Fastest IDE Drive?

[LehighBri]

I am in the process of building a new pc and was wondering what people recommend me to get. I would like the fastest IDE drive I can get. I'm leaning towards the Western Digital Special Edition w/8mb cache. Any better ideas? I was thinking about getting Serial ATA but will wait til it's more mainstream. thanks!

 

[Ipno]

This should give you a good idea of where you want to be.

 

[CraigRT]

WD SE with 8MB cache.. for sure.

 

[Bovinicus]

I like the Western Digital drives a lot. I am about to get a 120GB one myself. IBM's 8MB drives are really fast too, but I beleive the only 8MB drive they have is 180GB. Maxtor's 8MB drives are quick, but they are a bit more expensive and not much faster. All of the drives should be quiet enough that noise is a negligible factor, unless you are looking to make a totally silent PC.

 

[chizow]

I don't think it matters between the 8MB drives, let price be your determining factor. I've gotten as good if not better deals on my Maxtor Ultras (through Raples) as any of the WD's, so keep your eye out and be ready to jump on a deal when you see it.

But if you absolutely MUST have the fastest drive, even if unnoticeable, for the sake of peace of mind, I would wait for the full reviews pitting the WD SE's vs the Maxtor Ultras. Early tests indicate that the Maxtor Ultras will be the fastest of the 8MB cache IDE drives b/c of their 80GB platters. Digit-Life had a review of the 5400rpm and 7200rpm 2MB cache Maxtors with 80GB platters and both performed almost as well as the WD SE. Shockingly, the 5400rpm drive performed better than both the 7200rpm drives in a few important tests. You can check out the review at Digit-Life; They also said they are working on a full comparison between the 2MB vs. 8MB drives from both WD and Maxtor, but judging from the results its pretty clear who the speed king will be.

Chiz