Hard Drives

fable · Post by **fable** » Mon Feb 25, 2002 9:45 am

This is one of the most comprehensive sites I've ever found (and used) when needing reference material on SCSI and IDE drives:

http://www.acc.umu.se/~sagge/scsi_ide/

Hope that helps!

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Mon Feb 25, 2002 9:49 am

SCSI drives are generally faster and you can put up to 7 of them on one SCSI chain, where you can only get 2 IDE hard drives on one IDE channel. SCSI stuff is also more expensive and you will generally not notice much of a performance improvement over IDE.

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Mon Feb 25, 2002 9:57 am

Originally posted by HighLordDave
SCSI drives are generally faster and you can put up to 7 of them on one SCSI chain, where you can only get 2 IDE hard drives on one IDE channel. SCSI stuff is also more expensive and you will generally not notice much of a performance improvement over IDE.

They are also noisier.

Ned Flanders · Post by **Ned Flanders** » Mon Feb 25, 2002 5:24 pm

Stick with IDE unless of course, you choose to go for the RAID setup.

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Mon Feb 25, 2002 6:29 pm

For even more geek points, seat each hard drive in one of your case's full-size bays and mount a hard drive cooling unit around it.

VoodooDali · Post by **VoodooDali** » Mon Feb 25, 2002 7:19 pm

And since I've had 2 hard drives die this past 2 years (both died due to mechanical breakdown--not software problems)--here's my 2 cents worth on the brand. Do not buy Maxtor or Western Digital!!! Get a Seagate!!!!

Ned Flanders · Post by **Ned Flanders** » Mon Feb 25, 2002 9:20 pm

And buy two equivalent hard drives so you can make a mirror set.

Sailor Saturn · Post by **Sailor Saturn** » Mon Feb 25, 2002 9:56 pm

Originally posted by VoodooDali
And since I've had 2 hard drives die this past 2 years (both died due to mechanical breakdown--not software problems)--here's my 2 cents worth on the brand. Do not buy Maxtor or Western Digital!!! Get a Seagate!!!!

Hmm...My Maxtor lasted for over 3 years without any trouble, and the only trouble I've had now is software problem(I think). I've got a Western Digital right now and it's working fine. The Maxtor drive that my mom has is about 2-3 years old and doing fine, too. I don't know how long hard drives are supposed to last, but both Maxtor and Western Digital seem fine to me. *shrugs*

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Tue Feb 26, 2002 4:34 am

Personal favourite is definately Fujitsu, every other brand i have had troubles with.

Ned Flanders · Post by **Ned Flanders** » Tue Feb 26, 2002 10:18 am

For the most part, all HD manufacturers are outputting crap for hard drives. Technology changes too quickly for any of these companies to put too much time and resources into their products (helps explain the low cost). The turnaround is too quick nowadays and companies don't expect the HD to last as long as they used to and neither should you. A backup plan in mandatory if you are going to keep any info on your harddrive you don't want to lose. I'd say the easiest plan is to buy two identical hard drives and an imaging software program. Then, once a month, make a duplicate image of your HD. It will save you in the long run.

In my experience in recent months I've found lemons with seagate, fujitsu, WD, and Maxtor.

Bloodstalker · Post by **Bloodstalker** » Tue Feb 26, 2002 2:28 pm

And since I've had 2 hard drives die this past 2 years (both died due to mechanical breakdown--not software problems)--here's my 2 cents worth on the brand. Do not buy Maxtor or Western Digital!!! Get a Seagate!!!!

I had a total opposite experience, I had three bad Seagate hd's in the space of a week. All had bad sectors on the HD, and all wouldn't even install windows.

GOt a Western Digital and had no problems.

Basically, any brand can put out a peice of crap.

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Tue Feb 26, 2002 2:58 pm

I have built several computers in the last year using Maxtor and Western Digital hard drives (they're the most readily available where I live), and have had problems with only one, a Maxtor, but I got it replaced quickly and without hassle by the manufacturer.

I guess it's all luck of the draw; just hope you don't get a lemon.