# Which HDD maker is reliable



## suraswami (Jun 24, 2008)

I have a WD WD5000AAKS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073

Nice and Quiet.

How are Seagates these days?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148136

Seeing bad reviews about seagates.

Should I stay away from Seagate and get one more WD?

Sammys good?


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## mikek75 (Jun 24, 2008)

I have a Samsung Spinpoint F1 500GB drive, according to HW Monitor it runs at around 20c in my system. My other drives are Maxtor and although they are older they are at 27c (80gb sataII) and 29c (200gb IDE). Pretty quiet too, and fast.


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## Solaris17 (Jun 24, 2008)

Western Digital and seagate imo....Seagate b4 WD though.


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## [I.R.A]_FBi (Jun 24, 2008)

seagate an samsung


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## Darknova (Jun 24, 2008)

Samsung, Seagate, WD.


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## suraswami (Jun 24, 2008)

I am seeing lately lots of bad reviews on Seagates.  WD get good reviews.  Thats my concern.


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## mullered07 (Jun 24, 2008)

i voted seagate, samsung and wd, ive had all of those over the past few years,  and theve been great and i like all the drives they have out atm (seagate 7200.11, wd16 and samsung F1). i currently have a seagate think its the 7200.10 (st3320620as) love it, its quiet, reliable and fast enough 

wouldnt touch maxtor atm, dunno why, they seem cheap/loud to me


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## calvary1980 (Jun 24, 2008)

Western Digital for sure. Maxtor is good too, I got a 40 gig IDE over 10 years old that still works.

- Christine


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## Cybrnook2002 (Jun 24, 2008)

I have that same seagate drive and love it. HOWEVER, it can be a little noisy under HEAVY operation. But, %100 silent with rubber dampers on the screws. Plus 5 year warranty  cant shake a stick at that.


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## Jarman (Jun 24, 2008)

samsung all the way...i have about 8 500GB drives and they all work flawlessly and run cool.  Had WD drives b4 and they were nowhere near as good in comparison.


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## Solaris17 (Jun 24, 2008)

depends on waht models...in my personal experiance though iv never had a seagate fail and i have had WD's fail most of my HDD's are WD except for my primary...i mean their are certain conditions you have to look at

recording technology (some like to fail more than others)

Usage (are these bad reveiws because people like to stream media play video games listen to music and do F@H at the same time off of one 259GB seagate?)

Heat. (how ventelated is your case...if you have 1 HDD it will be handeling more than several would and hdd's do get hot let me tell you.)

How high were their skill levels? Some could be lying most are take that to heart...the other day my WD gaming drive failed....or so i thought..turns out it just got WAY to hot so i turned on my AC and after the room cooled down i rebooted and it hasnt happened since. that was 3 weeks ago. The same has happened to my Seagate 40GB. some people arent this intelligent however...and automatically assume its dead.

Handeling take into consideration handeling...given that HDD's are in a metal case and their isnt alot exposed they are the most battered peices of hardware in the computer industry their slapped opn chairs pulled with excessive force out of a bay placed in odd positions because of case size or heat issues.....which is ironic given their more than delicate nature.

you need to keep these things at heart im not a fan boy i like WD and Seagate...but i trust seagate more with what i see....iv never had one fil ut iv had a WD fail..but that doesnt mean im a fanboi..in all fairness the WD that failed was used...my WD 250GB i bought off of newegg new and it is ~3-4years old with no probs...but from my experiance....seagates...their the same speed or a little faster their usually always $20 cheaper and sometimes have double the cache of the WD counter part.


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## thoughtdisorder (Jun 24, 2008)

I voted WD, but in all fairness I've had *good drives *from WD and Seagate, and I've also had *bad drives *from both companies. 

For me I picked WD only because I find them quieter than Seagates.


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## intel igent (Jun 24, 2008)

WD get's my vote

i seem to have bad luck with seagate/maxtor


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## suraswami (Jun 24, 2008)

Keep it coming.  More experiences will help.

I am going to pick up 2 used Seagates which I believe is well maintained and pretty new.  That is the dilemma I have.  Ofcourse you need to take newegg/amazon reviews with a grain of salt, but at the same time can't ignore it totally.

Don't know if its the perpendicular recording tech that is having issues.


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## oli_ramsay (Jun 24, 2008)

Well, I own one of each (except maxtor) and they've all been reliable apart from my Seagate 320 which got killed by a bad PSU, but my refurbished one is still going strong.

The only one I've heard bad reports about are Maxtor, but I would generally say the other 3 are well built and have good warranties (3-5 years).


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## suraswami (Jun 24, 2008)

I might do RAID5 for safe data.  If I use 3 500G how much will be the effective space I get in total?


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## btarunr (Jun 24, 2008)

Seagate and WD have always served me well. I think I still have a working WD Caviar 30MB IDE drive dating back ~1990. It's louder than my 8800 GT (load)....sad part


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## Darknova (Jun 24, 2008)

Most of my HDDs are Maxtor, but I don't actually like them. They're noisier than the Samsungs I have, they get really hot, the Samsungs are barely warm, and they don't perform as well.

They ARE reliable though, I just prefer Samsung


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## suraswami (Jun 24, 2008)

Darknova said:


> Most of my HDDs are Maxtor, but I don't actually like them. They're noisier than the Samsungs I have, they get really hot, the Samsungs are barely warm, and they don't perform as well.
> 
> They ARE reliable though, I just prefer Samsung



Hey I see you are running NASLite on your server.  What is that?  How does it work?


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## Deleted member 3 (Jun 24, 2008)

I recommend scrapping all Maxtor comments,  they haven't existed for like 1.5 years.


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## panchoman (Jun 24, 2008)

Darknova said:


> Samsung, Seagate, WD.



agreed.. maxtor and hitachi are okay but definently pick those three.


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## cdawall (Jun 24, 2008)

gotta put my vote on samsung, seagate and WD in that order.

samsung=good solid HDD never had an issue with them ~34C
seagate=little noisier but not even as loud a my fans ~40C
WD=runs hot as hell 70C+ before i put a fan on it thats just BS IMO
Maxtor=had 2 of 2 fail on me so far so they can just kiss my ass oh and it was loud and hot aswell


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## ivargasa (Jun 24, 2008)

I preffer Seagate!


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## DonInKansas (Jun 25, 2008)

I've run all of your choices with minimal problems with any.  Guess I'm lucky.

*HDD Explodes*


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## p_o_s_pc (Jun 25, 2008)

I like my WD also i have used many Seagate and i know alot of people that will only get Seagate. I have heard great things about Samsung and i have a family member that used a Samsung for about 5 years and he is still using it as a USB drive now that he got his new computer.


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## suraswami (Jun 25, 2008)

Ok I am buying 2 Seagates (taking my chances) and putting them on RAID 1.  My WD will be backup to those.

Thanks all.


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## NeotonicDragon3 (Jun 25, 2008)

I use Western Digital and Seagate. They both work great


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## AsRock (Jun 25, 2008)

WD all the way been using them over 13 years now.  All though Samsung comes in a strong 2nd but not tryied them my self but the company does some high quality gear


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## imperialreign (Jun 26, 2008)

Tough choice for me - I prefer Seagates, as they tend to perform a little better, but WD tends to be a little more solid and reliable.

Either way, those two companies pwn the market in terms of reliability.  Out of all my years, I've only ever had one Seagate fail - and that was late last year.  A 40GB HDD that I've had since before the turn of the millenium.


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## xu^ (Jun 30, 2008)

i have a WD and a Samsung in main rig ,very happy with both altho the Sammy does run a lot cooler

WD = 31c
Sammy = 26c

i also have a Maxtor in 2nd PC and tbh its pretty slow and hot ,i woudlnt buy another.


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## OldMX (Jul 1, 2008)

I've had really bad experiences with Maxtor in the past, from then to now I only buy WD's and Seagates.


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## AsRock (Jul 1, 2008)

xubidoo said:


> i have a WD and a Samsung in main rig ,very happy with both altho the Sammy does run a lot cooler
> 
> WD = 31c
> Sammy = 26c
> ...



Only can compare temps if you swap the HDDs around.  I have 5WD's which of 3 are the same but all 5 tell a different temp due to being in different places in the case.


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## Kursah (Jul 1, 2008)

I've had Maxtors, Seagates, and now WD's...all have treated me well, I've yet to have an HDD fail for any reason. I have to say the newest drives I've owned are a Seagate 500GB 7200.9 SATA2 and WD SE16 640, both are great, the WD runs cooler, quieter and faster, the 7200.9 was the last searies before Perpendicular tech too so, take the speed with a grain of salt. But the WD 640 is by far my favorite drive thus far, runs 30C, quiet as in can't hear it at all, fast and was relatively cheap for all of it's strong points.


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## Deleted member 24505 (Jul 1, 2008)

DanTheBanjoman said:


> I recommend scrapping all Maxtor comments,  they haven't existed for like 1.5 years.




Aye dan,was'nt it seageate who bought 'em?

Samsungs for me,cool quiet,fast enuff.


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## farlex85 (Jul 1, 2008)

Yeah that 640gb SE16 is really the best drive you can get for the money imo. I've only owned WD so far, just b/c whenever it's time for me to buy they have the best deals. The se16 640gb will most likely be my next one, unless the 750gb F1 is equivalently priced, which it has been for short stints in the past. Samsung, WD, Seagate, I don't think you can go wrong w/ any of them. Luckily we have lots of competition in the hdd field.


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## NeotonicDragon3 (Jul 1, 2008)

Looks like Western Digital is winning


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## dannaswolcott (Jul 1, 2008)

Western Digital & Maxtor is what i use. No problems with them at all.


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## Hayder_Master (Jul 1, 2008)

i am ask this one before, most guys told me about samsung f1, and you can find what you need there 
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=59005&highlight=pair+hard+disk


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## p_o_s_pc (Jul 2, 2008)

tigger69 said:


> Aye dan,was'nt it seageate who bought 'em?
> 
> Samsungs for me,cool quiet,fast enuff.



Yes Seagate bought them out


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## ShadowFold (Jul 2, 2008)

Ive used WesternDigs. and Seagate and they both are good. The Seagate is alot faster tho(7200 vs 7200.10).


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## p_o_s_pc (Jul 2, 2008)

ShadowFold said:


> Ive used WesternDigs. and Seagate and they both are good. The Seagate is alot faster tho(7200 vs 7200.10).



What is the 7200.10? I don't understand that but have never asked


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## ShadowFold (Jul 2, 2008)

All I know is its alot faster than 7200 from my experience!


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## panchoman (Jul 2, 2008)

i've used all of them, and i like seagate and samsung


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## cdawall (Jul 2, 2008)

p_o_s_pc said:


> What is the 7200.10? I don't understand that but have never asked



isn't it just a way of saying the revision of the drive? ie 7200.9 is an older drive than a 7200.11?


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## farlex85 (Jul 2, 2008)

Yeah I don't think it has anything to do w/ the actual speed of the drive, it's just a version #. 7200.11's tend to have higher platter densities and such than the 7200.10s, later and better. Same w/ like SE16 and SE from WD. Generally what I've seen SE<7200.10<7200.11<SE16 as far as WD v.s. Seagate goes, depends on the model though.


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## suraswami (Jul 2, 2008)

I was supposed to buy 2 seagates from pcgolfer, paid him but never got it neither he replied to any of us.  So I am going back to WD.  Waiting for July 4th sale.


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## ASharp (Jul 2, 2008)

I'd say the best option right now is the 640GB Western Digital drive. It's blazing fast, cool, quiet, and the price per gig is pretty good too.


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## FatForester (Jul 2, 2008)

I have a Samsung F1 750GB (HD753LJ) and it's been very fast, quiet, and runs cool. Right now I have it in an external case and the only way I can tell if it's on is if I grab the case (it runs warmer in the external). Other than the quiet spin-up noise it makes when it powers on, I don't hear it or feel the vibrations of it on my desk. I used to use only WD, but Samsung has won me over. I have a friend that uses only Western Digital hard drives, and I have another who uses Seagate. None of us have had any problems, and as far as online reviews go all three companies are rock solid. Go with whichever Samsung, WD, or Seagate that gives you the most bang for the buck. If I were to pick my top two they'd have to be the Samsung F1 750, and the WD 640gb though.


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## newtekie1 (Jul 2, 2008)

Solaris17 said:


> Western Digital and seagate imo....Seagate b4 WD though.



Exactly my views.  I avoid Maxtor drives at all costs, I might pick up a Samsung if the deal is right though.


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## Triprift (Jul 2, 2008)

Wd for me ya definitly made the right choice.


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## FatForester (Jul 2, 2008)

cdawall said:


> isn't it just a way of saying the revision of the drive? ie 7200.9 is an older drive than a 7200.11?



Yea, it's whatever generation Seagate is on. So a 7200.11 is still a 7200RPM drive (not 7200.11 RPM) under revision 11. It's also in their serial numbers, but it's easier for people to distinguish what is older vs. what is newer that way.

Also, if you're buying from newegg or want a general idea, go to http://diskcompare.com/ and punch in what you want. It only shows newegg pricing though, so you'll want to check out zipzoomfly as well. ZZF has the Samsung's 5-10 bucks cheaper than newegg does, not to mention ZZF packages OEM hard drives a lot better than newegg's toss-it-in-a-box-and-pray.

EDIT: It's not on your list, but you'll want to avoid Hitachi desktop drives as well. Some are great, but their reliability as a whole is somewhat tarnished. My Hitachi 2.5" 7200RPM drive works great though.


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## JoshBrunelle (Jul 2, 2008)

*Seagate/Maxtor*

I have to say Seagate/Maxtor drives are the best reliability wise. I have had several WD's crap out on me, including 2 80's and a 320. Maxtor still sells stuff under that brand, btw, so whoever said Maxtor doesn't exist anymore is just plain wrong, they are just owned by Seagate now. All their dirves come with 5yr warranty, and even older maxtor drives before being acquired by Seagate have their warranties honored. I had a 200gb ata that was laying around for a few years cause it died on me, and Seagate RMA'ed it and sent me a new one no questions asked. This is out of about 60 drives or so. Just don't go for crap like the new excelstor POSs.

Seagate all the way.


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## suraswami (Jul 2, 2008)

woo hoo, pcgolfer finally replied and said he shipped the seagates.  So Seagate then.  Let see how it goes.

I decided to keep the WD 500 16MB drive too.

Damn I need a new board to accomodate all the drives (mine has only 2 SATA ports).


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## Davidelmo (Jul 8, 2008)

I had a seagate 250Gb die on me after only a few weeks. I was very surprised.. I've never had a HD actually die on me before.

That said, I have two more 250gbs (same model) that have been running 24/7 for a long time now and they are perfectly fine.


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## suraswami (Jul 9, 2008)

2 Seagates arrived yesterday.  One is good.  Second one is bad.  wierd problem,  Windows will recogonise but will not copy files or cannot run any tests on the drive.  Damn F..k Seagate.  I should have gone with WD.


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## PVTCaboose1337 (Jul 9, 2008)

I will always be a fan of WD drives.  Always.  I don't buy Samsung after my failed drive.  I don't buy Maxtor after 3 failed drives.  Seagate is reliable.


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