What hard drive is best for me?

[Digerati]

I'm looking to get a new 120GB hard drive and am trying to decide between these 3 choices:

WD Special Edition 120GB ata100 8mb

Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 120GB ata100 8mb

Maxtor Diamondmax Plus 9 120GB ata133 8mb


From what I've read, the WD is probably the fastest and the Seagate is the quietest. This is my problem.

I want fast performance, but I also want the quietest system possible.

I guess my question is, will I notice the slower speed of the Seagate versus the WD?

I only play a few games (EA sports games mainly and Flight Sim 2002) and don't really do video editing or anything.

Will the speed decrease amount to anything?

Which should i go for?

 

[cpugeniusmv]

I have a WD SE drive....three of them in fact.

i can't hear them at all.

 

[kyndl7]

I'd go with WD their reliable, fast, and quiet. Plus I have had some problems with maxtor hard drives in the past(3 of them). But have never had any probs with WD drives.

 

[Ice-Freezer]

seagate is the way to go
i heard a lot of complaints about wd hard drives going bad and all that. and i think it might have been on this forum
i have seagate by the way very quit and very fast 80gig 7200rpm 2 mb cache

 

[Luna64]

WD rocks.

 

[KCollegebear]

I have used both Maxtor and WD hard drives in the computers I have made for friends...
I must say the WD blew the Maxtors away!!!

as for the Seagate... I just don't know.

Good Luck on the choice...

 

[versionfiv]

I've heard Seagates crap out alot. I have two Maxtors right now, an 80 and a 120. And I have had them for many moons without problems.

 

[Zedric]

Never used Maxtor, never had problems with Seagate, had severe problems with WD. My current WD120GB has been replaced twice now.

 

[Taurus]

not another one of these threads!

well, eventually someone comes along and gives the straight dope that no one makes horrible harddrives or else they wouldn't be in business anymore. no matter who makes your hd, there's a small chance it's a lemon and will go bad in a period of time. everyone's had a bad experience with one maker or another. your best bet is to pick one based on reviews.

also, noise isn't really an issue anymore. unless you're going for a whisper-quiet comp or are getting a 10,000rpm or faster drive, then noise probably won't be a deciding factor.

 

[jonifen]

I've never had problems with WD, but know of people who have.
I've never had problems with Maxtor, but know of people who have.
I've never had problems with Seagate, and never heard of people having problems with them either. Plus, the barracuda IV and V ranges are pretty quick from what I've read. I have a 40Gb barracuda IV and its quick and very silent. But I also have 2 maxtors and a quantum (now owned by maxtor) which seem OK. The IBMs apparantly have many problems with it's power (I have had a 30Gb IBM die with a power fault).

I would personally go with a seagate, but like Taurus said... most people who have had faulty hdds have just got the lemon of the batch (although I know loads of people who have had dodgy IBM hdds )

 

[Zedric]

Maybe I should write "No lemons!" on my next RMA...

 

[Taurus]

Originally posted by jonifen
The IBMs apparantly have many problems with it's power (I have had a 30Gb IBM die with a power fault).

I know loads of people who have had dodgy IBM hdds

yes, ibm had a couple models, namely the 75gxp and 60gxp, that had reliability problems. but the later 120gxp and especially new 180gxp is top-notch.