[Turnsky]

I'm in the market for a good stable 120gb(preferably cheap) secondary drive just because i don't think my 40gb is gonna cut it for too long..

i'm gonna get it with a 512 stick of ddr..

any suggestions/reccomendations?

[JC Denton]

First rule of HDD shopping:  Avoid Western Digital like the plague.  You know how floppies sometimes become completely useless because of cyclic redundancy check errors? (might be a different error I'm thinking of, tho...)  Their hard drives do the same thing.

So, brandwise, anything from IBM or Seagate is fair game IMHO.  Maxtor drives can get a little noisy, and they sometimes don't play well with other brands, but are still a good choice.

As for RPM speed, I've found some 5400 drives have as good a seek time as a few 7200s.  Just remember that higher RPM == more heat, so a case fan might be a good investment, too...

[Turnsky]

there's two 3 speed ones on the front of the HDD bay... so i'm covered there...

[JC Denton]

Well, in that case...

This one's probably the second most expensive.  Seagate has been in my experience a fairly reliable brand.
Seagate "Barracuda 7200.7"

Here's the link to Maxtor's lineup.  They don't have specs for individual drives, unfortunately.  Don't quote me on this, but I think that all drives in a certain class (the Diamondmax Plus 9s for example) keep the same stats except for their capacity.  Overall, they may not have the fastest seek time, but if it's mere storage space that you need, they've got a decent capacity:cost ratio.  Although I'm sure someone's going to argue against that...
List of Maxtor Desktop HDDs

IBMs are quiet, potent performers.  Just remember that this one's prolly gonna be frelling expensive.  And oddly, Hitachi has commandeered IBM hard drive sales...well, anyways, here's what I found:
Hitachi (IBM) Deskstar 120GXP

[mikhael]

I'm with JC Denton on everything but one point: avoid Maxtor drives. Right now they have the worst reliability of any manufacturer in the industry.

As for the IBM thing: they sold their entire drive operation, lock, stock and barrel to Hitachi. Having just had to RMA one of the notorious 75GXPs, I can say that the Hitachi team is pretty professional and helpful. The drives aren't TOO expensive either.

[Turnsky]

well, my current 40gb is a seagate...

[Admiral LSD]

Originally posted by JC Denton
IBMs are quiet, potent performers.  Just remember that this one's prolly gonna be frelling expensive.  And oddly, Hitachi has commandeered IBM hard drive sales...well, anyways, here's what I found:
Hitachi (IBM) Deskstar 120GXP

Hitachi have bought IBMs strage division outright, even the MicroDrives (340Mb, 1Gb and now 2Gb hard drives on a platter barely two centimetres in diameter) carry Hitachi labels. Also, and I don't know if this practice predates the Hitachi buyout or not, IBM rebadged HDDs from three different manufacturers under their own name which means you probably won't know the original manufacturer until you buy it, all you will know is that it most likely isn't IBM.

[Stealth]

sorry JC, i don't agree with you:

First:  Maxtor has a reputation for not being reliable, and i've experienced this in two cases... once with a 60 GB and once with a 160 GB.

Also:  Western Digital do make quality drives... i've bought about 15 hard drives (personally... for myself) in my life (all different brands, all different sizes) and i can't remember how many of them were WD, but i do know i've never had a problem with them.  ever.

Even more reliable are (were) IBM drives, i'd recommend those too.  Although i don't know what Hitachi has done to them since they bought them out or whatever happened.  oldschool IBM drives were the most reliable, and the most expensive too if i remember right.

Seagate i'm not too familiar with.  i did a lot of work with old workstations and they all had Seagate drives in them, but they were manufactured like 10 years ago, so i don't know what's changed, but the drives we used for the workstations worked pretty well.

Also remember Turnsky, the "ratings" of hard drives are based on statistics... even the sorriest hard drive manufacturer in the world puts out MOSTLY good hard drives, so i think if you're an average person, and are going to be using the hard drive for a small personal computer, and not highly-important work or anything, i say just buy whatever hard drive you can afford, don't even look at brands.  chances are very likely you'll get a good hard drive, and if you don't, just send it back

[mikhael]

Originally posted by Stealth
sorry JC, i don't agree with you:
Even more reliable are (were) IBM drives, i'd recommend those too.  Although i don't know what Hitachi has done to them since they bought them out or whatever happened.  oldschool IBM drives were the most reliable, and the most expensive too if i remember right.

Hitachi has improved the IBM quality control machinery in the short time they've had it. They've recovered from the unfortunate 75GXP fiasco (nearly 90% failure rate during warranty for 75GXPs) and gone on to push the reliability back up above where it used to be.

[castor]

I've had two IBMs destroyed within last 12 months (first one lasted for five months, the other for less than two months). Neither of those was a 75GXP.

But it's all about luck, really. The bottom line is to avoid storing anythin valuable on a new drive for the first months of use. Learned the hard way...

[DragonClaw]

Heh, I've had great luck with Maxtors, I've only got one hard drive crash with them in 4 years... my old 30gb drive still runs fine

[Grey Wolf]

*Sits with his two ancient hard drives (an IBM 8GB (5400RPM, ATA/33) and an IBM 20GB (7200RPM, ATA/66))*

I've heard the Western Digital Raptor is quite nice. But since it runs at over 10000 RPMs, it is probably a bit hot so you would have to invest in a hard drive cooler. Also, it's a serial ATA drive.

[Hippo]

WD has done well for me in the past. Cheap, easy to install, and very reliable... Mines an 80gig 6900 Rpms, havent had a problem yet...

[Ryx]

I have 3 WD and 1 IBM in my computer. All works fine. Of course, they are also cooled somewhat by the case fans (front).

[RandomTiger]

Ryx please give me an e-mail ASAP

[Ryx]

Originally posted by RandomTiger
Ryx please give me an e-mail ASAP

Done.

[Stealth]

Originally posted by Grey Wolf 2009
*Sits with his two ancient hard drives (an IBM 8GB (5400RPM, ATA/33) and an IBM 20GB (7200RPM, ATA/66))*

I've heard the Western Digital Raptor is quite nice. But since it runs at over 10000 RPMs, it is probably a bit hot so you would have to invest in a hard drive cooler. Also, it's a serial ATA drive.

haHA!!!

you call those ancient?  anything over 600 MB is not ancient

[Grey Wolf]

So the 750MB HD I have rotting in my basement isn't ancient?

[Black Ace]

Before these boys completely hijack yet another thread ( ) let me throw in my two cents.

First of all, let me say welcome to the never-ending war known as "brand-loyalty." Any and every company that has ever made a hard drive, or any product for that matter, will be able to present you with any amount of numbers and statistics indicating why their product is the best. I am here to assert that a large factor in your buying equation is "personal preference."

I was a die hard IBM person until the recent, and quite horrific tumble into chaos. Hitachi might turn that band wagon around, but as for me and my house, we will serve Western Digital. I have an 80 GB 7200 8MB Cache drive (special edition) as well as a 13.9 gig IBM 60 GXP. Both have served me well. However, my WD is a) virtually silent, b) runs very cool, without case fans, c) very very fast for my current usage (gaming, graphic design) with my 8mb cache.

My IBM, while granted is older, seems to shake the walls sometimes when its seeking... grind grind grind. Ok, its really NOT that bad, and one of the better drives out there, but I like having to be able to crawl under my desk with my ear to my case to hear the slightest occasional peep from my WD.

That said, determine what you are looking for in a hard drive (more than just "it runs cool") and use that as your standard for selecting a drive that fits you best. Seagate Barracudas are the most silent drives available, and I believe if I dont have my wires crossed here, some of the coolest running. I wouldn't buy a Maxtor, nor use one if you GAVE it to me, but again, thats based on my brand loyalties, and the shaky history of Maxtors. Same reason I wouldnt buy a Compaq or HP computer if you had a gun to my head. Well, maybe with a gun... but you get the idea...

Ok, so for those of you who didnt read my eternal post, here's a summary. Everyone of us on this board will try to convince you why the hard drive they support is the best. I encourage you to take the recommendations given by these fine people, and do some research for yourself. Get a good feel for what YOU want/need, and go for it. Just make sure its a WD...

**BA**

[Grey Wolf]

I use my IBMs because I stole them from old OEM computers