Hard Drives - Good Ones or Bad Ones

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raybay · #1 Post by **raybay** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 1:59 am

We are looking for comments on the following hard drive upgrades for a non-profit children's clinic where every purchase counts. If you have any comments, good or bad, please let us know:

Fujitsu MHT2020AT 20 GB ATA-6 4200 rpm $ 60
Hitachi Travelstar E7K60 60 GB ATA-6 7200 rpm 8 MB buffer $184
Hitachi Travelstar E7K60 40 GB ATA-6 7200 rpm 8 mb buffer $134
Hitachi Travelstar 5K80 40 GB ATA-6 5400 rpm $ 88
IBM Hitachi Travelstar 7K60 60 GB ATA-6 7200 rpm $179
IBM Hitachi Travelstar 5K80 60 GB ATA-6 5400 rpm $126
Samsung Spinpoint M MPO402H 40 GB ATA-7 5400 rpm $ 87
Seagate Momentus ST94011A 40 GB ATA-6 5400 rpm $ 97
Toshiba MK6026GAX 60 GB ATA-6 5400 rpm $130
Toshiba MK6022GAX 60 GB ATA-5 5400 rpm $132
Toshiba MK4026GAX 40 GB ATA-6 5400 rpm $ 98

Ray Bayles

#2 Post by **jdhurst** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 9:00 am

If every dollar counts, then my recommendation would be the Hitachi Travelstar 60Gb 7200-rpm drive. It is the most expensive, but provides the most value; provides disk space now and into the future; and provides a performance boost to the laptop you put it in.

By contrast, the cheapest drive on your list is small, slow and lethargic. Yes it is cheap, but you may regret it sooner than you think. That said, I know of a non-profit where tomorrow doesn't matter when it comes to purchases

#3 Post by **JHEM** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 12:12 pm

Hiya Ray,

I'll skip replying to the email you sent to the List this morning in preference to replying here.

Get the E7K60 from Zipzoomfly. Guaranteed longest MTBF and unbeatable 3 year warranty. Second choice would be the "normal" 7K60 followed by the 5K40.

Toshibas are good also, but stay away from the Samsung and Seagate.

I have no experience with the Fujitsu drives, but have heard differing reports on them.

Regards,

James

AlexanderT · #4 Post by **AlexanderT** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 5:42 pm

Don't get the E7K60 for your notebook! Get the 7K60 instead.

The E7K60 is the 'heavy duty version of the 7K60' and was designed for blade servers ("732 hour POH (power on hours) monthly with continuous operation"). The problem with using it in a normal laptop is not power drain or anything, but reliability. Because of the E7K60's design for continuous usage, it is not intended to be started up and powered down frequently like most notebook HDD's... and therefore more likely to suffer from failure sooner.

#5 Post by **BillMorrow** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 1:39 am

AlexanderT wrote:Don't get the E7K60 for your notebook! Get the 7K60 instead.

The E7K60 is the 'heavy duty version of the 7K60' and was designed for blade servers ("732 hour POH (power on hours) monthly with continuous operation"). The problem with using it in a normal laptop is not power drain or anything, but reliability. Because of the E7K60's design for continuous usage, it is not intended to be started up and powered down frequently like most notebook HDD's... and therefore more likely to suffer from failure sooner.

do you have backup for this..?

mjs110 · #6 Post by **mjs110** » Thu Sep 02, 2004 11:49 am

Seagate now offer a five-year warranty....

#7 Post by **JHEM** » Thu Sep 02, 2004 3:00 pm

mjs110 wrote:Seagate now offer a five-year warranty....

Small satisfaction if you have to replace it 5 times.

And that would be in the first year!

Sorry for appearing uncharitable, but I have been bitten on the butt so often by Seagate HDs in the past I no longer enjoy it!

Regards,

James

bootleg2go · #8 Post by **bootleg2go** » Thu Sep 02, 2004 10:43 pm

morrow wrote:
AlexanderT wrote:Don't get the E7K60 for your notebook! Get the 7K60 instead.

The E7K60 is the 'heavy duty version of the 7K60' and was designed for blade servers ("732 hour POH (power on hours) monthly with continuous operation"). The problem with using it in a normal laptop is not power drain or anything, but reliability. Because of the E7K60's design for continuous usage, it is not intended to be started up and powered down frequently like most notebook HDD's... and therefore more likely to suffer from failure sooner.
do you have backup for this..?

Hi Bill,
I'm pretty new to your forum and find this a great place for info.
I've been working at Maxtor in their advanced technology group for the last 10 years, what Alexander said has a lot of merit and most likely true. Server class type drives have different specs than consumer drives, one of those is the power on duty cycle for determining MTBF and another is the CSS test spec (continuous start/stop). With this test they do just that power, then power down the drive. The E7K60's design for continuous use also means that it is not designed for spining up and down on a daily basis, but to stay on all the time; and being in a notebook is even harder on them as they are usually spunup/down many times per hour since most notebooks have power management enabled.
I would encourage the fellow forum members to buy the drive that fits the function, just because it is meant for servers and continuous use and may be more expensive does not mean it is also better than 7K60 for notebook applications. Buy notebook drives for notebooks and server class drives for servers.

Thanks again for hosting such a great place to exchange ideas and information.

Jack

Aramitz · #9 Post by **Aramitz** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 9:44 am

jdhurst wrote:If every dollar counts, then my recommendation would be the Hitachi Travelstar 60Gb 7200-rpm drive. It is the most expensive, but provides the most value; provides disk space now and into the future; and provides a performance boost to the laptop you put it in.

I've a 7K60 and it's a huge change

It's fast'n silent

It's the best for now...may be the next 7200 Momentus !??

#10 Post by **jdhurst** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 10:59 am

Aramitz wrote:<snip>
I've a 7K60 and it's a huge change
It's fast'n silent
It's the best for now...may be the next 7200 Momentus !??

Yes, I have been using my 7K60 for nearly a year now, and it's great. The next step for me is a 100Gb 7200 rpm drive whenever Hitachi brings one out. ... JD Hurst

Aramitz · #11 Post by **Aramitz** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 11:23 am

jdhurst wrote:
Aramitz wrote:<snip>
I've a 7K60 and it's a huge change
It's fast'n silent
It's the best for now...may be the next 7200 Momentus !??
Yes, I have been using my 7K60 for nearly a year now, and it's great. The next step for me is a 100Gb 7200 rpm drive whenever Hitachi brings one out. ... JD Hurst

Me too
I'm for Hitachi coz it's fast 'n silent.
The Seagate Momentus is fast but noisy

Blake · #12 Post by **Blake** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 2:22 pm

yea i just got the IBM Hitachi Travelstar 7K60 60 GB ATA-6 7200 rpm for 151 shipped to my doorr from zip zoom fly, and it was 2 day air. Try price grabber, some of your "deals" you are looking for are high

ThinkPadX40 · #13 Post by **ThinkPadX40** » Sat Dec 18, 2004 4:34 pm

I have original x40 HDD 40 GB ( I do not exactly rpm ,4200 can be)

I am asking Hitachi Travelstar 60 GB HDD (7200rpm) that my HDD some noisy and I think it is not speed but capasity is enough so if I change 7200 rpm is it less noisy and more speed ? or not necessary to change?

thx

Aramitz · #14 Post by **Aramitz** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 7:40 am

I think HDD's the most important for improving your speed'n comfort

It's the most important part of your PC
A 7K60 is 60 GB at 7200 rpm, the Hitachi is very silent

After you can put it elsewhere, on a external HD for exemple , buying a speedy HD isn't wasting bucks

johnson · #15 Post by **johnson** » Mon Dec 20, 2004 8:34 am

I would also get the 7K60 (buying one next week), but from either www.newegg.com or www.zipzoomfly.com. Both sites have it for ~$150 shipped.

Aramitz · #16 Post by **Aramitz** » Mon Dec 20, 2004 9:41 am

johnson wrote:I would also get the 7K60 (buying one next week), but from either www.newegg.com or www.zipzoomfly.com. Both sites have it for ~$150 shipped.

It's cheap .
In France the cheapest is €140= $180

Hard Drives - Good Ones or Bad Ones

Hard Drives - Good Ones or Bad Ones

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