What Brand Hard Drive do you Recommend? at DVinfo.net

Ted Springer · November 17th, 2003, 04:35 AM

I searched on the forums for hard drive recommendations, but I couldn't find anything. So here is a thread dedicated to it.

I am looking specifically for an internal ATA 7200RPM drive. Gig size really isn't that important, just as long as it is over 60. What brands have you guys and gals had the best luck with? I think we can all agree that the majority of hard drive purchases are probably based on "luck". The one that just died on my system was a Maxtor, and it was around 8 to 10 months old. I have never had a Maxtor fail before, or any other brand for that matter. I am going hard drive shopping really soon, what should I get? What should I avoid?

Jeff Donald · November 17th, 2003, 06:02 AM

I've had good luck with Western Digital. But HD's are like brands of tape. Everybody has had problems with one brand or another. There are several threads on HD's in the PC editing section. I don't think your computer is set up to recognize the real big drives (over 135 GB). So, the 120 GB drives will offer the best value.

Frank Granovski · November 17th, 2003, 06:28 AM

I used to read up on hard drive tests, for many years actually. Western Digital almost always came out on top. I have 2 computers with Western Digital HD's in them. They're still ticking, and no bad sectors.

Bryan Beasleigh · November 17th, 2003, 08:47 AM

The major players are all about the same so far as reliability and throughput. One may edge the other one by a very slim margin but that'll have no noticeable impact on your capture, or any other function for that matter.

I've used Seagate, Western Digital, Quantom (maxtor) and IBM (Hitachi) over the last 15 years and had very few problems. buy what's most cost effective.

Adrian Douglas · November 17th, 2003, 09:03 AM

The only thing I'd avoid is drives made in Korea or China, namely IODATA and Buffalo. Any of the Japanese or Taiwanese made drives from the above mentioned companies should serve you well. But, as mentioned above, there is always that odd one out. Hey, computers are only human.

Glenn Chan · November 17th, 2003, 10:03 AM

Promax recommends IBM/Hitachi drives for (parallel)ATA drives. WD is also good. They are the fastest drive to run applications off of, followed by IBM. WD drives are a bit noisier than IBM.

If you really care about reliability you can check storagereview.com's reliability database, which is a database of user reports but the sample rates aren't that high.

Ed Smith · November 17th, 2003, 10:31 AM

I have had bad read writng experiences with seagate IDE drives. Do a search and you might find the thread I posted.

I now use Maxtor drives, and they have always performed well for me. WD IU have had also in the past and worked well again.

Cheers,

Ed smith

Dan Holly · November 17th, 2003, 11:53 AM

I'm just the opposite of Ed....but all due respect.

I've never had a Maxtor that didn't become really noisy and bomb out before a year of use.

I use Seagate barracudas exclusively with one exception which is Western Digital (my second choice). But, I did have one WD that bombed out on me this year(which lasted ~1.5 years).

IBM's by far have the highest failure rate in a web servers with high traffic. As a comparison, I've have numerous Seagate cheetahs running in a high load server farm for 6 years without a hiccup.

I would be considered a "power user" by an IT spreadsheet which could add to the fray as an FYI.

Ted Springer · November 17th, 2003, 12:37 PM

Excellent advice! Thanks for all of the info.

Jeff- Yeah, I heard about the 135 GB "limit", but that's not too much of an issue since I don't think I'll ever have anything approaching 10 hours of DV footage on the drive simultaneously.

Jeff Donald · November 17th, 2003, 03:27 PM

The limit is, that when you format the drive (HFS+) it will only show up as about 135mb. You will have spent extra money for the larger drive and you won't be able to access that extra space.

Nathan Gifford · November 17th, 2003, 05:14 PM

I've been writing specs on systems being used. The consensus on PC drives are Western Digital and then Seagate.

Laptop drives are a different animal.

Alex Taylor · November 17th, 2003, 08:18 PM

I have a WD80 and a Maxtor Quantum 40 gig, both 7200 rpm. My Maxtor used to be my capture drive until I retired my 13 gig.. now it's my OS/Programs drive and the WD80 is the capture. Both of them are awesome, never had any problems. I've had my Maxtor for almost 2 years, and my 80 gig for about 5 months now.

Jan Roovers · November 17th, 2003, 09:50 PM

I love Seagate because they are the most silent disks I know (you really don't hear them) and they never let me down.

Tim Frank · November 17th, 2003, 10:35 PM

I have a Western Digital 120GB Special Edition with 8MB Cache. I NEVER hear this HDD at all, its worked flawlessly and it has the 8MB cache so its faster than the drives with the 2MB cache. I reccomending going to www.newegg.com to look at it and any others you're considering.

Glenn Chan · November 18th, 2003, 12:09 AM

storagereview.com has some info on which drives are the quietest. Seagates are the quietest but the IBM drives are a close second with better performance (at least with applications). Promax recommends getting IBM drives for video editing and getting the 8MB buffer instead of the 2MB.

November 17th, 2003, 04:35 AM	#1
Ted Springer Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Glendale CA Posts: 328	What Brand Hard Drive do you Recommend? I searched on the forums for hard drive recommendations, but I couldn't find anything. So here is a thread dedicated to it. I am looking specifically for an internal ATA 7200RPM drive. Gig size really isn't that important, just as long as it is over 60. What brands have you guys and gals had the best luck with? I think we can all agree that the majority of hard drive purchases are probably based on "luck". The one that just died on my system was a Maxtor, and it was around 8 to 10 months old. I have never had a Maxtor fail before, or any other brand for that matter. I am going hard drive shopping really soon, what should I get? What should I avoid?

November 17th, 2003, 06:02 AM	#2
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	I've had good luck with Western Digital. But HD's are like brands of tape. Everybody has had problems with one brand or another. There are several threads on HD's in the PC editing section. I don't think your computer is set up to recognize the real big drives (over 135 GB). So, the 120 GB drives will offer the best value. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

November 17th, 2003, 09:03 AM	#5
Adrian Douglas Trustee Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Chigasaki, Japan. Posts: 1,660	The only thing I'd avoid is drives made in Korea or China, namely IODATA and Buffalo. Any of the Japanese or Taiwanese made drives from the above mentioned companies should serve you well. But, as mentioned above, there is always that odd one out. Hey, computers are only human. __________________ Adrian DVInfo.net Search for quick answers Where to buy? From the best in the business...DVInfo.net sponsors

November 17th, 2003, 10:31 AM	#7
Ed Smith Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Hampshire, England Posts: 1,545	I have had bad read writng experiences with seagate IDE drives. Do a search and you might find the thread I posted. I now use Maxtor drives, and they have always performed well for me. WD IU have had also in the past and worked well again. Cheers, Ed smith __________________ Ed Smith Hampshire, UK Good things come to those who wait My Skiing web www.Frostytour.co.uk For quick answers Search dvinfo.net \| The best in the business: dvinfo.net Sponsors

November 17th, 2003, 11:53 AM	#8
Dan Holly Major Player Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Anchorage, Alaska Posts: 336	Seagate is #1 in my book. I'm just the opposite of Ed....but all due respect. I've never had a Maxtor that didn't become really noisy and bomb out before a year of use. I use Seagate barracudas exclusively with one exception which is Western Digital (my second choice). But, I did have one WD that bombed out on me this year(which lasted ~1.5 years). IBM's by far have the highest failure rate in a web servers with high traffic. As a comparison, I've have numerous Seagate cheetahs running in a high load server farm for 6 years without a hiccup. I would be considered a "power user" by an IT spreadsheet which could add to the fray as an FYI. __________________ Dan Holly Anchorage, Alaska

November 17th, 2003, 06:28 AM	#3
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	I used to read up on hard drive tests, for many years actually. Western Digital almost always came out on top. I have 2 computers with Western Digital HD's in them. They're still ticking, and no bad sectors.

November 17th, 2003, 08:47 AM	#4
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	The major players are all about the same so far as reliability and throughput. One may edge the other one by a very slim margin but that'll have no noticeable impact on your capture, or any other function for that matter. I've used Seagate, Western Digital, Quantom (maxtor) and IBM (Hitachi) over the last 15 years and had very few problems. buy what's most cost effective.

November 17th, 2003, 10:03 AM	#6
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	Promax recommends IBM/Hitachi drives for (parallel)ATA drives. WD is also good. They are the fastest drive to run applications off of, followed by IBM. WD drives are a bit noisier than IBM. If you really care about reliability you can check storagereview.com's reliability database, which is a database of user reports but the sample rates aren't that high.

November 17th, 2003, 12:37 PM	#9
Ted Springer Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Glendale CA Posts: 328	Excellent advice! Thanks for all of the info. Jeff- Yeah, I heard about the 135 GB "limit", but that's not too much of an issue since I don't think I'll ever have anything approaching 10 hours of DV footage on the drive simultaneously.

November 17th, 2003, 03:27 PM	#10
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	The limit is, that when you format the drive (HFS+) it will only show up as about 135mb. You will have spent extra money for the larger drive and you won't be able to access that extra space. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

November 17th, 2003, 05:14 PM	#11
Nathan Gifford Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Tickfaw, LA Posts: 1,217	I've been writing specs on systems being used. The consensus on PC drives are Western Digital and then Seagate. Laptop drives are a different animal. __________________ Nathan Gifford Southern Cyclist Magazine & Productions For quick answers try our Search! To see me and Rob Lohman click here

November 17th, 2003, 08:18 PM	#12
Alex Taylor Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 390	I have a WD80 and a Maxtor Quantum 40 gig, both 7200 rpm. My Maxtor used to be my capture drive until I retired my 13 gig.. now it's my OS/Programs drive and the WD80 is the capture. Both of them are awesome, never had any problems. I've had my Maxtor for almost 2 years, and my 80 gig for about 5 months now. __________________ alextaylor.org

November 17th, 2003, 09:50 PM	#13
Jan Roovers Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Amsterdam NL -Turnhout BE Posts: 158	I love Seagate because they are the most silent disks I know (you really don't hear them) and they never let me down. __________________ ___________ Jan Roovers www.jtv.be

November 17th, 2003, 10:35 PM	#14
Tim Frank Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: TN Posts: 166	I have a Western Digital 120GB Special Edition with 8MB Cache. I NEVER hear this HDD at all, its worked flawlessly and it has the 8MB cache so its faster than the drives with the 2MB cache. I reccomending going to www.newegg.com to look at it and any others you're considering.

November 18th, 2003, 12:09 AM	#15
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	storagereview.com has some info on which drives are the quietest. Seagates are the quietest but the IBM drives are a close second with better performance (at least with applications). Promax recommends getting IBM drives for video editing and getting the 8MB buffer instead of the 2MB.