2.5" drive recommendations?

O

ohaya

Hi,

I'm looking for a 100GB, 5400 RPM, 2.5" drive, and considering the ones
from Hitachi (5K100), Seagate (ST9100823A-RK), and Toshiba, and was
wondering if anyone here had any recommendations, especially relative to
reliability?

Thanks,
Jim
 
N

Neill Massello

ohaya said:
I'm looking for a 100GB, 5400 RPM, 2.5" drive, and considering the ones
from Hitachi (5K100), Seagate (ST9100823A-RK), and Toshiba, and was
wondering if anyone here had any recommendations, especially relative to
reliability?

The Hitachi is faster, but the Seagate is a little quieter. I haven't
seen reports of unusual failures for either, but Toshiba's reputation
for reliability isn't as good. (FWIW, I had a 30GB OEM Toshiba that
developed bad sectors after only a few months; the warranty replacement
was a Travelstar.)
 
O

ohaya

Neill said:
The Hitachi is faster, but the Seagate is a little quieter. I haven't
seen reports of unusual failures for either, but Toshiba's reputation
for reliability isn't as good. (FWIW, I had a 30GB OEM Toshiba that
developed bad sectors after only a few months; the warranty replacement
was a Travelstar.)


Neill,

Thanks for the comments. I've been leaning towards the Hitachi, but I'm
hesitant because of the problems that occurred with the Deskstars when
they were a part of IBM. Should I be concerned about that with respect
to the the 2.5" drive line, or were they both separate technologically?

Jim
 
N

Neill Massello

ohaya said:
Thanks for the comments. I've been leaning towards the Hitachi, but I'm
hesitant because of the problems that occurred with the Deskstars when
they were a part of IBM. Should I be concerned about that with respect
to the the 2.5" drive line, or were they both separate technologically?

The model that damaged IBM's reputation was the Deskstar 75GXP (and
perhaps the 60GXP) from four to five years ago. And it was a disaster.
Later Deskstar models, including those made before IBM sold the drive
business to Hitachi, did not suffer from the same defects. In any case,
IBM's Travelstar (laptop) and Ultrastar (SCSI) drives never had the
problems that afflicted the some of the Deskstar models.

But there are no guarantees when it comes to storage brands. At some
time in it's history, every manufacturer has put out a bad batch or a
lemon design. At the moment, Hitachi and Seagate seem to be having a
good run.
 
A

Arno Wagner

Previously ohaya said:
I'm looking for a 100GB, 5400 RPM, 2.5" drive, and considering the ones
from Hitachi (5K100), Seagate (ST9100823A-RK), and Toshiba, and was
wondering if anyone here had any recommendations, especially relative to
reliability?
Thanks,
Jim

I like the Fujitsus. They do not consume as much power as the
Seagates ( => longer battery time, less hot) and are very quiet.

I don't buy Hitachi out of principle since the rtime when
IBM lied about their problems, although that was limited to
the 3.5" lines.

Arno
 
O

ohaya

Neill said:
The model that damaged IBM's reputation was the Deskstar 75GXP (and
perhaps the 60GXP) from four to five years ago. And it was a disaster.
Later Deskstar models, including those made before IBM sold the drive
business to Hitachi, did not suffer from the same defects. In any case,
IBM's Travelstar (laptop) and Ultrastar (SCSI) drives never had the
problems that afflicted the some of the Deskstar models.

But there are no guarantees when it comes to storage brands. At some
time in it's history, every manufacturer has put out a bad batch or a
lemon design. At the moment, Hitachi and Seagate seem to be having a
good run.


Neill,

Thanks again. As I'm starting to look more now, and comparing prices,
I'm really starting to wonder if maybe I should look at the 7200 RPM
drives, esp. the Hitachi 7K100 100GB. Given what you said above, and
understanding that any manufacturer might have a bad run, are the 7200
RPM drives "ready for primetime" in yours and peoples' opinion here?
From reading, it appears that the Hitachi 7K100s are now already on
their 2nd generation, and the price differential between 5400 and 7200
models at the 100GB size seems to be about $50+.

Comments?

Jim
 
M

Markeau

I just had an 80GB Toshiba 2.5" fail after only 1yr on a notebook that
was hardly ever used. (The previous 12GB Fujitsu in it lasted for
over 5yrs, and is still going as a backup.)

I decided to replace the failed Tosh with a 120GB Seagate, which seems
to run a lot cooler than the Toshiba (both are 5400rpm).
 
O

ohaya

Markeau said:
I just had an 80GB Toshiba 2.5" fail after only 1yr on a notebook that
was hardly ever used. (The previous 12GB Fujitsu in it lasted for
over 5yrs, and is still going as a backup.)

I decided to replace the failed Tosh with a 120GB Seagate, which seems
to run a lot cooler than the Toshiba (both are 5400rpm).


Markeau,

What you indicated seems to be in keeping with the feedback that Neill
gave.

At this point, if I go with a 5400 RPM drive, I'm leaning towards the
Hitachi 5K100 one.

I'm still debating (with myself) about a 7200 RPM drive. That would be
the Hitachi 7K100 if I go that way, I think.

Jim
 

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