I'm asking for some reccomendations concerning Hard Disk Drives. I need at least 2 HDDs: One for my OS and maybe installed programs (can someone please tell me how to get the "Program Files" folder from one drive to another without making every program installation default to the old drive's "Program Files" folder?), and one for storage. I want the fastest thing out for the OS/installed programs and the most relible for the storage (read: Audio/Video/Docs/Photo/etc.) but, also has a high capacity.

I understand that Seagate dominates the speed market with their SCSI drives, which leads to some questions: What are the different types of SCSI? When did they come out in consumer desktop PCs? How can I find out which version is in my PC? Is Seagate still the leader in speedy HDDs?

Also, about the storage one, I'm deciding between 3 manufacturers: Western Digital, Maxtor, and Seagate. If you know of any other manufacturers that are MORE reliable than any of these three, let me know. Anyway, I always thought that Western Digital's drives were the most reliable but, Maxtor's drives has the most capacity. Can someone on here who knows give me some proof to this? Or is reliability the same in both manufacturers' drives?

I'll add here that I want a drive with an 8 MB buffer, not the 2 MB industry-standard buffer. If anyone can give me some insight on this issue, please LET ME KNOW. Thanks!

I recently got a Western Digital HD and I have no complaints (I know this doesn't help at all ) It was recommended by a computer expert.. *shrug*

ok for the OS drive, the choice is simple:

Western Digital Raptor (WD360GD)

it's a 36GB drive, Serial ATA with 10K rpm, 8MB.. this is the thing you will want to get.

As for mass storage, i'd suggest looking at the Caviar series either the WD2000JB or WD2500JB.

more info www.storagereview.com

if u are concerned about reliability, they have a little Database with reliability information from their readers.

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I see your 4 Crushs and raise you 3 As The Rush Comes. - Yan from PvD's first summerstage event in '03

quote:

What are the different types of SCSI?

there is a lot. From wayyy old stuff like SCSI passing by fast/ ultra/ wide.. and more recent stuff like Ultra2 SCSI (80MB/s) Ultra160 and Ultra320.

Basically, u'd want to get either an Ultra160 or Ultra 320 SCSI controller. If u have the $$ get the latter. Most drives 'should' be U320 by this time anyhow. SCSI is a huge investment. Please, get a lot of info on this before u make it!

quote:

When did they come out in consumer desktop PCs?

what is that supposed to mean? If u buy a SCSI controller (PCI card) u can add SCSI drives to your PC. Is that what u are asking?

quote:

How can I find out which version is in my PC?

most likely you have no SCSI. You will have IDE. If u bought a new Pc within the last 8 months, you MIGHT have Serial ATA (new standart) otherwise, u probably have DMA100 unless your pc is older than 2-3 years.
Unless u buy a Serial ATA drive, which the WD360GD is, you will be able to 'run' the harddrive. It may not be at the fastest speed and -if your drive is >140GB in size, maybe not at full capacity.

All this depends on your bios/ motherboard.

You can always add an IDE controller card (even a Serial-ATA one) if u need to.

quote:

Is Seagate still the leader in speedy HDDs?

definetely not in the IDE sector. Seagates' IDE hdd's are not really fast, but they are _VERY_ quiet.
For SCSI I think they are, but it once again depends. Maxtor is gaining on them, and with a new 15K rpm drive coming out, they might have something that can beat the Cheetah X15.3

trust me, Storagereview is the site you'll want to visit and read. It has a lot of information for people with little knowledge.

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I see your 4 Crushs and raise you 3 As The Rush Comes. - Yan from PvD's first summerstage event in '03

I been to www.Storagereview.com and noticed that the drives they reviewed were past flagships, not CURRENT flagships. I'll look again, though. Plus, I didn't know any of the info that drizzt81 said there. My PC was purchused on 2001-09-16 so, it's 1 1/2 years old. Thanks anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by ali92 I been to www.Storagereview.com and noticed that the drives they reviewed were past flagships, not CURRENT flagships. I'll look again, though. Plus, I didn't know any of the info that drizzt81 said there. My PC was purchused on 2001-09-16 so, it's 1 1/2 years old. Thanks anyway.

umm well, the problem is that there isn't anything super-new right now. The WD360GD is brand new (try finding one )

If u look at the HDD market over the past 2 years, you will notice that nothing much has changed. Yes, IBM got scalded by producing shitty drives, Fluid dynamic bearing are becoming standard, average 'waranty' has gone down to 1 or 3 years instead of 5, manfuacturers are putting out numbers on how long you are to run IDE drives, but the only thing that has changed are platter sizes:

20GB->25GB->30GB->...->80GB (now'ish)


now for information:

SCSI history/ basics

for the reliability survery, you need to register and log in.

your PC: You definetely do not have Serial ATA (SATA), so if u wanted the 10K rpm boot/ OS/ swap drive, you'd need to get a controller card for that.

You shouldn't have a speed issue with harddrives, but u might need a new BIOS to use >140GB HDD's. You should find out what motherboard you have and then go to its manufacturers' homepage and see if u can/ need to download a new bios. WARNING: FLASHING YOUR BIOS IS DANGEROUS!

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I see your 4 Crushs and raise you 3 As The Rush Comes. - Yan from PvD's first summerstage event in '03

can't go wrong with WD

I'm not a big fan of Western Digital hard drives. My dad has had a few of them die out on his office computers over the years, and I have heard others complain about them.
But, that isn't to mean that their new hard drives are bad, but with the choices out there I would suggest Seagate or Maxtor over them.
If you are building a home PC which you don't plan on using for server functions and the such, I don't suggest getting a SCSI hard drive. You will end up paying alot more money for one less second to a fraction of a second of noticable access time.
SCSI is alot faster for access, but its only noticable when you have multiple computers accessing your hard drive.
anyway, what drizzt had to say is pretty good advice.
i don't want to say the same stuff again.
but if you wan't some more good advice go to the forums at
www.sharkyextreme.com

quote:

Originally posted by montie I'm not a big fan of Western Digital hard drives. My dad has had a few of them die out on his office computers over the years, and I have heard others complain about them. But, that isn't to mean that their new hard drives are bad, but with the choices out there I would suggest Seagate or Maxtor over them.

that is a good point, but it is hard to quantify that from just your immediate friends and family. I have a 'bunch' (like 6 or 7) IBM 'deathstar' HDD's and NONE failed *knock on wood*.. so for me IBM seems quite reliable. Hence my suggestion to look at the SR reliability database.. it has a larger sample, hence might produce a more accurate picture. I understand that this sample isn't random, since there is usually a certain 'kind' of person that would register at SR and post results...

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I see your 4 Crushs and raise you 3 As The Rush Comes. - Yan from PvD's first summerstage event in '03

get 2 200gb hdds "7200rpm" with 8mb cache and set them up with raid 0

make sure they are sata because it all about bandwidth, not rpms.

If you're considering SCSI, you most likely are looking at spending a fair wod of cash. A good option you might wanna check out is getting a good 20-30gig hard-drive for all things system, then purchasing two hard-drives (whether they're SCSI or not isn't essential) of the same size and running them under a RAID array, either striping or mirroring. I have 2 80gig Seagate 7200rpm drives under RAID 0 (Striping) and it's very quick. Seagates aint the speediest drives, but they're silent and very very solid.