[TriLUG] Hardware: Most reliable IDE HD brand?

[al johson]

And to add to the confusion of finding a reliable HD brand, I had an IBM HD
go bad not long after buying it new!! I was told it was part of a "bad
batch". Fortunately I purchased it from Intrex which guarantees all their
parts for 12 months.
     I'm of the opinion that as far as hard drives are concerned one brand
is just about as bad or good as another, assuming that it's either WD,
Maxtor, IBM or some other well known brand. Since they're buying these
things from the cheapest possible asian source, you never know when you too
could have bought one from "a bad batch". This is also partly caused by the
fact that a lot of computer parts are no longer manufactured in Japan. At
the end of WWII Gen. Macarthur had some industry experts talk Japan into
greatly improving the quality of their manufactured goods by enacting strict
quality controls. Afterwards there was a special Government office which
independently inspected everything which was manufactured in Japan. For a
time you could be certain that if it said "Made in Japan" that whatever it
was had been thoroughly inspected for defects (something that hasn't ever
been done in the USA!). But the decline of the Japanese economic model and
esp. the low cost competition from China and Malaysia (and god knows what
other little Asian island) has forced Japan to rethink their "quality
controls". If it says "made in Japan", however,  (in my view and that of
many other amateur radio operators) that is still better than made in China
or Malaysia, but you still aren't getting the quality electronics from Japan
you used to get! So it's pretty much a turkey shoot. Check the finish and
the weight. If the finish is very good and it seems heavier than other
makes, at least you know there are probably more expensive parts inside. For
example, many VCR experts have noted that the heavier the VCR is the more
likely it is well-built. So weight can be a significant clue to quality. If
you have to choose between two different brands, pick up each box and if one
is heavier than the other pick the heavier brand. You at least know that
there are more metal gears in it as opposed to plastic gears (which are
lighter). Anyway that's my two cents on asian quality. But remember Caveat
Emptor!! (Let the buyer beware!!). If Sony would start making hard drives, I
would definitely recommend you choose them, as I have a 30 year old TV set
that still works as good as the day I bought it. I've owned many brands of
TV's over the years and I've never found any that could outlast a Sony.
They're expensive but this is one case where you definitely get what you pay
for. Also run from anyone who tries to justify a higher price by saying "You
get what you pay for!". This is usually a bald face lie because it neglects
the fact that prices on everything vary throughout the year!!
---Al Johnson.

----- Original Message -----
From: "B. Evans" <bpevans at bellsouth.net>
To: <trilug at trilug.org>
Sent: Sunday, December 01, 2002 7:56 PM
Subject: Re: [TriLUG] Hardware: Most reliable IDE HD brand?


> Ed Hill wrote:
>
> >On Sun, 2002-12-01 at 16:35, B. Evans wrote:
> >
> >
> >>It used to be that IBM drives were widely regarded as the most reliable
> >>consumer IDE hd's you could buy.  I haven't paid too much attention to
> >>this area lately but would like an idea of who makes the most reliable
> >>IDE hd.
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >Be warned: IDE drives have become a commodity with razor-thin margins
> >and, probably as a result, all manufacturers are currently switching to
> >1-yr instead of 3-yr warranties.
> >
> >I've had excellent luck with IBM drives but they're in the process of
> >exiting the IDE HD business (selling that division).  I hear that the
> >current Maxtor and Western Digital drives are good but due to past
> >experiences with WD (mid-90's) I'll never knowingly buy another of
> >theirs.  And Fujitsu had a bad production run in the last year--see past
> >issues of the Inquirer (http://www.theinquirer.net/) for details.
> >
> >Ed
> >
> >
> >
> Doesn't sound like a very good situation these days.  I ask because I
> want to setup a cheap RAID 0 file server.   I really need only about 4gb
> so size isn't an issue.  Would a SCSI RAID0 system be any more reliable
> for near the same cost?
>
> Thanks again,
> bp
>
>
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