Although Maxtor started out as the "cheap" hard drive company, they've become one of the best brands out there. They have lower prices than anybody, and have very reliable drives. Many top manufacturers (including Dell and Apple) use Maxtor drives, so that alone should be proof that they're good. I personally still use WD drives, but plan to build my next machine with either Maxtors or Seagates, depending how much money I have to spend. Seagate is the way to go if you have plenty of money, otherwise, Maxtor is the best.
Jacob
Jacob