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Should I just get WD1200JB instead of a SATA drive?

V

Vageetasjn

Senior member
Here's the situation. I want to buy a 120GB HD, but am not sure whether to go with sata or not. I have narrowed my choices down to the Western Digital 120GB WD1200JB w/ 8MB cache (IDE, pata interface), or the Seagate 7200.7 120GB sata drive w/ 8MB cache.
The WD is $102 and the Seagate is $120 + I have to buy a $10 sata power connector.
The WD is probably faster, but the Seagate might be more reliable. Which do you think I should I go with?
Thanks
 
i'm in the same damn situation lol
apparently the seagate doesn't do to well on benchmarks ive seen, but someone correct me if i'm wrong.
 
Where do you find that WD is not reliable? I've never heard anyone complain about their BB or JB drives.

x <--- owner of 2 1200JB drives
 
Yeah, I've got 4 WD's and counting. Wouldn't keep buying them if they didn't last. Put 2 in a friends box quite a while back and we're still friends.
 
Check out the Maxtor DM+9 120GB SATA drive. It's faster than both IIRC, has a 3 year warranty, and full fluid bearings.

🙂
 
INSANE3d IS THE MAN! Go with the Maxtor FBD Cooler, Quiter, Long warranty, Cheaper. What else is there?
 
Most drives can't even maintain tranfer rates of ATA100, just get the WD120JB and you can upgrade later to SATA if you'd like with a serialer adapter. From the benches I've seen there's no performance difference other than the higher theoretical ATA150 speeds which no drives have been able to maintain.
 
Where do you find that WD is not reliable? I've never heard anyone complain about their BB or JB drives
Click to expand...

Well then here you go.
Ordered one of the 80GB JB specials newegg is running now. Quiet drive, and fast as hell too. Operated normally for all of 17 days before I got a boot disc failure one morning. As per WD's Lifeguard Diagnostic program, error number 0224, "too many errors to report." RMA'd that badboy, and newegg got the replacement to me yesterday morning. So far so good tho...
 
Originally posted by: kage69
Where do you find that WD is not reliable? I've never heard anyone complain about their BB or JB drives
Click to expand...

Well then here you go.
Ordered one of the 80GB JB specials newegg is running now. Quiet drive, and fast as hell too. Operated normally for all of 17 days before I got a boot disc failure one morning. As per WD's Lifeguard Diagnostic program, error number 0224, "too many errors to report." RMA'd that badboy, and newegg got the replacement to me yesterday morning. So far so good tho...
Click to expand...
OMG one whole bad report, I'm sure you can dig up hundreds of bad reports on every single model of drive that's been out for more then half a year but that doesn't prove anything....

Thorin
 
I think every hard drive has a chance to die in the first 30 days, but that doesn't make the drives unreliable. A bad drive is destined to die quickly if it was screwed up on the assembly line, but that can happen to anyone. Every company is going to have a few bad eggs no matter, and they will probably fail really fast.

Unreliability comes from drives mysteriously dying after 6 months, a year or 2 years. The greatest example of unreliable drives is the IBM 75GXP and 60GXP series which would work fine for a while and then suddenly destroy themselves without notice. I never see people who have long term probles w/ their WD drives, or Maxtor or Seagate drives for that matter. I think they're all reliable.
 
As far as reliability I have used Western Digital hard drives, preferably the SE series for a couple of years and have never had a problem with any drive in any system I have ever built! I have used around 20-30 of these drives including the 60, 8, and 120GB SE Drives along with the raptors and have been nothing but happy with them. If you were looking for faster + SATA, maybe you should checkout the new WD1200JD drive, it's basically the JB with Serial ATA....same warranty and everything as all the other SE drives.
 
Originally posted by: A.K.A.
Originally posted by: thorin
Check out the Maxtor DM+9 120GB SATA drive. It's faster than both IIRC, has a 3 year warranty, and full fluid bearings.
Click to expand...
NOT!

Head-To-Head: Raptor vs WD2000JB vs Maxtor DM+9 SATA

Thorin
Click to expand...

Uh.. your wrong on that one Throin.

That review is not a review of the Maxtor drive running in SATA but as ATA133.
There is more than one type of DM +9
Click to expand...

Uhhh thanks for pointing that out the DM+9 SATA performs even worse (NAHA 😛)...... Links have been updated.

Thorin
 
Originally posted by: thorin
Originally posted by: A.K.A.
Originally posted by: thorin
Check out the Maxtor DM+9 120GB SATA drive. It's faster than both IIRC, has a 3 year warranty, and full fluid bearings.
Click to expand...
NOT!

Head-To-Head: Raptor vs WD2000JB vs Maxtor DM+9 SATA

Thorin
Click to expand...

Uh.. your wrong on that one Throin.

That review is not a review of the Maxtor drive running in SATA but as ATA133.
There is more than one type of DM +9
Click to expand...

Uhhh thanks for pointing that out the DM+9 SATA performs even worse (NAHA 😛)...... Links have been updated.

Thorin
Click to expand...


When were those tests done? It seems like most of the info on SR's site is a bit dated...their most recent review was in June...

*shrug*

If they are indeed recent, then the Maxtor is not faster...although it was quieter and cooler...
 
Originally posted by: xizor
Where do you find that WD is not reliable? I've never heard anyone complain about their BB or JB drives.

x <--- owner of 2 1200JB drives
Click to expand...

:wavey: My BB died last week. Had it for a 1 1/2 years. But still I would go with WD or Maxtor and wait for SATA to improve and actually be worth the added cost. Anyone know why they went to a serial bus instead of the better performance of parallel bus?? ( all I know of is the smaller trace routes)
 
While doing some research, it seems the Maxtor DM+9's SATA's come in two flavors..one with 60GB platters and one with 80GB platters. I found another review that is dated July 1st and it paints a slightly different picture than SR. Please note the glaring differences between the DM+9 PATA drives versus the SATA counterparts...

🙂

SATA "Shootout"
 
Head-To-Head: Raptor vs WD2000JB vs Maxtor DM+9 SATA says the newer JB's are faster than the DM+9 SATA

SATA "Shootout" says the DM+9 SATA is faster than the older 1200JB

This compare JB Compares shows that newer JB's are signifigantly faster than older ones.

So I would conclude that if you want a 120GB drive, the DM+9 would probably be faster. If you want a drive > 200GB go w/ the PATA IDE JB's.

Note: That "shootout" uses a DM+9 w/ 60GB platter, so the performance of the 80GB is still unknown?
 
Lets not forget that the WD Raptor is a 10,000 rpm drive and the others are 7,200 rpm.

So naturally its gonna be faster in alot of categories.
 
IMO, the "which drive is faster" debate is pointless. It doesn't matter which drive benchamarks faster. I think, in real world use, all the drives that are comparable (ie, three 120GB 7200 rpm drives) the speed differences will not be noticable. Not to the user anyhow. If all you care about is which drive benchmarks faster, than those reviews are immensiley helpful. Otherwise (speed-wise) they are pretty pointless. For other measurements (noise, heat) they may be more helpful, since there may be a more noticable differance. That's my opinion anyhow. a second or two difference in a benchmarks has zero influence in my buying decisions since I won't notice the second I lose or gain.

\Dan
 
IMHO Western Digital is the way to go... I've got 5 of them in systems so far...

They're really nice and speedy drives.

Granted I've had to RMA 2 of them, but neither drive just up and died, so I was able to back up all my data, and the replacement drives are excellent.
 
My 80GB WD800JB has proven itself speedy and reliable. I'd wait for SATA to mature a bit before taking the plunge.
 
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