SG Broadband Community

My silly Maxtor DiamondMax Plus D740X 40GB drive is already dying after 6mo. I plan for a replacement, but i'm questioning Maxtor's quality. In terms of price, performace, reliability, and noise, is there a really good manufacturer to buy hard drives from? [note that the model i had was supposed to be quiet and reliable and decently fast, plus it cost only $140CDN in May when i bought it]

Western Digital drives are getting rave reviews..the one's with the 8 meg catch..

How can you tell? I've had my Maxtor 40gig for 10 months and it seems fine...

maxtors drop like flies in ddt.. the only major drive manufacturer that sucks more, is ibm.

i believe one of mine is going to because sometimes when i boot one of my 40gig Maxtor's makes a screech sound but every so often. Had my two four about a year an a half. the other one two years. they make that high pitch sound (kinda sounds like a ufo from a movie) to it kinda goes off and on and off and on... i know its not one of my fans because i stooped all of them to find out.

the only REAL hard drive is a WD...FACT!

Originally posted by Amro
maxtors drop like flies in ddt.. the only major drive manufacturer that sucks more, is ibm.

I would have argued that a few months ago.

If i were to buy a HD now, I'd be very tempted by seagate. I had a 8gig seagate in my old compac and that lasted forever!

a lot of the local stores ONLY care seagate and I believe that says something.

I know Seagate usually makes really quiet drives (like my old 1GB one), and WD makes ones with 8MB caches, but i can only get Maxtor or WD in retail stores (the only places where i buy stuff). The cheapest one i could find was a WD 60GB 7200rpm one for $140CDN. Not bad no?

I use both Maxtor and WD. I've had no problems with either. The WD w/8 meg is faster. The only problem I've ever had with a hard drive is with those rotten IBM's. If you had your drive for 6 months you are still under warranty. Go to http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/service/warranty_ata.htm to check the warranty status.

Western Digital, and Seagate...only drives I'll ever spend my money on. WD Special Edition drives are brutally fast, and WD has long earned a reputation as one of the most reliable drives in the market. Seagates Barracuda series area also great....above average performers, and very reliable....the Barracuda IV and V drives are fantastic. Don't touch their budget "U-Series" though.

Quantum, Maxtor, Fujitsu, you couldn't pay me to use.

IBM had my business for quite some time, until the reliability issues in the later model Deskstars...so I'm holding off for a while until they iron out their issues.

WD and Seagates, Thats all i will run. Nothing but probs with Maxtor (JUNK) BTW Best Buy sell Seagates. and WD

WD is the only one that I will use. I've had no problems with the 2 on my machine now or any that I've installed for others.

Originally posted by Deus ex Machina
I would have argued that a few months ago.

LOL and now?

I havent had any probs with my Seagate Barracuda IV

I have a Seagate Barracuda* and it is very quiet. It certainly is not the fastest and I would not argue as such, but it is the most quiet drive of it's generation. I have an open case with a couple of 80mm fans and the PSU and I cannot not hear drive. It is as close to silent as you can get.

The WDs are excellent drives, are minimally noisy, but I've heard several reports of them being DOA. They are amzingly fast.

The new IBM 180GXP is also a great choice. I believe IBM has gotten over its quality control problems and its 180Gb version beat or tied the WD 200Gb Drivezilla in every bench thrown at it. I apologize for being too lazy to get the link, as I need to go do my Spanish homework .

You should be fine with any WD, IBM (180GX), or Seagate Barracuda*:

Recap:
+WD, IBM=FAST, available with 8mb cache
+Seagate*=quiet, reliable
+IBM=quiet
-WD, IBM=minor reliabilty issues
-Seagate*=slower

*refers to Barracuda IV, I have not experienced the V, and I assume it [V] is faster due to its 8mb cache