2nd Hard drive recommendations?

[AndyWatkins]

Hi,

My brand new 1.4ghz Athlon with 60 gig hard drive doesn't perform great with S7. I am getting glitches etc (which I didn't get with my tiny iMac with one 13gig drive.

Most people say "Get a 2nd drive"

OK

I want a cheap 20 or 40 gig drive and would like any recommendations on what to look for or known drives to avoid for video work.

Current sugestions are :-

Maxtor S41DX 20gig UDMA100 for £62
Seagate U620410 20gig UDMA100 for £64
Seagate U40810 40gig UDMA100 £71

They are all only 5400rpm drives but presumably this will be OK so long as nothing else is on the drive but video.

All suggestions greatly appreciated.

2ndly I expect when I fit it, I will be adding to the same disk controller / ribbon cable as my main drive. Is this OK, don't suppose I have much choice?

Thanks for the assistance

Andy
:-?

[agzz]

I suggest not going with Seagate, IBM Maxtor and WD is better. Also a 7200 drive is not that much more expensive, it pays off.

[sommersby]

I agree with the 7200 and the no on the seagate, seagate is a good drive, don't get me wrong, but don't do well as a slave when the master is a different brand. I would pick an IBM first as they have been the number one rated drive fro the last two years, I have a 7200 rpm WD and an IBM deskstar and the IBM is noticably faster. My second choice would be a WD, in the size you want either can be had for around $80 in the 40 gig size, maybe even less since the new higher capacties have come out. I know I just got a 40 gig WD for my son at a recent show for $75.

[AndyWatkins]

Hi,

Thankyou for advice to avoid seagate for this application. From your comments I presume IBM own Maxtor?

If you think 7200 is important I'll see what I can do.

Sorry but what does WD stand for? Sounds like a manufacturer?

As I am in the UK, the disks will all be a little more than in the USA (wish I knew why) so probably cost me nearer to $120 than $80

I ought to check what manufacturer my main hard drive is, do you think it matters.

Andy

[sommersby]

WD=western digital

[AndyWatkins]

Hi,

Just checked my computer shopper and IBM have a

IC35L040 40 gig drive EIDE/Ultra ATA

or Maxtor have a

740X 40 gig drive UDMA 133 12ms

Both 7200 and both about same speed.

I don't understand the significance of the difference between EIDE/ULTRA ATA and UDMA 133 for video applications.

Would either do?

Andy

[HillJack]

Personally, I'll NEVER buy another Maxtor drive again. In 3 years I've had 4 of them die on me. Most recently was this past weekend...

I got home Friday night and my 40gig Maxtor is making this HORRIBLE grinding sound. Thankfully, I was able to backup its data. The next day I track down my receipt and low and behold, its only 10 months old. So, I took it back to the store I got it from and they swap it for a brand new one.

I install the replacement and wake up Monday morning and Windows has an error message to the effect "Windows was unable to write to the volume .... due to a hardware failure" Now I was pissed off. That drive was not even 2 days old.

So, I took IT back and paid the extra $$ and got myself a THIRD IBM 60Gig... The first two of which are still humming along GREAT and they are VERY fast and VERY quiet and I've not had a single problem with any of them.

My recommendation: IBM, Fujitsu or Quantum (when they were Quantum NOT now that they're Maxtor). I'll never buy another Maxtor again in my entire life. I wouldn't trust them with my e-mail spam.

[AdamB]

In defence of Maxtor.

I have to say I have run Maxtor drives for years without any problems. I have 4 in my current machine and have just ordered more for my new machine (hoping the parts to build this will arrive today!!!).

In the UK try Dabs Direct in Bracknell, Berks. They do webs sales I think. Always used to be the best price.

AdamB

[AndyWatkins]

Adam & Hilljack,

Thanks for the advice. As the IBM and Maxtor drives are about the same price and no one has yet said a bad thing about IBM perhaps I'll buy the IBM drives.

Prices and figures I have been getting have been from dabs.com, as you say good prices. They have such a slick sales operation I have always found everything is fine if the goods arrive OK. If anything needs to be returned it's a bit of a nightmare, but I'll just keep my fingers crossed that all is wonderful.

Andy

[Allan55]

Hi,

My Friends and I support 100s of computers and over time our experience is that Maxtor and WD have the fewest problems.

Most of the time, heat is the biggest problem! If your computer runs more-or-less continuously (many hours at a stretch) you need to seriously consider heat-related issues.

So here are some ideas about cooling:

AirFlow:

• Faster, more crowded boxes, need much more airflow than older boxes.

• You need twice as much exhaust airflow as input; e.g. 2 exhaust fans (1 in PS) for each input fan. Without this ratio, there is liitle or no airflow thru the holes and gaps around drives.

• Looking in your case, you will probably find that the HD and floppy are tucked-up in a place with very little chance for airflow; especially if no air is sucked-in around the gaps that do exist.

• I have even cut holes in the side of drive bays and mounted small fans to force air through them. It makes a big difference.

Dust:

• Blow out your computer frequently; maybe every 3 months.

• I've seen many boxes with dust literally clogging the CD drive mechanism so they woudn't work.

• Because of the fans, your box is like a vacuum cleaner without a filter; it sucks a lot of dust into it; less gets out.

Allan
After 33 years in the computer business I've learned how little I know.

[silab]

Weird because Maxtor is one of the most reliable drives ever.. LOL

I have been running mine for 2 years very quietly with no single problems at ALL.

[sommersby]

I agree with HEAT being a main issue with hard drives, especially with the 7200 rpm drives, when mounting 2 drives you should have at least a 1/2 " gap between them, if you case does not provide this make a couple of brackets and mount the second driv on the bottom of the drive cage, this is a big point as maximum pc downgrades any computer which does not provide this clearence. In their words "you are sure to fry a platter or two if you don't".

[Nelson37]

Western Digital and Maxtor are my favorites, 14 years installing and supporting, don't like Quantum, Seagate OK but many flaky models, some IBM Deskstars having high failure rates although they ARE fast.
Buy from reputable supplier, most drives have 3-year warranty now.
You want to use secondary connection on motherboard controller with capture drive as only unit on cable, and put a fan on the drive. check out rounded cables for better airflow.