[TriLUG] OT: hard disk recommendation

[Joseph Mack]

"Aaron S. Joyner" wrote:
> 
> Joseph Mack wrote:
> 
> >I'm looking for a 250GB EIDE 3.5" drive to last about 2yrs under light
> >service (single user machine where I do a lot of staring at the screen).
> >
> >I used to get Samsung, but they're topping out at 200G now. Before
> >that I used Quantum for years. I've been quite pleased with both suppliers.
> >
> >Anyone who I should/should not buy from?
> >
> >Thanks Joe
> >
> >

Thanks everyone for your replies

> You might as well have asked, so - which do you prefer, vi or emacs?
> :)  I've discovered that a fair portion of people have strong beliefs
> about one vendor over another, but usually the sample size a single
> individual has to work with is quite small. 

This is the problem. I don't have enough samples and the web pages are
about performance. I'm not really interested in performance. I just
don't want to have to replace the drive any more than 2yrs (which is
about how long they take to get full).

> I had really bad luck with
> some Western Digital drives 6-7 years ago, and swore them off.

I've had problems with Maxtor, WD, IBM deathstars and seagate. 
I never had any problem with Quantum and was sorry they were bought 
out by Maxtor. Since then I've have good success with Samsung. 

> When I
> got to Intrex, most of what they carried was Western Digital, and the
> reason for it was simple - low cost, and not a lot of headaches with
> RMAs. 

I usually buy off Pricewatch, but after an Intrex Rep came to one
of the meetings, I've been going there occasionally. Still after 10yrs 
of buying disks from PriceWatch, it didn't occur to me to look at the
prices at Intrex, which are about the same as on Pricewatch.


> So that's my two cents, buy what ever is on the cheap, and has at least
> a 2yr warranty if that's the arbitrary time frame you're aiming for.

I usually assume that stores on the internet are selling parts
with the highest margin. I only go for price after I've decided
on the item. I hadn't thought that they'd worry about RMAs.
I expect Intrex doesn't want any RMAs and would be quite careful
about them.

Ben Spitzer says

> The 250GB drives these days...well, it's a bit of a gamble.  They 
> haven't been out for long enough to say which ones work best. 

hadn't thought about that.

> I can't be emphatic enough in my recommendation of 
> mirroring drives in some sort of software RAID setup.  Especially if 
> it's an even marginally mission critical box.

It's just a non critical home machine. I replace the disks every 2 yrs
whether they're working or not (usually they're full), so that I can
take it down on my schedule. Dealing with a crashed disk, even one that's
backed up, when it happens on its schedule is more than I'm prepared to
deal with. I mirror by having a couple of near identical machines and
copy anything new to the secondary machine.

Joel Ebel says

> I recommend checking out storagereview.com.  Not only do they 
> extensively review the performance of drives, but there is a reliability 
> survey.  You can get an idea of the experiences of others.  It's a 
> sufficiently large sample size as to gather some useful information. 

didn't know about them 

> Seagate drives have a reputation for being quiet.  If you like quiet, 
> then Seagate is a good choice.  They also, last I checked, have the best 
> warranty.  5 years even on the low end drives.  That's worth a lot. 
> They stand behind their drives. 

I don't really want a drive to last 5yrs :-) That would have me running
the 4.3G drives still. I want a drive to last 2yrs and after that I take
it out.

> In fact, some of the lower speed and 
> capacity drives may have better reliability because of wider tolerances.

I'm quite happy to have 4800rpm (or whatever) drives. They run cooler and
I expect they'll last longer.

Thanks Joe

-- 
Joseph Mack PhD, High Performance Computing & Scientific Visualization
LMIT, Supporting the EPA Research Triangle Park, NC 919-541-0007
Federal Contact - John B. Smith 919-541-1087 - smith.johnb at epa.gov