Which is better: Maxtor Diamondmax Plus D740x or Seagate Barracuda IV?

[ors]

I am looking to get either one of the 80gb versions of these drives, in my area i can pretty much get both drives at the same prices. So my question is which one is better in terms of performance, acoustics and reliability? For me performance is the most important factor in my decision, a relatively quiet drive would also be a big plus. So which one would you recommend?

 

[amdskip]

Seagate wins the quiet award easy, other than that, very similar. It's a toss up.

 

[Tseng]

If your MB supports ATA/133, I 'd suggest to go with Maxtor.

 

[amdskip]

Originally posted by: Tseng
If your MB supports ATA/133, I 'd suggest to go with Maxtor.

That doesn't matter, there is nothing that can take advantage of ATA 100 even yet, it's just a marketing thing for now.

 

[DeadHead]

I would go with the seagate for sure! I own a 40gb version and it doesn't make a sound. Best hard drive I have ever owned (which is a lot of hard drives )

 

[pdo]

I own both drive and the Cuda wins hands down for quiet and I doubt you'll notice a speed difference between the Cuda and the Maxtor unless you're running bench software.

 

[LostHiWay]

I like Maxtor myself but if I were you I'd just get whatever is cheapest where your buying

 

[NEVERwinter]

i'd go with maxtor, I dunno.... seagate HDD is very hot when touched

nah.. it's just me -_- both are good

 

[RalfHutter]

I own several of each. The Maxtors are a little faster but the Seagates are way quieter and run about 3-5C cooler than the Maxtors.

I'd say go with the Maxtor for pure performance or the Seagate for quietness.

Seems like the reliability is basically the same for both: very good.

 

[jrichrds]

For those who have relatively recent-model versions of both Maxtor and Seagate HDs, is the Maxtor noticeably louder than the Seagate? (would you be able to tell the difference with the computer on the ground near you and the case covers on?)

 

[Doh!]

Yes & yes. I guess I am very sensitive to noise as I'm married to a professional musician. I favor Seagate for its low noise level & I can't tell the difference in performance unless I run a HD benchmark software. I run several 60gb & 80gb of both brands (bought Maxtor initially 'cause they were chaeper then started buying Seagate for its low noise).

 

[RalfHutter]

Originally posted by: jrichrds
For those who have relatively recent-model versions of both Maxtor and Seagate HDs, is the Maxtor noticeably louder than the Seagate? (would you be able to tell the difference with the computer on the ground near you and the case covers on?)

Another "yes" and "yes". It's not even close for me but my rig is pretty quiet. A loud rig would probably cover up the noise difference. I never really paid attention to HDD noise until I built my first P4 Northwood rig (for my dad). The first time I fired it up I said "damn this bitch is quiet' and have never looked back. Once I built my own P4 rig I started noticing all the other noisey components in my system and worked on making it quieter.

 

[sleepdragon]

I can't stand the high pitch noise even if they are just barely noticeble..
and the source for such noise usually came from hdd after a period of use or
from fans..so I had replaced all the fans inside my case to panaflo quiet fans
(PSU, SYSTEM, HEATSINK), even did the 7volt mod on my GF3, and got myself
a nice barracuda iv...result...almost silent system...

I have had my hands on quite a lot of hdds, and barracuda iv by far is the quietest...
It's a pretty good performer too...