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    Seagate hard drives

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by scythie, Jan 11, 2009.

  1. scythie

    scythie I died for your sins.

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    Is there something wrong with Seagate hard drives? From where I live, they are noticeably cheaper. I feel a bit suspicious. Are they slower than their counterparts from other brands? Or are they really price-competitive? Or maybe it has to do with the store -- I noticed they have a family of Seagate drives available, ranging from 160GB to 500GB, while WD is only available in 320GB and Hitachi only in 250GB. These prices are all from the same store. [Currency conversion c/o Google]:

    Seagate 320GB 5400RPM: US$86.64
    WD 320GB 5400RPM: US$108.31
    --
    Seagate 250GB 5400RPM: US$75.81
    Hitachi 250GB 5400RPM: US$97.48
     
    scythie, Jan 11, 2009
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  2. Andy

    Andy Notebook Prophet

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    Nothing wrong with Seagate drives.

    The Seagate 5400.5 had a pretty high access time, and the 250GB is the same. The 250gig Seagate could be the 5400.4 as well, which uses <160GB platters. The Seagate 5400.6 is fine.

    The WD 320GB (WD3200BEVT) is a much better drive.
     
    Andy, Jan 11, 2009
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  3. scythie

    scythie I died for your sins.

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    Yeah, I've seen reviews for the WD and I think WD is known for speed. Unfortunately, I think it is also known for heat? I've seen some around here that idle at 53C! :eek: While not above threshold levels, that is quite hot.

    So I guess my follow up question naturally is:
    Is the performance difference between the Seagate and the WD [both 320 GB in this case] enough to merit the WD its higher price? In short, would getting the WD be worth the extra expense? I know the price difference may seem immaterial to some, but for me, it's very much important. I'm just a student. :eek:
     
    scythie, Jan 11, 2009
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  4. Andy

    Andy Notebook Prophet

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    Its like, kinda..you can say, more of a chance, what sort of drive you'll get. I had a WD3200BEVT, and it idled at 40*C, and never topped 50*C under massive load.

    The Seagate should be fine as well. You can checkout the tables at Tomshardware, or the links in Phil's sig for reviews.

    Usually HDDs idles at 40-45*C, but different notebooks have different cooling designs and ways of cooling a HDD. The temps of the new drive should be similar to that of your current drive. If its not, you can exchange the drive for another one.

    The 5400.5 wasn't a very 'famous' drive, so you won't really find any complaints about it. WD3200BEVT is a big seller, for some reason, though its not alot faster than the other 320GB 5400RPM drives. One won't notice a difference, except in synthetic benchmarks.
     
    Andy, Jan 11, 2009
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  5. ahl395

    ahl395 Ahlball

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    Seagate makes some pretty good HDD's. So, nothing wrong with them :p
     
    ahl395, Jan 11, 2009
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  6. Renee

    Renee Notebook Virtuoso

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    The trouble with Seagate hardrives is that they don't have an auditory patend keeping the sound level down. They lost the patend rights.

    Renee
     
    Renee, Jan 11, 2009
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