Hard Drive recommendations

[Migroo]

I'm about to upgrade my hard drive and I'm looking for some pointers. I'm upgrading due to space issues (I havent run out, but I will do in another 3 months). I currently have a Maxtor 30Gb model running at 7200rpm.

Size needs to be about 60 Gb, although that is not critical. Noise is an issue aswell.

What are the real differences in performance between 5400 and 7200 rpm hard drives? Thats the real issue I have at the moment. Can someone point me to any articles comparing the two speeds?

I am not looking for a cheaper drive by suggesting 5400 rpm. I will buy a top-class drive as I do not want reliability problems. Suggestions?

Thanks guys

 

[KenAF]

The top performing 7200rpm ATA drives (lower = faster)...

1) 120Gb Western Digital WD1200JB (not WD1200BB !) - $255 from Googlegear
2) 100Gb Western Digital WD1000JB (not WD1000BB !) - $200-$220 from Googlegear
3) 120Gb IBM 120GXP
4) 80Gb IBM 120GXP
5) 60Gb IBM 120GXP

The slower, quieter 7200rpm ATA drives (lower = less noisy)...

1) 40Gb Seagate Baracuda IV
2) 80Gb Seagate Baracuda IV
3) ....
4)
10) Maxtor Diamondmax D740X

My guess is that all of these drives will offer equal or lower acoustics than your older Maxtor drive, as performance/noise ratios have improved substantially in the past year. If you want a near silent hard drive, then the Baracuda IV is your only option; there is no other 7200rpm drive even close. If you want top performance, then you should go with the WD1200JB; this is essentially a version of the WD1200BB that adds 8 megabytes of cache. The WD1000JB offers 90+% of the WD1200JB's performance, and the IBM drives offers perhaps 75%.

Disk performance has a dramatic impact on system responsiveness. Whereas you may not be able to tell a difference between a 1.3GHz processor and a 2.0GHz processor in many applications, you will definitely tell the difference between a system with a top performing ATA and a system with an older, slower 7200rpm or 5400rpm drive. The speed of your hard drive directly impacts your bootup speed, the time it takes for applications and games to launch, the time it takes for web pages to load and refresh, the time it takes to copy and save files, the speed at which you can browse folders and directories on your computer, the speed at which folders and files refresh/display in Windows, etc.

Storagereview's comprehensive real world test comparison (note the WD1200JB is not included here, as it was tested later)

Storagereview is the site for hard drive information and benchmarks. Above is a link to their recent tests; the test duplicates the performance of a drive while essentially "playing back" the disc utilization recorded for actual desktop applications (Word, Photoshop, etc) and games. You can read the full article if you want more details on the test, but I have linked the desktop benchmarks. Note the WD1200JB is a newer drive, so it was reviewed separately; it performs a bit better than the WD1000JB in the tests.

 

[Migroo]

KenAF - What can I say... Perhaps 'wow'.. Thanks a lot, this is brilliant information

Yup, I was trying to think of StorageReview. I knew there was a storage specific site around but I couldnt remember the URL.

Thanks, this is great.

 

[billyjak]

Yes I just ordered that 120JB SE Western digital. looks like a screamer to me.

 

[mithrandir2001]

I demand 7200rpm over 5400rpm not for the throughput, but for the reduced seek times. The faster the platter spins, the lower the latency between seeks.

 

[ojai00]

Seagate produces reliable, and very quiet drives. I own a 60GB and it's amazing. It runs at 7200RPM and an ATA100 channel. The prices of 60GB drives have gone down a bit, so you can probably pick one up for about $130 or less shipped. Hope this helps.

 

[Migroo]

Thanks everyone, yes - it helps

Good point about the seek times mithrandir2001 - I had forgotten about that. Looks like a 7200rpm model is the way to go

 

[CraigRT]

I have a Maxtor DiamondMax60+ 30GB
D740X-6L 60GB
D740X-6L 20GB
and a Quantum Fireball plus LM 15GB

The Fireball is the fastest by a bit, followed by the D740's, the D740's are the 2nd fastest followed by the Dmax60+ , the 60GB is a VERY NICE drive.. I'd recommend it for you.

 

[KenAF]

<< have a Maxtor DiamondMax60+ 30GB
D740X-6L 60GB
D740X-6L 20GB
and a Quantum Fireball plus LM 15GB >>

I know you are just trying to help...but all of those drives are pretty slow by today's standards.

 

[CraigRT]

No they aren't, they are slow by SCSI standards.

 

[KenAF]

Yield,

I don't mean to be an ass, but those drives are slow by today's standards for ATA drives. The ATA drives I am talking about are faster than most SCSI drives (including 10k rpm models) for desktop use. In comparison, the drives you listed are as much as 62% slower than the top ATA drives. Perhaps they are reasonable budget solutions, but if you want high performance, they are not where it's at.

The Maxtor drives are 62% slower in bootup performance, 36% slower in gaming, 37% slower in productivity apps, and 44% slower in graphics, imaging, and rendering apps. The Fireball is so slow is doesn't even make their chart. See this page at Storagereview for confirmation.

 

[CraigRT]

absolutely on crack...

the Fireball is ATA/66 and it's just as fast as the D740's which are a NEW model running ATA/133. - all at 7200 RPM.

I dunno which damn drives you are talking about that are so fast but these drives are sweet and quick, the fastest ones i have found for budget IDE use..

also fast is the Quantum Fireball plus AS.

 

[CraigRT]

that is the dumbest page i have ever seen.. boot mark? how is it possible a drive is slower in booting? that makes no sense... i know a guy from StorageReview I used to talk to alot and he has a Fireball plus LM in his personal computer and for IDE he said it was definitely one of the fastest ever produced, and remains so... I am very happy with the performance of my drives none the less.. those numbers just seem ridiculous.....

 

[KenAF]

Yield,

Well, you can say what you want, but Storagereview is the recognized leader in hard drive testing on the net. If you want to read more about what comprises each test, you can do that right here. These tests were developed with input from those at Microsoft and Intel, among others.

 

[Paulson]

If your goal is to come in raising hell right away KenAF, then I'd say you're doing a mighty fine job...

Granted the 120gig WD JB and 120GXP IBM hard drives are somewhat close together, they're not something everyone needs...

Since Migoo did say he wanted a 60 gig, Yield was right in offering a variety into the mix... personally I like maxtor hard drives, I have a 40 gig that's outlasted 2 western digitals (40 & 60 7200RPM) and am sure most people look to reliability, then speed...

Besides, the Special edition western digitals are only on 100 & 120gig drives, not the 60 gig drive.

Not to mention, but lately IBM has really been selling it's reliability standards down the drain. Don't know much about the 120GXP, but I know the big problem that was in the 75GXP model was still occuring in the 60GXP model...

Anyways, next time don't be a zealot, just give your opinion and add it to the others, don't bash someone else's reasonable suggestion. (Hence why I'm bashing your unreasonable half baked conclusions about maxtor and their speed...)

 

[KenAF]

Paulson,

My comments on the Maxtor were directly correlated to published results; it had nothing to do with opinion, advocacy, or anything of the kind. If someone here claimed a 600MHz Athlon was faster than a 2.0GHz P4, I would do the same thing; I would post comments to the contrary and back up my words with published results. Misinformation of any kind should not be allowed to stand.

 

[CraigRT]

I accidentally came across this D740X review while looking for some info on a motherboard and they seem to like it alot.. the D740X is one of the fastest IDE drives currently available and with Maxtor's reliability and price, makes it the best bang for buck!

 

[Migroo]

Thanks Guys, and Paulson for stepping in

Too much information...

 

[wavephorm]

I've been a pretty loyal to Western Digital for quite some time now. I've owned a 5400rpm 20Gig for about 3 years now, a 30Gig for about a year, and the 80Gig 800BB model for a couple months. All are still in use and performing very well. I am often suprized that many people have reliability problems with WD drives. The other day I put an order in for the Seagate cudaIV 80Gig because of it's excellent reputation for low noise which I want for my workstation.

I think it's safe to say whichever drive you get will not guarantee longer term reliability. These are mechanical things with many moving parts, and every manufacturer will produce a few lemons, some (cough*like IBM*cough) more than others. Regardless of which drive you choose always back up your most important data to CD, or to another drive once in a while to be safe.

 

[Migroo]

Thanks for replying wavephorm.

Yep, I agree. I have had a couple of drive problems over the years - a 2.1 Gb Quantum drive and one IBM 10Gb drive (although that was probably not the drive as it was tightly packed between 2 other drives in a hot server - big mistake)

I am still trying to decide between fast and quiet Tonight I'll have a look at what my fave vendor stocks and see how prices compare.

Thanks all.