Fastest drive on a budget?

[TridenT]

Western Digital 6400AAKS the best still? I think the only drawback it has is the 16MB of cache, right?

Anyway, what drive for a budget? I am basically saying no more than $0.14/GB.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,

Beyond 8mb of cache, there is zero performance change when using 16mb or even 32mb of cache. Numerous tests have been done. Google if you wish to see them yourself. But there just isn't any difference in performance. So don't worry about the cache. So long as it has some, it's fine.

The 6400AAKS is indeed the best performer and capacity for its price right now. It's currently sitting at $59 (free shipping!) at NewEgg right now (10pm, Feb 2). You simply can't beat that. $0.09 per gig. And one of the highest performing single drives in that capacity ranges you can get.

Very best,

 

[QueBert]

isn't the new 7200.12 faster? it's about the same price and has a single 500gb platter. This is the sucker I'm going to be ordering next week

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: QueBert
isn't the new 7200.12 faster?

It will probably be for sustained transfer rate due to the higher density platters. However, consumer (or maybe just enthusiast) trust in Seagate is pretty low right now due to the firmware bricking issues and reduced (OEM to 3 years) warranty.

 

[QueBert]

The 7200.12's are selling pretty well. I've had so many WD's die on me I'm vary wary of any drive they put out. Plus the Seagate firmware issues were 100% fixable without losing data. Even if you had to send it in. The 7200.12s one of the models has a 5 year warranty, the other is 3 I believe. Since they are the same price on Newegg and have the same specs I'm not exactly sure why one has 3 and the other 5 though. Seeing how it can compete with the Raptors on every level (close any ways) for far less money. The drive is damn impressive in my eyes. It's unfortunate that Seagate had the problems they did with the 7200.11 drives, but they'll still get my business. Especially once a 1tb 7200.12 comes out. Near Raptor speeds with 1TB would be Heaven.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: QueBert
isn't the new 7200.12 faster?

It will probably be for sustained transfer rate due to the higher density platters. However, consumer (or maybe just enthusiast) trust in Seagate is pretty low right now due to the firmware bricking issues and reduced (OEM to 3 years) warranty.

Why would them lowering the warranty to 3 years on OEM hurt? OEM maxtor and WD drives are what, 1 year?

 

[Dorkenstein]

I thought WD had a 5 year policy on most drives.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: QueBert
isn't the new 7200.12 faster?

It will probably be for sustained transfer rate due to the higher density platters. However, consumer (or maybe just enthusiast) trust in Seagate is pretty low right now due to the firmware bricking issues and reduced (OEM to 3 years) warranty.

Why would them lowering the warranty to 3 years on OEM hurt? OEM maxtor and WD drives are what, 1 year?

Depending on model, WD is 3-5 years.

Maxtor is owned by Seagate.

Lowering the warranty implies lower confidence and reliability, to many people.

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

I was under the impression that the 6401AALS Caviar Black is a notably better performer than 6400AAKS, and not just due to increased cache. Currently $69.99 at Newegg, free shipping, and actually $5 cheaper than the older model. (I'm definitely not seeing the $59.99 price noted a few days ago, but Newegg bounces around a lot.) Also has a 5 year warranty, vs. the AAKS's 3. Either one is definitely under your imposed price/size ratio and both are very good drives, so if you can find the AAKS significantly cheaper somewhere else, it would in no way be a poor purchase. Personally, I just picked up an AALS.

 

[disports]

Get the WD Black 640 GB - Amazon + free shipping for $69.99


Western Digital 640GB Caviar Black SATA 7200 Rpm 3.5IN 3GB/S Bulk/OEM Hard Drive WD6401AALS

 

[Tweakin]

Originally posted by: smithrwon
Get the WD Black 640 GB - Amazon + free shipping for $69.99


Western Digital 640GB Caviar Black SATA 7200 Rpm 3.5IN 3GB/S Bulk/OEM Hard Drive WD6401AALS

At that price, make it two or three, Stripe them and then set the boot partition to 120x3=360Gb. This is the fastest area on the outside of the drives. I used it on my two 6400AAKS drives (120x2) and they were really quick...yet the newer firmware WD WR seemd to win out. I also have first gen 640AAKS drives.

 

[yh125d]

Spinpoint F1 at $95 is pretty much the best gb/$ there is, 1.5tb drives excluded. Not quite as fast as the 640gb black, but very fast at more or less tied with the 1tb Black