Which 500gb HDD - WD, Samsung, Seagate - Quick Advice!

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StrangleHold said:
That means nothing, I still have all kinds of old harddrive around. Western Digital-Seagate-Maxtor-IBM some still work some dont. I even have some old crappy Quantum Bigfoot 5.25 drives that still work but that doesnt mean what drives are the best by any means.
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I have Quantums... PC eye is saying statistically which are better... Hell, let's use some common sense... If I have five WD drives from '95 that still work and only three Seagate drives from '95, what can that tell you?
 
INTELCRAZY said:
I have Quantums... PC eye is saying statistically which are better... Hell, let's use some common sense... If I have five WD drives from '95 that still work and only three Seagate drives from '95, what can that tell you?
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Oh give me a break, we can run in circles all night. You just said the same thing I did in different words. All it means is that you cant say what drive is the best just because you have a few old drives that work. I have a few old drives from all brands that work, what does that tell ya (nothing). Some people judge brands by what they have bought and worked and continually use that brand without problems enough to change. Other people have used alot of drives of different brands and have a better sence of what brands models have a higher failure rate. One is experence and one is I use this because it has worked for me. Not saying one is right or wrong for each person but you cant jusy say I have 3 or 5 of these that still work that means this one is better than that one. Some drive have alot harder life than others, some computers go 24/7, some are turned on once a week for 15 minutes. There are alot of different variables in a harddrives life.
 
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Don't want to interrupt your arguments here...but, what is this clicking noise you are referring to about the WD?

I recently purchased a WD Caviar SE16 and want to know if I have this clicking noise issue. But first, I don't even know what it is or sounds like!
 
A metallic clicking sound and when it gets bad it sounds like someone put gravels in it. SE drives are ok, but I like the RE models better.
 
Generally when you hear clicking sound coming a drive by listening close to it that shows the drive heads are seeing a problem. You can't simply limit that to one brand of drive since that shows a problem with any.

One thing that helps extend the life of any drive is temps! The main reason the old 120gb WD model failed was simple. The owner neglected to even one in a blue moon use a can of air cleaner and let the dust layer become a mountain! :rolleyes: Ever see what a filter looks like in a clothes dryer where you peel the lint off of the screen type filter there? That will give you an idea of what was found.

Hard drive coolers, Good general overall air flow, additional case fans when needed all help is seeing drive temps kept down as well as temps on other things. The builds here typically see 16 if not upto 24/7 use where seeing low temps for drives becomes essential. Yet some of those old cases didn't have the cooling you would typically find in a gaming style case.
 
they all break at one point or another.

temps have to be just right. too high or too low = higher chance of death

on average many users regard seagates to be the best in dependability and reliability. then comes WD. seagates have a 5 year warranty and should your drive fail within the warranty period they'll recover your data without charge.

in conclusion go for the warranty. the plus would be a drive manufacturer that will go the extra distance and help grab your data for free. 5 years from now you'll probably use something better, cheaper, faster as storage *cough* ssd
 
WD INCREASES HARD DRIVE WARRANTY PERIODS
Company Standardizes on Five Years for its Enterprise Drives and Three Years for its Desktop and Notebook Drives

WD desktop and notebook hard drives, including WD Scorpio?, WD Caviar®, WD Caviar SE and WD Caviar SE16 drive families, manufactured or purchased on June 1, 2005, or later are now covered by WD's 3-year warranty. The company's enterprise drives, including WD Raptor® and WD Caviar RE, are now supported with its 5-year warranty beginning the same date. Previously, the company maintained a policy including 5, 3 and 1-year periods. More information about WD's warranty policy is posted at: http://support.wdc.com/warranty/policy.asp.

http://www.wdc.com/en/company/releases/PressRelease.asp?release=%7B264FE90B-5808-489E-9DEC-05106E24AD79%7D
 
Intelcrazy.. Let's not look at you as a "teen". You're a man. I'm going to address you as a man.

First, a little about myself to give you an idea. I've been in the computer field for 22 years. I started out with Atari and Commodore, advancing to programming in basic and assembly, programming for teachers, teaching computers to grade school students, including special ed. I have been there from the advent of the home PC. Along the way I've covered most aspects of my niche, from website design, hosting communities, chats, forums, tutoring, network design, sales, build and support..servers, workstations, etc. Managing computer stores, running my own computer business, subcontracting to computer businesses, gaming machines for hobbyists, general purpose machines, IT support for professionals from manufacturing, doctors, restaurants, aerospace engineering, etc (one of my clients makes jet engines for helicopters, private jets and military equipment). If it has anything to do with computers, from PDAs to web and security appliances, photocopiers, RIPS, printing presses, milling machines, automated dispensing technologies I've done it. I now own a successful computer business and just opened up a new office.

So yes, I may be an IT, but I'm not your typical, ordinary IT guy.

With that said. My experience obviously covers a vast array of products. Anything from $10 to several hundred thousand in value. I'm not talking out of my ass I guess is what I'm saying.

I appreciate that you're just a gaming hobbyist, and there's nothing wrong with that. To me, this field is far more than that as I'm sure you can appreciate.

So.. First, the video card thing. No, I was not upset with the 8800GT. I don't care. Money is not an issue for me. I have no problems dropping several thousand dollars at the suppliers, and screwing around with the stuff I pick up. I do it on a regular basis, in order to offer my clients the best, hands on advice I can give them.

The issue in that thread that I was taking up with Omega is multi-faceted.

A) The guy wasted a ton of money on a processor that in most cases stands 50% idle, yet wimps out with a crappy VGA. He brags of his 3dmark score, but the only reason it's anywhere near what it is is because the benchmark can make use of all 4 cores. The benchmark was only strong because of the processing power. The VGA scores licked nuts. So, I question his gaming computer design prowess.

B) VGA performance is measured in FPS and more recently IQ. Period. The guy was looking for the best VGA. Price was not introduced as a concern. Thus, even though the difference is reasonably small, the 8800GTX is the best performing card on the market, after the Ultra. Period. Whether or not Omega had a point with the minimal difference is actually ultimately immaterial to the question put forth by the OP.

Now, on to harddrives. There are many factors that make up the value of a harddrive. Seek time, in and of itself, is the absolute least of them. In this business, reliability is king. Data has a dollar figure attached to it that would make your head spin.. Far greater than some tool telling you to buy a certain brand because it's 3/10 of a millisecond faster on seek. Data can be worth 100's of thousands of dollars, even more, because in many cases it's not replaceable. I can give you disaster scenarios, and I have a partner that specializes in disaster recovery. The average bill is between 1 and 3,000 dollars.

About PCeye.. His "research", especially in this case, and indeed in most cases, is useless. No offence to him, but he is the classic case of the blind leading the blind. If he came off as someone with the questions, as opposed to the answers, that would be different, as this is a forum where most people come with questions. One of my biggest downfalls is very little patience for people who pretend they know what they're talking about, act like they do, yet don't and mislead people with bs. PCeye is one of those people, using Tool and Die experience as his defence.

Being in the business, I have run into people like him before and I have been called in to clean up their messes. From someone standing in my shoes, it's immediately obvious that he's pretty much clueless when it comes to current tech at least. I'm sure he's a nice fellow and all, but computers isn't his bag. There's a guy who became redundant in his industry, and like so many others took up computers as the next messiah, the saviour of his dying breed.

That's fine when you acknowledge it for what it is. He doesn't. He can't. He'll come back in a thread repeatedly trying to prove his point, more often than not wandering off on tangents. That, then, is what irritates me the most. Better to be thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt.

The research that I presented here in this thread is all fact based, and in fact you could look it up for yourself if you had the notion to do so. I differ from PCeye, and indeed many others, in that I actually have hands on experience, in many cases with a lot of tech that you may not be able to imagine. Harddrive reliability, while something I've run into daily for the last 15 years, is only one small facet of what it is that I do.

Learning on the search engines is fine, as he does. I respect that and do it myself. NEVER is it ok to present yourself as being the one with the answers, all the while misinterpretting and misapplying the data you have collected.. which is what he does.

I'm a true geek. My entire life, apart from my partner, is computers. I have a rather unique gift. The logical, analytical thinking. The ability to envision an entire computer without ever taking a tool to it. PCeye clearly doesn't. It's not something you can learn. It's not a college diploma. You either have it or you don't. Unfortunately for PCeye he doesn't. Kudos to him for trying. I respect his valiant efforts.. and every now and again he does hit on something and gets it right. Unfortunately that's the exception as opposed to the rule, and no college course can fix that.
 
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SirKenin said:
Intelcrazy.. Let's not look at you as a "teen". You're a man. I'm going to address you as a man.

First, a little about myself to give you an idea. I've been in the computer field for 22 years. I started out with Atari and Commodore, advancing to programming in basic and assembly, programming for teachers, teaching computers to grade school students, including special ed. I have been there from the advent of the home PC. Along the way I've covered most aspects of my niche, from website design, hosting communities, chats, forums, tutoring, network design, sales, build and support..servers, workstations, etc. Managing computer stores, running my own computer business, subcontracting to computer businesses, gaming machines for hobbyists, general purpose machines, IT support for professionals from manufacturing, doctors, restaurants, aerospace engineering, etc (one of my clients makes jet engines for helicopters, private jets and military equipment). If it has anything to do with computers, from PDAs to web and security appliances, photocopiers, RIPS, printing presses, milling machines, automated dispensing technologies I've done it. I now own a successful computer business and just opened up a new office.

So yes, I may be an IT, but I'm not your typical, ordinary IT guy.

With that said. My experience obviously covers a vast array of products. Anything from $10 to several hundred thousand in value. I'm not talking out of my ass I guess is what I'm saying.

I appreciate that you're just a gaming hobbyist, and there's nothing wrong with that. To me, this field is far more than that as I'm sure you can appreciate.

So.. First, the video card thing. No, I was not upset with the 8800GT. I don't care. Money is not an issue for me. I have no problems dropping several thousand dollars at the suppliers, and screwing around with the stuff I pick up. I do it on a regular basis, in order to offer my clients the best, hands on advice I can give them.

The issue in that thread that I was taking up with Omega is multi-faceted.

A) The guy wasted a ton of money on a processor that in most cases stands 50% idle, yet wimps out with a crappy VGA. He brags of his 3dmark score, but the only reason it's anywhere near what it is is because the benchmark can make use of all 4 cores. The benchmark was only strong because of the processing power. The VGA scores licked nuts. So, I question his gaming computer design prowess.

B) VGA performance is measured in FPS and more recently IQ. Period. The guy was looking for the best VGA. Price was not introduced as a concern. Thus, even though the difference is reasonably small, the 8800GTX is the best performing card on the market, after the Ultra. Period. Whether or not Omega had a point with the minimal difference is actually ultimately immaterial to the question put forth by the OP.

Now, on to harddrives. There are many factors that make up the value of a harddrive. Seek time, in and of itself, is the absolute least of them. In this business, reliability is king. Data has a dollar figure attached to it that would make your head spin.. Far greater than some tool telling you to buy a certain brand because it's 3/10 of a millisecond faster on seek. Data can be worth 100's of thousands of dollars, even more, because in many cases it's not replaceable. I can give you disaster scenarios, and I have a partner that specializes in disaster recovery. The average bill is between 1 and 3,000 dollars.

About PCeye.. His "research", especially in this case, and indeed in most cases, is useless. No offence to him, but he is the classic case of the blind leading the blind. If he came off as someone with the questions, as opposed to the answers, that would be different, as this is a forum where most people come with questions. One of my biggest downfalls is very little patience for people who pretend they know what they're talking about, act like they do, yet don't and mislead people with bs. PCeye is one of those people, using Tool and Die experience as his defence.

Being in the business, I have run into people like him before and I have been called in to clean up their messes. From someone standing in my shoes, it's immediately obvious that he's pretty much clueless when it comes to current tech at least. I'm sure he's a nice fellow and all, but computers isn't his bag. There's a guy who became redundant in his industry, and like so many others took up computers as the next messiah, the saviour of his dying breed.

That's fine when you acknowledge it for what it is. He doesn't. He can't. He'll come back in a thread repeatedly trying to prove his point, more often than not wandering off on tangents. That, then, is what irritates me the most. Better to be thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt.

The research that I presented here in this thread is all fact based, and in fact you could look it up for yourself if you had the notion to do so. I differ from PCeye, and indeed many others, in that I actually have hands on experience, in many cases with a lot of tech that you may not be able to imagine. Harddrive reliability, while something I've run into daily for the last 15 years, is only one small facet of what it is that I do.

Learning on the search engines is fine, as he does. I respect that and do it myself. NEVER is it ok to present yourself as being the one with the answers, all the while misinterpretting and misapplying the data you have collected.. which is what he does.

I'm a true geek. My entire life, apart from my partner, is computers. I have a rather unique gift. The logical, analytical thinking. The ability to envision an entire computer without ever taking a tool to it. PCeye clearly doesn't. It's not something you can learn. It's not a college diploma. You either have it or you don't. Unfortunately for PCeye he doesn't. Kudos to him for trying. I respect his valiant efforts.. and every now and again he does hit on something and gets it right. Unfortunately that's the exception as opposed to the rule, and no college course can fix that.
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Runs just like an E6600(stock) with two cores extra... And he bought his card way before the 3870 was thought about.

I have just one question, why don't you act like you have a brain with this? Most smart people let your "blind" ppl tend to themselves..
 
Which I typically do now. Every once in a while I'll unblock one or two of his posts, realize it's the same as always, address it and move on.

It's a passion for the industry that drives me.. and seeing people get led down the garden path is sometimes a little more than I can take.. Every now and again. Most times I'm content just to address the OP and pretend he doesn't exist..
 
SirKenin said:
Which I typically do now. Every once in a while I'll unblock one or two of his posts, realize it's the same as always, address it and move on.

It's a passion for the industry that drives me.. and seeing people get led down the garden path is sometimes a little more than I can take.. Every now and again. Most times I'm content just to address the OP and pretend he doesn't exist..
Click to expand...

You have good intentions you just don't do it right, it's not what point you are trying to make it's just you make the point too damn sharp. Chill out! All I see after a PC eye post is your comment or StrangleHold's comment about something he did is wrong. Does he not have an opinion?
 
Ok, this has stayed civil but I'm going to put it to rest anyway. The point of this thread has been addressed.
You have good intentions you just don't do it right, it's not what point you are trying to make it's just you make the point too damn sharp. Chill out! All I see after a PC eye post is your comment or StrangleHold's comment about something he did is wrong. Does he not have an opinion?
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He does have an opinion, he sometimes get confused though. Everyone does from time to time. If you see a mistake do you not try to correct it? I don't see anything wrong with either stranglehold's or sirkenin's posts in this thread. I understand they may sometimes be blunt about it but if PCeye thinks he's being treated unfairly he'll PM a mod or admin.
 
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