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Hard Drive recommendation please

J

jetelectro

Member
I am shopping for a 7200rpm drive about 100GB. A friend who is a tech at my office will set it up for me. He recommends Western Digital. Would I notice the difference between 8MB buffer vs 2MB? I am using a BX board with Highpoint ATA-66 controllers. So buying ATA-100 is fine. Should I look at other brands? Reliability is first priority and speed is second. Thanks for any assistance.
 
Western Digital, Maxtor and Seagate are all good quality drives. Any of the newer drives should function at the full ATA-66 of your Highpoint controller so I don't think that speed is even a consideration. The 8MB buffer will certainly help.
 
Yup. Maxtor, Seagate, or Western Digital are your best bet. I like Seagte because they are so quiet but Western Digital drive have better performance. Maxtor is between the two. Just do a search in for forums for their brand name you you will get lots of info.

Stay away from IBM and Fujutisu!! Those 2 have reliability problems. If you don't want any headaches, stay away, far away from them.
 
Thanks very much. Western Digital it is. I will hunt for an 8MB buffer version. The local Future Shop in Toronto seems to be selling only older 2MB models.

Cheers.
 
The 8MB WD drives are usually only slightly more expensive than the 2MB ones. You will get a small speed boost, but the biggest advantage is getting a 3 yr warranty for the 8MB version, as opposed to 1 yr for the 2MB version.
 
since you seem to be only running one drive speed shouldnt be a consideration, you should be fine with the ATA-100. WDs are always very dependable. Ive heard of some people that notice no difference between 2mb and 8mb buffer. But more is always better lol.
 
Nowadays, most of them perform ALMOST the same in terms of speed and reliability. I'd go with the cheapest and longest warranty one. Of course, drive with 8MB buffer is just a little bit faster.
 
Thanks, thanks & thanks.

I will be keeping my existing IBM DPTA-372050 as well.

Which drive should get the O/S?

Any recommendations for the best place in Toronto to buy the new drive? Future Shop seems very expensive and only has older WD models.
 
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