Reliable laptop hard drive?

[Blundar]

My thinkpad T21's HD just started developing bad sectors. I doubt it will stay long in this world.

Speed not a concern, reliability IS a concern. Which brands seem to be holding together well for 2.5" 10mm laptop drives?

 

[corkyg]

I have had 5 laptops, and replaced drives about 10 times - never a failure - just upgrades in size. Today I rate Toshiba as #1 in performance and reliability (the one with the 8 MB buffer, 5400 RPM). #2 is currently, IMHO, Hitachi, also with 8 MB buffer, and 5400 or 7200 RPM. The latter gives you a lot of heat, however.

 

[vegetation]

There's really no way to tell. I've seen bad 2.5" drives from every manufacturer. You could get a really good model but end up with a lemon a year down the road. If speed is of no concern, there's lots of cheap $100 20gb 4200rpm drives out there.

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: vegetation
There's really no way to tell. I've seen bad 2.5" drives from every manufacturer. You could get a really good model but end up with a lemon a year down the road. If speed is of no concern, there's lots of cheap $100 20gb 4200rpm drives out there.

Yep! That is true. I have had to date probably 12 laptop HDDs of various sizes and configs - and have never had any of them fail. But I still like Toshiba the best because of performance. Speed may not be a purchasing decision, but when you have it, it is sweet.