-=PCTechTalk=- Re: Hard Drive Recommendations...
- From: "GMan" <gman.pctt@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 25 May 2007 22:26:50 -0400
DJ,
Three things to always keep in mind when shopping for computer parts:
1. Nearly every manufacturer has upper and lower tier wares they're
trying to sell. Lower tier products are often meant for OEM use (which is
one reason I will never buy a premanufactured system), but a lot of those
are sold direct to consumers at a discount as OEM products (although I do
purchase some items this way). Upper tier products are designed for
professional system builders, power users and computer enthusiasts. These
items are designed to better withstand the frequent handling and use
associated with those types of customers. Of course, their prices reflect
this and we're overcharged for the privilege of getting exactly what we
want. Then there's the gray area in between known as the 'consumer level'
tier. These are the midrange devices produced for the average DIY'er.
2. Every product made is manufactured in what is known as 'runs'. The
machines used to create them are tooled specifically for that product and
'run' until a specific number of devices has been created. Every device
also suffers with good runs and bad runs. A good run occurs when the stars
align just right. All of the components meet of exceed the specs demanded
by the original design, everyone working on the assembly line got enough
sleep that week and nothing impeded the making of a bunch of great
components. A bad run could occur if, for instance, the perfect capacitors
that were supposed to be used never arrive from the distributor (that's the
third time this month we've been shorted on an order) and they decide to use
something not quite as good for that run.
3. Don't be swayed by marketing hype. The true test of how well any
pruduct does what it's supplosed to do is in the reactions of those who have
already tried it. Nothing can be both "New" & "Improved". The
Best/Greatest/Fastest/etc., is always a subjective description of whatever
additional words it precedes. Marketing departments (and the people who
work in them) get a LOT of money to make their products stand out from the
crowd. Their job is to get you to buy based on emotion. A pretty box,
impressive words, and two thumbs up will never make a great device. Don't
allow yourself to be swayed by any of it. Check the specs against competing
devices and then head to the internet for some "real world" reviews. I'll
also add that all hard drive makers have Perpendicular technology. If they
don't, they'll be out of business very soon since they've all reached the
highest capacities that can be reached with more conventional means.
Your best bet is to consult online forums that focus on these things.
Do a Google search for the word "forum" & the make/model you're interested
in along with your choice of "recall", "problems", "error", etc.. It may
take a bit of reading several sites worth of threads before patterns emerge,
but they always do. Often, you'll see a few problems, but they turn out to
be isolated to just a few units. Other times, you'll see that entire lots
of devices are failing and that someone has identified the cause (and
perhaps has a fix). Sometimes, you'll even discover that a particular maker
cheated enough to lose your trust.
This, in a VERY LARGE nutshell, is my real world user opinion.
Peace,
GMan
"The only dumb questions are the ones that are never asked!"
----- Original Message -----
From: "cajun12" <cajun12@xxxxxxx>
To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 7:33 AM
Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Hard Drive Recommendations...
> I'd like to hear about some real world user opinions on hard drives. =
> I'm looking to purchase a hard drive to put into a hard drive enclosure. =
> Seagate has the 5 year warranty, Western Digital has the 3 year =
> warranty. Seagate now has perpendicular writing technology which seems =
> to be getting good reviews. Anybody have one of the 7200 series =
> Seagates with Perpendicular technology? I've read that the Seagates get =
> hotter than the Western Digital. Since I'm putting it in an external =
> enclosure, this could be a concern for me. Western Digital used to be =
> pretty noisy, and I had one die, but that was on my first computer long =
> ago and far away. I've been running a WD in my new computer for 2 years =
> now and it's quiet and I've never had a problem with it. I have a =
> Maxtor 60GB in an enclosure right now and it's quiet and hasn't given =
> me any trouble. I've read that Samsung has a good drive that is pretty =
> fast, and I believe it has a 3 year warranty. Does anyone have any =
> experience with Samsung? =20
>
> Thanks!
>
> dj
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