Hard Drives (1 Viewer)

[andy_brehm]

I was wondering if any computer people out there knew which HD was better: IBM Deskstar 60GXP, 65GXP, or 75GXP?
Thanks

 

[Jeff Blair]

Well, it all depends on how much space you need. If I remember right, they are all about the same speed. The only diffrence is the size of them.
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Jeff Blair
AIM blairj2
Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
- Abraham Lincoln
My DVD's

 

[Rob Gillespie]

The 75GXP range are noisier and have a higher maximum capacity (75Gb as opposed to 60Gb for the 60GXP). They've also shown themselves to have higher than usual failure rates (go to AnandTech's forums and see!). This is often caused by the drives getting too warm. The units manufactured in Hungary were the worst affected, apparently.
I've used two 46Gb 75GXPs and a 40Gb 60GXP in the same machine at the same time. The 60GXP is a LOT quieter both with idle and seek noise. I think the specs show it to be a little faster too.
But a couple of weeks ago, I sold the IBMs and replaced them with two new Seagate drives - the Barracuda ATA IV, both a 60 and 80Gb model. These are the quietest 7200rpm drives BAR NONE and are beautifully built. They use a fluid-bearing drive mechanism (minimal resonance and noise) and even the outer casing is padded and shielded properly. Benchmark tests have shown them to be a little slower than the really fast IBM drives, but this very much depends on capacity (higher cap models are faster, generally). I've got to say though, these feel like the fastest IDE drives I've used. They are so 'smooth' sounding because of their low noise floor. I swear they're a bit faster than the IBMs on my system. I also get absolutely no resonance from the drives at all. The IBMs would make the case give off a slight 'drone' which would annoy the hell out a saint.
Goodbye IBM, hello Seagate!
(some of the regular members here will faint when they see that last remark of mine )
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"We shall never surrender"
Winston Churchill.
[Edited last by Rob Gillespie on October 26, 2001 at 04:28 PM]

 

[Micah Lloyd]

I'm avoiding the IBM drives these days for the reasons Rob noted - an extremely high failure rate (personally, about 35%). The troublesome part is that they don't fail until 2 to 3 months down the road. The ones I've been getting have been from Thailand.
Even though IBM has been good about replacing the drives, these days I'm only use them in a RAID configuration.
I've switched to Maxtor, myself.

 

[Camp]

The 60GXP is devoid of the problems found in the 75GXP line. 75GXP's ought to be getting rare about now.
I have 2 6GXP's and 1 75GXP. As Rob said, the 75 is louder than the 60...but I can't hear either with my fans running.
IBM's drives are very fast and very reliable (unless you happened to be unlucky to get one of the 75GXPs).

If I remember right, they are all about the same speed. The only diffrence is the size of them.

No, their name has nothing to do with their size. Each comes in various sizes. They're totally different drive lines made by IBM.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

No, their name has nothing to do with their size

It does, but only conerning maximum possible capacity. 60Gb for the 60GXP and 75Gb for the 75GXP.

 

[Darren Lewis]

Goodbye IBM, hello Seagate!

I not only nearly fainted, but almost choked on my morning cup of coffee too

I was thinking about getting a couple of IBM drives in the near future. Having said that, the only problems my friends and family have had with hard drives have been with a single failed IBM SCSI drive.
Rob, where did you get your drives from? I've tended to use Scan Computers here in the UK, but after they tried to sell me a second-hand motherboard as if it was new (they did change it when I pointed out that new motherboards don't come covered in dust!), I'm looking around for alternative suppliers. Problem is, Scan are pretty cheap.
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[Rob Gillespie]

I never use Scan after hearing of crappy customer service.
Try these:
Link Removed Link Removed Link Removed
Simply and Dabs are very reliable, though Dabs *tend* to get stuff moving a little quicker on average. Their range an stock levels are excellent. Simply's inventory isn't as big but I use them a lot. It just depends who is cheaper for any given product really.
Buy.com UK have gone from a so-so supplier to a brilliant one since being taken over by John Lewis. I ordered another Seagate Barracude IV (20gb) for my second machine yesterday. £76 which includes free next day delivery. Saturday delivery is supposed to cost more, but the damn thing turned up this morning anyway. Brilliant.
You'll find loads more at:
www.pcindex.co.uk www.computerprices.co.uk
You can do price comparisons between all the main online retailers at these two sites.
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"We shall never surrender"
Winston Churchill.

 

[Darren Lewis]

Cheers Rob, I'll have a look at them. Intersting that I'm not the only one doubting SCAN.
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My HT My DVD Collection