help buying a new hard drive - from where? what brands? etc

[MyMindIsGoing]

Get a normal IDE drive if you don't have sata (or not sure, since most new computers support both). It is not THAT diffrent when it comes to performance if you do not have sata. Getting a sata drive with a pci card so you could use it not worth it. Getting a new drive with a new computer a few years ahead will cost like nothing anyway, plus the fact that the drive itself is going to feel small and old when they day comes.

If you installed a burner there should be no problem installing the drive. Same thing, just a little smaller.

[StevieG]

[ QUOTE ]

thanks for the recommendations for the sites. have you had positive dealings with Outpost?


[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, I have bought multiple things from Outpost, they are fast and accurate.

T3485 and MyMindIsGoing are giving you more detailed advice than I could, so I will stand aside from the IDE discussion and learn.

I've used newegg.com, zipzoomfly.com, and monarchcomputer all were excellent.

Seagate is supposed to be one of the quietest drives out there and I think they are a good choice. Their online RMA forms suck though... it takes a while to get all the info. Also, they charge something like $25 to do an advance RMA.

Western digital has just gone to a 5 year warranty and their RMA policy is 2nd to none. No questions asked, you send them your bad drive, they send you a brand new one. No charge for Advance RMA (but they want your credit card in case you stiff them). For work I have to replace 20-30 a month and have never had a problem.

Personally I would choose Western Digital over any other, but that's just because I've worked with them more.

[theRealMacoy]

Hey Mind,

Thanks for all your advice I really appreciate it!

I think your suggestion of not getting a SATA drive is valid, thus decided to get the other (IDE) kind.

Here are some drives i found....from bothe Maxtor and Wester Digital (with the 16mb cache option) .

One question is what is the difference between these two Maxtor drives. How do i tell which one will fit my computer?
(whether IDE or ATA 100 or ATA13 -- what is the difference)



Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300GB Hard Drive
(Ultra ATA-133, 7,200RPM, 16MB - SKU: 6L300R0)
Price Range: $119.90 (OEM) - $174.00 from 35 Sellers

Maxtor DiamondMax Plus10 300GB Hard Drive
(EIDE, Ultra ATA/133, 7200 RPM, 16MB - SKU: 6B300R0)
Price Range: $120.80 - $248.80 from 19 Sellers


or these two Western Digital drives

Western Digital Caviar SE 320GB Hard Drive
(IDE, 7200 RPM, 8MB - SKU: WD3200JB)
Price Range: $125.00 - $251.40 from 40 Sellers

Western Digital Caviar SE WD3000JB 300GB Hard Drive
(ATA-100, 7200 RPM, 8MB - SKU: WD3000JB)
Price Range: $126.00 (OEM) - $181.53 from 33 Sellers 4

(...anyone with more info regarding these drives would be much appreciated...)


thanks again for the help,
sean

[theRealMacoy]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

thanks for the recommendations for the sites. have you had positive dealings with Outpost?


[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, I have bought multiple things from Outpost, they are fast and accurate.

T3485 and MyMindIsGoing are giving you more detailed advice than I could, so I will stand aside from the IDE discussion and learn.

[/ QUOTE ]

stevie,

much obliged for your advice and recommendations

sean

[theRealMacoy]

allbad,

thank-you for sharing your experience with WD.
the recommendations are appreciated.

cheers,
sean

[MyMindIsGoing]

Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300GB Hard Drive
(Ultra ATA-133, 7,200RPM, 16MB - SKU: 6L300R0)
Price Range: $119.90 (OEM) - $174.00 from 35 Sellers

I would get that one. I would not get the western digital drive. I rather buy seagate as a second choice.

ATA133 is just a faster version of ATA100 realy, but they are backward compatible, if your computer can only run ATA100 (and slower) then the drive will be ata100, the numberpart of ATAxxx is the theoretical max transfer speed over the hard drive cable.

ATA vs IDE: There are several views. Some say they are the same, some say ata is a new version of ide, oterhs say ide refers to the physical aspects and ata to the protocol used for transfer. I sayed IDE just not to confuse ata with sata.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance...ogy_Attachment

[theRealMacoy]

just wanted to say thanks for all the advice.
it has been extremely helpful.

thanks,
sean