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Favorite/Best HDD Manufacturer?

Discussion in 'Storage and Networking' started by Vehementi, Jun 8, 2002.

?

HDD of choice?

Seagate 2 vote(s) 9.5%
Maxtor 9 vote(s) 42.9%
Western Digital 6 vote(s) 28.6%
IBM 2 vote(s) 9.5%
Other (post about it, please!) 2 vote(s) 9.5%
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  1. Vehementi TechSpot Paladin

    I'd like to know your thoughts on what company makes the best hard drives, in terms of price, stability, storage, speed, and all that good stuff.

    Seagate seems to have to the fastest drives, they're the major competitor in SCSI these days, but not really the biggest. I'm using one right now, and it's run like a dream ever since I bohgt it...

    Maxtor has the biggest. They're always the company with the biggest drives. Quantity, not quality, I've had a few problems with them...

    Western Digital is pretty good too. I'm using one right now also. I haven't had very many problems with them at all either. Plus, they seem to have the cheapest drives, too, their Caviar model.

    IBM is decent. I, and a few of our members, have had problems with them in the past. I may not like them, but they do make big and cheap drives however...

    Now what are your thoughts/experiences? I'd really like to know, because I do need some more space.
    Vehementi, Jun 8, 2002
    #1

  2. Didou Bowtie extraordinair!

    Western Digital hands down. I've used IBM, Maxtor & WD & WD has alwasy been my best experiences.

    I've never had any trouble with my IBM drive even though I've had it for 3 years.

    Maxtor is very good, cheap & have a very good RMA policy but it doesn't have the WD performance.

    WD on the other hand is very expensive.
    Didou, Jun 8, 2002
    #2

  3. StormBringer Newcomer, in training

    Maxtor, no doubt. I've owned and dealt with many drives and I've never had a Maxtor drive fail.
    StormBringer, Jun 8, 2002
    #3

  4. Rick TechSpot Staff

    It's hard to make a useful opinion, since experiences with hard drives are almost purely chance.

    The only certain things about hard disk manufacturer are:

    1.) Performance and physical atrributes
    2.) Overall support and service
    3.) Price

    Things that are subjective and merely chance are

    1.) Reliability
    2.) Experiences

    According to the things I quantify without question, Western Digital would be my pick for IDE drives. Their performance has been consistently upper range, their support is unparalelled and their prices are fair.

    According to my experiences, no hard drive manufacturer deserves to be commended on their reliability. I can come close to saying Seagate, but I"ve had little experience with them and therefore.. Little error for failure. But since I can name at least 2 hard disks that haven't failed.... They are 2 for two, which is considerably better than all the others combined. :eek:

    From my first hand experiences, Maxtor, IBM and Western Digital drives have all had major problems at some point or another. I made a post describing my numerous experiences with each manufacturer, but I don't feel like looking for it now. None have proven reliable enough that I would consider them decent.

    I think I have had more luck with Maxtor though. I've dealt with Maxtor drives in large volumes in the past, and I think they have probalby had the highest success rate of any other brands I've used or have been contact with. This is purely subjective though.

    I personally can't wait to get rid of the whole platter idea completely and start with something new and fresh... Preferably something not prone to physical wear and abuse.
    Rick, Jun 9, 2002
    #4

  5. LNCPapa TS Special Forces

    IBM 120GXP or else a Special Edition Western Digital - those are the two to go with if you're doing IDE - else take a look at some Seagate 15K U320 SCSI drives. That's my 17 cents.

    LNCPapa
    LNCPapa, Jun 9, 2002
    #5

  6. Mictlantecuhtli TS Special Forces

    I voted "other" - I prefer Samsung hdds. I've got one 40GB 5400rpm model and one 40GB 7200rpm model. Very good, quiet and cheap. I'd say price/quality ratio is the best I've seen.
    Mictlantecuhtli, Jun 9, 2002
    #6

  7. Rick TechSpot Staff

    I'll be buying a 120gb WD special edition soon.. I think.

    It's either that or the IBM 120GPX. Given the recent troubles people have been having with IBM, I'm second guessing the GXP though. I might just wait and see how these "new" drives hold up over the next year. The last thing I want is a hard disk to fail. :( It's the worst..
    Rick, Jun 9, 2002
    #7

  8. Th3M1ghtyD8 TechSpot Paladin

    I am using a pair of 30Gb IBMs at the moment, but after the previous scare regarding IBM drives, the next set I get will probably be Western Digital, since I have at least 3 of these in other PCs at my house, and haven't had any problems with them.
    Th3M1ghtyD8, Jun 13, 2002
    #8

  9. guyferd Newcomer, in training

    Which one?

    hmm.. this is the very interesting topic.. I had 3 experience using Seagate drive, I ever had 3 seagate drive.. the 1st - in 1997, it's the first time I had a computer (Seagate Medalist 1,7 Gb - 5400 rpm), 2nd - in 2000, Seagate Medalist 8 Gb - 5400 rpm and in 2001, Seagate Medalist 10 Gb - 5400 rpm.
    The 1st & 2nd drive, had bad sector after 1 - 1,5 year... and the 3rd drive had bad sector after 3 month :(
    From my experience, I never recommended everyone to buy Seagate Medalist drive (someone said Seagate Baracuda is better?).. I bought Quantum Fireball in 1999 (4,3 Gb - 5400 rpm) and until now, it still works fine (may it's the best?). 2 months ago, I bought another Quantum drive, with name Maxtor D740x (I heard Maxtor bought Quantum company ?) - 40 Gb 7200 rpm. There's no problem until now :D
    guyferd, Jun 20, 2002
    #9

  10. Arris TechSpot Evangelist

    I have had a few small and upto 2gb Conner drives.
    Also Seagate drivers of similar capacities and have never really liked either companies products. Had a few of these report lots of disk problems and had a couple of Conner drives die on me.
    I haven't had any issues with Maxtor disks that I own. I really like Fujitsu drives though as I bought a 10Gb Fujistu drive to suppliment a Maxtor drive I already had. Much quieter than the Maxtor I had at the time (but then again times change). Currently running the 10Gb fujitsu and 20Gb Maxtor (not the one I had when the fujitsu seemed quieter) and both are fine. Might invest in a faster 60Gb (as both are currently 5400rpm) at some point in the near future...

    So my vote for other is Fujitsu.
    Arris, Jun 20, 2002
    #10

  11. opello Newcomer, in training

    voted Maxtor ...

    for the 'other' category ... Fujitsu's are nice, generally really quiet, and have never had one stop working
    opello, Jul 3, 2002
    #11

  12. Elcarion TechSpot Paladin

    I bought a WD 1.2G drive a few years back that lasted about 3 months. I had a great RMA experience with WD but I'm still leary about their drives. Have a friend who had a similar experience.

    I've purchased 6 IBM drives over the past 5 years. One of them went bad after a couple of years of usage. Experiences of others with 75GXPs make me very leary about their drives.

    I've owned 2 Maxtor drives that I've never experienced problems with. Both a quieter and cooler than the IBMs that I used to favor. I also know several people with trouble-free Maxtor drives.

    My choice is Maxtor followed by either Seagate or WD.
    Elcarion, Jul 8, 2002
    #12

  13. Nick Newcomer, in training

    I definately love seagates.
    Nick, Jul 12, 2002
    #13
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