Hard drive choice help req

[The Seabat]

Howdy: I'm still deciding on what components I will get to build my
new system (low budget - fixed income). This month I'm going to buy a
new hard drive because it doesn't depend on most of the other system
parts.

I am looking at these two Seagate SATA drives:

Barracuda 200GB 7200.10
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148146

Barracuda 160GB 7200.9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148149

160GB will be plenty of room for me. Currently I'm using two 40GB IDE
drives and could probably get by with just one of them. Point being
that I don't really need the extra 40GB in the first drive, so that is
not a big factor. Other than size, these two drives look almost
identical to me. What is the difference between the 7200.9 and the
7200.10?? And would it be worth the extra $17 to get the larger
drive?? Which one would be more least noisiest, cooler, most
reliable??

Am I missing anything? Thanks for any input.

 

[Mike T.]

Howdy: I'm still deciding on what components I will get to build my
new system (low budget - fixed income). This month I'm going to buy a
new hard drive because it doesn't depend on most of the other system
parts.

I am looking at these two Seagate SATA drives:

Barracuda 200GB 7200.10
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148146

Barracuda 160GB 7200.9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148149

160GB will be plenty of room for me. Currently I'm using two 40GB IDE
drives and could probably get by with just one of them. Point being
that I don't really need the extra 40GB in the first drive, so that is
not a big factor. Other than size, these two drives look almost
identical to me. What is the difference between the 7200.9 and the
7200.10?? And would it be worth the extra $17 to get the larger
drive?? Which one would be more least noisiest, cooler, most
reliable??

Am I missing anything? Thanks for any input.

Those two drives will be identical in every way except price and storage
space. And Seagate is a good brand, but you should also consider Samsung
and Western Digital. All three of those brands are going to be reliable and
quiet. The "sweet spot" as far as value for money goes seems to be
somewhere between 200 and 250GB right now. Both those seagate drives are
about 37 cents per gigabyte. Not bad, but you can do better.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822152022
about 32 cents per gigabyte

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144417
about 28 cents per gigabyte

Most experts would say to buy the largest hard drive that you can afford.
But unless you are going to be doing video editing or DVR recording or
something, there are many smaller hard drives that will work fine now,
especially for a budget build.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822135106
This one for example is about 55 cents per gigabyte, which sounds expensive,
but the price is about 44 bucks!!! (cheap)
Put that on an SATA controller, then use one (or both) of your older 40Gig
IDE drives for data backups or something. ~120GB (total) of storage space
is quite respectable. I've got a high-end system with over 300GB available,
but I usually use less than 60GB of it, even when I've got a couple of games
installed. So even this power user could easily get by with 120GB. -Dave

 

[RussellS]

Those two drives will be identical in every way except price and storage
space. And Seagate is a good brand, but you should also consider Samsung
and Western Digital. All three of those brands are going to be reliable
and quiet. The "sweet spot" as far as value for money goes seems to be
somewhere between 200 and 250GB right now. Both those seagate drives are
about 37 cents per gigabyte. Not bad, but you can do better.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822152022
about 32 cents per gigabyte

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144417
about 28 cents per gigabyte

Most experts would say to buy the largest hard drive that you can afford.
But unless you are going to be doing video editing or DVR recording or
something, there are many smaller hard drives that will work fine now,
especially for a budget build.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822135106
This one for example is about 55 cents per gigabyte, which sounds
expensive, but the price is about 44 bucks!!! (cheap)
Put that on an SATA controller, then use one (or both) of your older 40Gig
IDE drives for data backups or something. ~120GB (total) of storage space
is quite respectable. I've got a high-end system with over 300GB
available, but I usually use less than 60GB of it, even when I've got a
couple of games installed. So even this power user could easily get by
with 120GB. -Dave

----------------------------------------------------------------------
The two Seagate drives you listed do have three main differences
1. The larger 200GB model uses Perpendicular Recording technology
2. The smaller 160GB model comes in a smaller thinner form factor, identical
length and width, but about 3/4 inch thinner, which could offer better
airflow in a tight case.
3. Obviously, the 40GB storage capacity difference.

Assuming that the difference in price is minimal between brands offering
similar specs, my personal preference is Seagate, as they do offer a longer
5 year warranty.

My .02
-Russell
http://tastycomputers.com

 

[DaveW]

They are the same except for their capacities.

 

[Rod Speed]

They are the same except for their capacities.

No they arent, different technology and very
different reliability results in storagereview too.

 

[Geoff]

No they arent, different technology and very

different reliability results in storagereview too.

Really rod? Not different? You so smart and powerful, tell us more . . .

-g

 

[Fidelis K]

I am looking at these two Seagate SATA drives:
160GB will be plenty of room for me. Currently I'm using two 40GB IDE
drives and could probably get by with just one of them. Point being
that I don't really need the extra 40GB in the first drive, so that is
not a big factor. Other than size, these two drives look almost
identical to me. What is the difference between the 7200.9 and the
7200.10?? And would it be worth the extra $17 to get the larger
drive?? Which one would be more least noisiest, cooler, most
reliable??

If you're sure that you won't need 200GB, why waste $17? I've always used
Seagate HDs because they are ultra quiet and run cool. I have 6 Seagate HDs
in my two PCs (80GB to 320GB). Never had a problem and the best thing is
that they are very very quiet unlike my WD & Maxtor HDs.

 

[OSbandito]

Howdy: I'm still deciding on what components I will get to build my
new system (low budget - fixed income). This month I'm going to buy a
new hard drive because it doesn't depend on most of the other system
parts.

I am looking at these two Seagate SATA drives:

Barracuda 200GB 7200.10
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148146

Barracuda 160GB 7200.9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148149

160GB will be plenty of room for me. Currently I'm using two 40GB IDE
drives and could probably get by with just one of them. Point being
that I don't really need the extra 40GB in the first drive, so that is
not a big factor. Other than size, these two drives look almost
identical to me. What is the difference between the 7200.9 and the
7200.10?? And would it be worth the extra $17 to get the larger
drive?? Which one would be more least noisiest, cooler, most
reliable??

Am I missing anything? Thanks for any input.

Pls describe your system. The drive listed at Newegg is OEM. I'm not
sure the manufacturer's warranty would apply, only Newegg's(?) I'd
probably go with a
fast External drive if you gots firewire or USB2 or scsi ports. The
earlier Quantum products were great and I like WD and Fujitsu, as well.
Seagate reliability is unknown to me. IBM and Samsung HD's are two I'd avoid.

 

[OSbandito]

Pls describe your system. The drive listed at Newegg is OEM. I'm not
sure the manufacturer's warranty would apply, only Newegg's(?) I'd
probably go with a
fast External drive if you gots firewire or USB2 or scsi ports. The
earlier Quantum products were great and I like WD and Fujitsu, as well.
Seagate reliability is unknown to me. IBM and Samsung HD's are two I'd avoid.

The reason I mentioned External HD is because you are building an
economy box. You may decide to upgrade next year and can simply plug the
new HD into the new rig.
Keep cables short.

 

[OSbandito]

Those two drives will be identical in every way except price and storage
space. And Seagate is a good brand, but you should also consider Samsung
and Western Digital. All three of those brands are going to be reliable and
quiet. The "sweet spot" as far as value for money goes seems to be
somewhere between 200 and 250GB right now. Both those seagate drives are
about 37 cents per gigabyte. Not bad, but you can do better.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822152022
about 32 cents per gigabyte

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144417
about 28 cents per gigabyte

Most experts would say to buy the largest hard drive that you can afford.
But unless you are going to be doing video editing or DVR recording or
something, there are many smaller hard drives that will work fine now,
especially for a budget build.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822135106
This one for example is about 55 cents per gigabyte, which sounds expensive,
but the price is about 44 bucks!!! (cheap)
Put that on an SATA controller, then use one (or both) of your older 40Gig
IDE drives for data backups or something. ~120GB (total) of storage space
is quite respectable. I've got a high-end system with over 300GB available,
but I usually use less than 60GB of it, even when I've got a couple of games
installed. So even this power user could easily get by with 120GB. -Dave

"should also consider Samsung.." My only gripe with Samsung is that
they
picked up that awful IBM HD line that was causing so many headaches.

 

[RussellS]

Pls describe your system. The drive listed at Newegg is OEM. I'm not
sure the manufacturer's warranty would apply, only Newegg's(?) I'd
probably go with a
fast External drive if you gots firewire or USB2 or scsi ports. The
earlier Quantum products were great and I like WD and Fujitsu, as well.
Seagate reliability is unknown to me. IBM and Samsung HD's are two I'd
avoid.

 

[Rod Speed]

"should also consider Samsung.." My only gripe with Samsung is that
they picked up that awful IBM HD line that was causing so many headaches.

No they didnt, that was Hitachi.

 

[Mike T.]

"should also consider Samsung.." My only gripe with Samsung is that

they
picked up that awful IBM HD line that was causing so many headaches.

Are you sure on that? Last I checked, the IBMs were made by Toshiba. -Dave

 

[OSbandito]

Mike T. caused my impending suicide with:

Are you sure on that? Last I checked, the IBMs were made by Toshiba. -Dave

Goddam whoreknocker! I meant Hitachi, not Samsung. It might be that
Toshiba actually builds the things but Hitachi bought rights to the IBM
line of HD's
(most, some, all?), including the dreaded Deskstar.
http://www.cluboverclocker.com/reviews/hard_drives/hitachi/T7K250/index.htm

Now I must commit harikiri. Don't try to talk me out of it.