Which Harddrive?

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SGtheArtist

Senior member
Apr 5, 2001
508
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0
Hello,

I an researching HDDs in the 250-300GB range and figured I'd ask for the forum members assistance.

The only purpose of the drive will be for DVD playback from an External Firewire 400 enclosure. Since I don't watch movies often the HDD use would be less than an average computer user.

My questions are:
1) Do I need 7200rpm for the purposes stated?
2) I noticed pricewatch listed good prices but most are Refurbished or Recertified HDDs, is this a significant issue?
3) Can you list some quality retailers with good HDD prices (no rebates please).

Thanks for everyones assistance.
 
V

V00D00

Golden Member
May 25, 2003
1,834
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How much are you looking to spend? You can get a very decent hard drive for $60-70 from the hot deals section. What's wrong with rebates?

You should probably be OK with 5400rpm if you're just playing dvds, but 7200's aren't that much cheaper. The 5400's will probably be a bit quieter if you seek that feature.

Refurbished hard drives are just ones that the manufacturer has fixed. I guess the significance of that is up to you. I had a 120gb Western Digital drive die on me recently and when I RMA'ed it I got a recertified drive back. I have't had a problem with it since I got it about 4 months ago.
 
S

SGtheArtist

Senior member
Apr 5, 2001
508
0
0
My budget is around $100/drive. In addition I'm planning on purchasing 4 drives. While I could purchase it from the FS section I would prefer to purchase them all together to save on shipping and maintain uniformity in capacity. I really dont want to deal with rebates and if I purchase more than 1 the rebate only applies to the first drive.

http://www.partspc.com/ProductDetails.asp?CatID=4&ProdID=5006

I'm also concerned about going the Maxtor option but it seems that their prices are cheaper.
 
Googer

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
7
81
Originally posted by: V00D00
How much are you looking to spend? You can get a very decent hard drive for $60-70 from the hot deals section. What's wrong with rebates?

You should probably be OK with 5400rpm if you're just playing dvds, but 7200's aren't that much cheaper. The 5400's will probably be a bit quieter if you seek that feature.

Refurbished hard drives are just ones that the manufacturer has fixed. I guess the significance of that is up to you. I had a 120gb Western Digital drive die on me recently and when I RMA'ed it I got a recertified drive back. I have't had a problem with it since I got it about 4 months ago.
Click to expand...

Last time I checked about two years ago, the price differance between a 5400RPM and 7200 RPM drive of the same capacity was about $2 for a Western Digital Drive. Go with 7200 and you will thank your Self.


Cheap suggestions:
40GB $49

Best Value- 80GB $53
 
S

SGtheArtist

Senior member
Apr 5, 2001
508
0
0
I appreciate the input. I'm more interested in the larger harddrives this isnt for performance.

My options are:
DiamondMax 16 300GB 5400rpm refurbished $102
WD2500BB 250GB 7200rpm refurbished $81
WD2500JB 250GB 7200rpm OEM $101

http://www.bytesector.com/data/bs-article.asp?ID=243&ct=Latest+Resources

This review of the Maxtor illustrates that the 5400rpm will not be a problem for me since the throughput exceed the Firewire throughput.

I believe the DiamondMax 16 will have 4 platters while the WD's will have 3. From my research I get the impression that the refubished drives have the same failure rates as their OEM or retail counterparts. Furthermore it sounds like these manufacutres are about the same when comparing drive failure rates.
 
Googer

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
7
81
Originally posted by: SGtheArtist
I appreciate the input. I'm more interested in the larger harddrives this isnt for performance.

My options are:
DiamondMax 16 300GB 5400rpm refurbished $102
WD2500BB 250GB 7200rpm refurbished $81
WD2500JB 250GB 7200rpm OEM $101

http://www.bytesector.com/data/bs-article.asp?ID=243&ct=Latest+Resources

This review of the Maxtor illustrates that the 5400rpm will not be a problem for me since the throughput exceed the Firewire throughput.

I believe the DiamondMax 16 will have 4 platters while the WD's will have 3. From my research I get the impression that the refubished drives have the same failure rates as their OEM or retail counterparts. Furthermore it sounds like these manufacutres are about the same when comparing drive failure rates.
Click to expand...


Those DiamondMax 16's in 5400RPM are counterfiet Maxtors. Do not buy them.
 
Z

zest

Senior member
Jun 2, 2005
382
0
0
Originally posted by: SGtheArtist
I appreciate the input. I'm more interested in the larger harddrives this isnt for performance.

My options are:
DiamondMax 16 300GB 5400rpm refurbished $102
WD2500BB 250GB 7200rpm refurbished $81
WD2500JB 250GB 7200rpm OEM $101

http://www.bytesector.com/data/bs-article.asp?ID=243&ct=Latest+Resources

This review of the Maxtor illustrates that the 5400rpm will not be a problem for me since the throughput exceed the Firewire throughput.

I believe the DiamondMax 16 will have 4 platters while the WD's will have 3. From my research I get the impression that the refubished drives have the same failure rates as their OEM or retail counterparts. Furthermore it sounds like these manufacutres are about the same when comparing drive failure rates.
Click to expand...

I would go for the WD2500JB 250GB 7200rpm OEM $101..
It is a very good drive..
I think ther is a 5year warranty with WD oem drives.

 
I

ionoxx

Senior member
Jan 18, 2005
267
0
0
you should look up some hardware benchmarks, what you should be looking at above all is the operating temperature of the drive. The lower the better. Those enclosures get particularly hot for a hard drive, seeing as there is no air flow. The drives that run cooler will last longer.
 
Spike

Spike

Diamond Member
Aug 27, 2001
6,770
1
81
The Hitachi T7K250 are some of the fastest and quietest drives out right now in the 250GB range (according to storagereviews.com) You can get them in either PATA or SATA II flavor for $106 and $113 respectivly. These continue to get good ratings from reviewers on their speed, silence, and temperature. They have two 125GB platters so their seeks tend to not be as loud as comparable Maxtors and Seagates.

Personally I like WD, Seagate, and Hitachi drives but since I recently 'discovered' these T7K250's I have been very impressed. Is it noticable faster than my similar Seagates or WD... no, but it is quieter so that works for me. In your case the extra speed and silence may not really be neccessary but if you are interested these are great drives.

-spike
 
S

SGtheArtist

Senior member
Apr 5, 2001
508
0
0
Those are some nice drives at a good price too. Unfortunately, I'll be waiting to make my purchase since my financial situation has changed. Thanks for everyones help.
 
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