SCSI Hard Drives: Seagate vs. IBM vs. Maxtor(Quantum)???

[Whitedog]

PLEASE... If all you "KNOW" is IDE drives, keep your flames to yourself. I "KNOW" IBM Deathstars are suck.... etc... This isn't about IDE.

I'm ONLY Interested in comments from those who have experience using the mentioned SCSI hard drives.

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My 36GB SCSI drive just died. :| oh well. It was a drive out of an HP netserver I was using. I looked it up and the drive itself was manufactured by Seagate.

I have four other SCSI drives. 2 - 18gig 10,000 rpm Compaq drives (both of those are in the wifes computer) and an 18gig 7200 baracuda in this PC. The 36gig drive was my D drive which I ran all my programs and games from. The 7200rpm drive is what my OS is on (which is Why I can still get on the net and Post). 1 - 9.1gig quantum in my server.

What I'm going to do is throw this 18gig 7200rpm baracuda in my server (a regular PC I borrowed from work so I could run Win2k Server and SQL 2000... I'm a developer, so I need access to a SQL server) to run my databases on.
Currently, my server has a 10gig Quantum IDE and a 9gig SCSI drive. I'm going to replace the 10gig IDE drive with this 18gig Seagate... Then I'll be ALL SCSI in all my computers(once I get a new one for this rig).
(and BTW, my server IS an old Dell Precision 410 Dual processor + on board SCSI + ECC Memory, so It's not too bad a PC. )

I'll be left with NO hard drive in this computer. I looking to put another 36gig 10k rpm drive in it, but can't decide what to buy.

I don't "think" I want to spend $260 for a 15000rpm drive. I'd like to spend < $180.

Seagates "seem" to be pretty damn loud drives... though my 7200rpm Baracuda SCSI is more quiet than any IDE drive I've ever heard... the 10k drives are annoying as hell.



What do you guys think about IMB SCSI drives? Quantum (Maxtor) SCSI drives? and of course, Seagates? I've never owned a Cheetah.
Are IBM drives manufactured BY Seagate for IBM? That's what a lot of Ads on PW say.

Let me know what you think guys...

Thanks


BTW... Don't EVEN Mention to be about getting IDE and RAID them... :| :| IF that's your idea, than just stay out of this thread. It's not even a remote consideration.

 

[DeschutesCore]

While IBM does make a damned fine SCSI drive, I still prefer the Cheetah 10k/15k's to any other model's out there. I've heard good things about Fujistu SCSI as well.

honestly, I'd say go Seagate all the way. Marginally quieter, proven performance record, and a damned fine warranty program all lead up to one excellent choice.

DC

 

[m2kewl]

definitely 15k cheetah!! oh my - good googly - it's fast! :Q

 

[Whitedog]

What is the noise level of the 15k Cheetah's? I'm not that concerned about the grinding access noise NEAR as much as the "spin noise"

I can't stand the 10k drives that have a REALLY HIGH Pitched Whinning sound CONSTANTLY running through my head :|

I just assume the 15k drives have an even higher pitched whin to them and are louder? Not the case?

 

[LH]

The Fugitsu 15k drives are nice. The fastest SCSI drives out there. Although not by much. I believe they are slightly cheaper than the Seagates as well.

 

[Bobbyeyes]

LH
i also agree w/ fujitsu..
i have a 10k, and a 15k. they are quieter than my 15kcheetah(that annoying tick sound)
but i find the fujitsus run a little hotter

 

[dszd0g]

It's been a long time since I've used a Fujitsu drive (bad experiences too long ago to be important now), so I can't comment on them.

I've used IBM, Quantum, and Seagate SCSI drives. The IBMs I've owned have been the loudest. I just picked up a Maxtor Atlas 10K III 8MB 18GB for one of my systems for $80 locally, good deal. I used it to replace an IBM DCAS HD that was 5 years old -- I like to replace them before they die and I should have replaced it earlier to be safe.

I would look at Storagereview and compare the drives that you can get the best deals on.

I know you don't want to hear about the Deathstar stuff, but they handled that situation so poorly that I won't go with their SCSI drives either. Even if they have no problems at all, if they did have a problem I couldn't trust them to handle it well.

I have done a bunch of RMAs with Quantum and Maxtor locally and just gone to their pick-up door. I doubt you have the luxury of being local to them, but I have been able to RMA their drives same day.

I have used a ton of (over a thousand) Seagate drives. I have a 15K one at home, and I've used a ton of 7200RPM (SCSI) and 10K ones at places I've worked. They seem to last about 4-5 years almost always. At one place I worked we almost had predicting what month a drive would fail to an art form, I don't have the information anymore so I don't remember exactly how long it was, but it was 4 years and some number of months. Obviously, their newer drives will be somewhat different. But I believe that was the amount of time that it would take the liquid ball bearings they use to wear out with the drive in continuous usage.

The Seagate 15K is quiet under normal usage (quieter than the Quantum Atlas, IMO). However, when it starts seeking all over the place (like doing a defrag) it is noticable. Storagereview has actual measurements of the noise of various drives, if that is important to you. I haven't looked at it in a while.

 

[andrey]

If you don't mind some extra noise, I would definitely recommend IBM 36Z15. This is 15,000 rpm drive and as far as price, it goes for around $180-230 for 36GB version. I'm using 36Z15 right now as we speak and I would definitely recommend this drive to anybody who's looking for 15,000 drive without spending a fortune.

--Andrey

 

[Wolfsraider]

Originally posted by: andrey
If you don't mind some extra noise, I would definitely recommend IBM 36Z15. This is 15,000 rpm drive and as far as price, it goes for around $180-230 for 36GB version. I'm using 36Z15 right now as we speak and I would definitely recommend this drive to anybody who's looking for 15,000 drive without spending a fortune.

--Andrey

same here but mine is seemingly quiet even the seeks are not bad for me and i dislike noise.ymmv as i have heard that these were excessively noisy? but the cheap price is for oem 1 year warranty=199.00 at hypermicro. the retail w/5 year warranty is 329.00

so if youre after a five year warranty i'd say go seagate

hth
mike

 

[dszd0g]

A lot of the ads on Pricewatch do say that they IBM's are Seagate drives. But the Seagate drives have 8MB buffers and the IBM's have 4MB, so the Seagates do have better specs. The IBM's go for about $50 less from the same dealer. I guess one has to decide whether the extra 4MB buffer is worth $50 or not.

 

[Sunner]

Well, most server manufacturers seem to prefer Fujitsu drives(both HPaq and Sun use almost exclusively Fujitsu, don't know about others as HPaq and Sun is what we use here at work) , and looking at Storagereview's tests the Fujitsu's perform admirably in server related tasks.
Seagates are blazingly fast though, and it seems like they've managed to make their drives extremely quiet with the latest generation(15K.3 and 10K.6).

IMO you can't go wrong with neither Fujitsu nor Seagate, while it seems like IBM drives just aren't up to par in terms of performance.

 

[LH]

Fujitsu IDE drives sucked hard, but their SCSI drives are excellent, and always have been from what I understand.

 

[dszd0g]

Sunner, last job where I was opening up HP Storage array disks every single one I opened was a Seagate drive. I don't know about the Compaq side of the company. Which side of the company are you referring to?

 

[Sunner]

Originally posted by: dszd0g
Sunner, last job where I was opening up HP Storage array disks every single one I opened was a Seagate drive. I don't know about the Compaq side of the company. Which side of the company are you referring to?

Compaq.
But I've seen Seagates in them too, mostly 15K drives, but some 7200 and 10K ones too.
Just seems to me like they prefer Fujitsu's these days, pretty much every drive I've ordered lately has been Fujitsu's, but on the other hand maybe it's just a coincidence

I think 95% or more of the disks we've gotten from Sun are Fujitsu's though.

 

[techfuzz]

FYI,
IBM sold their HD unit to Hitachi about 6 months ago. They've been manufacturing the HD's ever since and branding them as IBM's.
Here's the press release from IBM: Press Release

 

[Whitedog]

I think I'm going to go with a Seagate X15-36LP 36GB for about $250 w/5 year warranty.
Seems to get a lot of thumbs up.
15k just sounds too good now.

Do you think I should put a HD cooler on this thing?
Is there a good sight to buy Heat Sinks made for HD's? PW doesn't have a good sort for that item.

 

[Bobbyeyes]

one good fan strategically placed should do it for you.

 

[fkloster]

I have owned and operated Seagate SCSI barracudas and cheetahs for 8 years now and never had a failure...currently running a 1st gen 15k cheetah and a 2nd gen 15k cheetah. they are violently fast granite stable.

 

[dszd0g]

Originally posted by: Whitedog

Do you think I should put a HD cooler on this thing?
Is there a good sight to buy Heat Sinks made for HD's? PW doesn't have a good sort for that item.

I use a hard drive cooler on all my SCSI drives. SCSI drives run hotter than IDE drives in general. I use the Vantec Ultimate Hard Drive Cooler. It looks like 2cooltek now carries it here. It can be a royal pain to install the front plate on it. All it is is a piece of plastic, but in most cases it doesn't fit quite right. However, I have tried many different coolers and this one seems to do the best temperature wise and is quieter than a lot of the other multiple fan ones I've used. I recommend against the generic 3-fan ones that can be found all over the place, I don't know how many of them I've gone through.

I am not sure what is actually required for maximum reliability, but I have had really good luck with SCSI drive reliability overall and I take this paranoid approach.

 

[andrey]

Originally posted by: Whitedog
I think I'm going to go with a Seagate X15-36LP 36GB for about $250 w/5 year warranty.
Seems to get a lot of thumbs up.
15k just sounds too good now.

Do you think I should put a HD cooler on this thing?
Is there a good sight to buy Heat Sinks made for HD's? PW doesn't have a good sort for that item.

I'm using Coolermaster CoolDrive 4002 cooler with my IBM 36Z15. While this cooler might cost a little bit more than the average one, it seesm to gain the best results in hard drive cooling. Here is the review of CoolDrive 4002 w/ pictures:
Coolermaster Cool Drive 4002 Review

 

[Whitedog]

CoolDrive 4002 - pretty impressive results. Thanks andrey.

Though I'll have to juggle my cases around to use one. Currently, the system I am going to put the drive in only has 2 5.25 bays and are both used (DVD + Burner).

I could swap out with my my other computer which has 5 5.25 bays.

They are having a computer show this weekend... I'll have to see if I can pick some of those up there. Cool.

 

[dszd0g]

Anyone know of any reviews that actually compare the Ultimate Hard Drive Cooler to the CoolDrive 4002? I did a search and couldn't find one. Most of the reviews of these coolers seem to be broken links. The Ultimate Hard Drive Cooler is a dual-fan while the CoolDrive is a single fan, they seem to use about the same size heatsink, the Ultimate Hard Drive Cooler uses copper screws while the CoolDrive uses aluminum. The CoolDrive looks better though.

 

[GoSharks]

all you really need is just SOME air movement. you dont necessarly need a fan in front of the drive, just some air movement. right now, my antec 1030 clone is housing 3 cheetahs, and one is being cooled by the vaccuum that is produced by the three fans i have blowing out in the back, and only one blowing in in the front (this cools my other two cheetahs). i have the plastic cover for a 3.5 inch bay off, and there is nothing behind it other than the hard drive. allows air to flow where i want it to flow. (and with the door, nobody notices ) this drive is cooler to the touch than my 5400rpm drive i have in a 5.25" bay that runs @23c according to dtemp
some of you probably will argue that this is not good for whatever reason, but it works for me. i could probably stick another 2 drives in there (and i could if i wanted ) and my setup would still work for me.

if you want quiet, go for a seagate 36ES. VERY quiet, 7200rpm levels. the seeks are not intrusive either.

one more thing, seagate and ibm have not worked together for years, and yes, IBM drives are lagging in performance and noise level. their 36lzx's were/are very loud compared to similar generation seagate drives. seagate drives in general are pretty quiet, no whine to them either.

and to you guys that are opening up servers and finding xx drive inside.. have you ever heard of being the lowest bidder? :Q