comcast(dot).net> wrote:

>"~mike~" <account.managementNOSPAM@ntlworld.com> wrote...
>> Many thanks for the good advice
>
>Additional:
>
>For a desktop 3.5" drive, get no slower than 7200 RPM; get 10,000 RPM (available
>in SATA and SCSI) if you can afford it.

Not necessarily. 10K having lower capacity means it'll be
fuller. 10K is a good strategy for a multi-drive system
with a secondary modern drive- moreso than a single-drive
system.


>
>For a laptop 2.5" drive, get no slower than 5600 RPM; get 7200 RPM if you can
>afford it. No difference in noise; BIG difference in performance.
>

Plus it uses more power and may die more easily.
There is no free lunch, anyone manufacturer could just make
a drive rotate faster at very little additional cost- their
higher sales cost must offset the higher warranty
replacement costs.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

I read an article in a sys admin trade journal about a
company that does data recovery from busted harddisks.
The guy said he doesn't see a lot of Segate or Western
Digital drives come in the front door, however was quick
to point out that the information is not backed by any
analysis, just a gut feel.

I use all Seagate drives at home. This day in age I wouldn't
consider any drive that doesn't use Fluid Dynamic Bearings
(FDB) as I just can't stand that high pitched noise that
comes from ball bearings. I believe the latest Western Digital
and Maxtor also have FDB, but Seagate has been shipping them
for a long time.

"~mike~" <account.managementNOSPAM@ntlworld.com> wrote:
> I'm looking to buy a 160gb+ hard drive in the next couple of days, to
> replace my (don't laugh!) 20gb Maxtor drive which I've had for far too
> many
> years now! My m/b can support up to ATA133.
>
> What manufacturer would you experts advise me to go for, or is there
> nothing
> much between them these days? I was considering Seagate. Is there really
> much real-world difference in speed between a 7200 or 7800 rpm drive?
>
> Mike.

 

[ted]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

"~mike~" <account.managementNOSPAM@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:1vZxe.14578$iT1.10569@newsfe1-win.ntli.net...
> I'm looking to buy a 160gb+ hard drive in the next couple of days, to
> replace my (don't laugh!) 20gb Maxtor drive which I've had for far too
> many
> years now! My m/b can support up to ATA133.
>
> What manufacturer would you experts advise me to go for, or is there
> nothing
> much between them these days? I was considering Seagate. Is there really
> much real-world difference in speed between a 7200 or 7800 rpm drive?
>
> Mike.
>
>


well you have said it yourself.........Maxtor drive which I've had for far
too many
years now!

Has it given any problems.............if not then surely it's one make to
consider again.

I run 4 Maxtor's (2 x 80, 1 x 200 and 1 x 250) with no problems. The oldest
is 5 years.

ted

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

I have used nothing but Maxtor drives since my Seagate failed 4 or so
years ago.
I now have 6 Maxtors, most over 2 years old with no troubles whatsoever.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

In the last review I've read WD was on top.
In this review the WD 160GB ATA was 1st. and the WD 160GB SATA was 2nd.

All mainstream drives are 7,200 RPM. No reason to pay the extra money for
the 10,000 RPM drives.
As far as I know seagate are bit more expensive then other.

All are very good, and IMO you should go for the best price and longer
waranty one. most of them will give you a 3 yrs waranty, some will give you
1.

"~mike~" <account.managementNOSPAM@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:1vZxe.14578$iT1.10569@newsfe1-win.ntli.net...
> I'm looking to buy a 160gb+ hard drive in the next couple of days, to
> replace my (don't laugh!) 20gb Maxtor drive which I've had for far too
> many
> years now! My m/b can support up to ATA133.
>
> What manufacturer would you experts advise me to go for, or is there
> nothing
> much between them these days? I was considering Seagate. Is there really
> much real-world difference in speed between a 7200 or 7800 rpm drive?
>
> Mike.
>
>
>
>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

This remind me a story from WWII
The English lost many planes in battles, so they invited an Engineer to
check the planes that came back from front.
He had a look at the planes, looked carefully where these planes got hits
and said that planes should reinforced in places where no hits where found.
Why ?
Cause planes got hit on those parts never had a chance to get back to base.



"John Saunders" <news1@saunders.id.au> wrote in message
news:42ca56ea$0$16264$bb4e3ad8@newscene.com...
>I read an article in a sys admin trade journal about a
> company that does data recovery from busted harddisks.
> The guy said he doesn't see a lot of Segate or Western
> Digital drives come in the front door, however was quick
> to point out that the information is not backed by any
> analysis, just a gut feel.
>
> I use all Seagate drives at home. This day in age I wouldn't
> consider any drive that doesn't use Fluid Dynamic Bearings
> (FDB) as I just can't stand that high pitched noise that
> comes from ball bearings. I believe the latest Western Digital
> and Maxtor also have FDB, but Seagate has been shipping them
> for a long time.
>
> "~mike~" <account.managementNOSPAM@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>> I'm looking to buy a 160gb+ hard drive in the next couple of days, to
>> replace my (don't laugh!) 20gb Maxtor drive which I've had for far too
>> many
>> years now! My m/b can support up to ATA133.
>>
>> What manufacturer would you experts advise me to go for, or is there
>> nothing
>> much between them these days? I was considering Seagate. Is there really
>> much real-world difference in speed between a 7200 or 7800 rpm drive?
>>
>> Mike.
>
>

 

[Byte]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

"Is there really
much real-world difference in speed between a 7200 or 7800 rpm drive?"
Well, not in my opinion. But it really depends on what you are using it
for.