Western Digital or Maxtor for 7200 RPM drive?

[beornling]

In my area there are currently deals for both Maxtor and Western Digital HDs. I can get an 80GB drive for about the same of either brand. Any recommendations on which has better performance, better reliability, better anything.

Thanks.

 

[MisterDuck]

I think generally the WD drives beat out the maxtors, although I have a feeling you won't be able to notice a distinct difference going with either drive (they're probably within +/- 5% of one another in terms of speed) - as for reliability, most of what you're going to get from asking that is just people's unfounded opinions based on singular instances of failure/success, so I'd go with whatever one is cheaper.

You should probably read the reviews on www.storagereview.com to see which one is best for you - I do believe the maxtor isn't as noisy (if my memory serves me correctly) as the WD, although you'll have to go check for yourself.

Either way, the bottom line is that they're probably almost identical in performance from the average desktop user's perspective.

 

[pcclub2000]

Western Digital is better. My Maxtor is very loud.

 

[Brian48]

I've used numberous WD's and Maxtors over the last few years. Not much of a difference between either of them in terms of speed or durability. Older ATA33 Maxtors seem to not like overclocked FSB's, but most of these have since disappeared from the market. I have noticed that Maxtors tend to be a bit noisier when in use, but it's not bad or distracting in anyway. Between the two, I'd get whatever is on sale at the moment.

 

[sean2002]

The maxtor has a faster access time, the fastest IDE so far. IMHO access time is far more important than sustained transfered rate, but like already posted, there is a trade off. seek noise!

 

[Bovinicus]

I like the Seagate Baracuda IV. It's just as fast as the competition, but much quieter. Even while doing very HDD intensive tasks it remains silent. The price is about the same as the competition. The reliability of Seagata drives seems to be excellent to.

 

[dbwillis]

Ive got a WD 300AB, 800BB and just got a 400BB all are very quiet.
I did have a 200BB and that was quiet too.
Ive also a Seagate 30GB/7200 drive, it seems to be a touch quieter than the WD drives

 

[Om]

Western Digital, I can't stand the Maxor high pitch whine

 

[DN]

I'll vote WD..

 

[Comp625]

I honestly don't think the HDD noise matters because IMO, the combined fan noise from my Stock Heatsink/Fan and Case are both louder than the hard drive. So if the hard drive is accessing data at a vigourous pace, I can't even hear it unless I stress my ears.

 

[Ausm]

Right now I would lean toward the WD myself...

AUsm

 

[AluminumStudios]

I own 6 WD (4 of which are 7200 RPM) and love them. They are fast, quiet, and durable.

I'm very easily irritated by sound, and the Maxtor whine that you hear about has bothered me. Also, IMHO I think WD is slightly faster than Maxtor. My biggest, fastest, (and favorite) that I own is a 400bb.

 

[Willoughbyva]

I also vote for the WD

 

[krackato]

Wow. I'm a little taken aback. Where'd all the love for Western Digital suddenly come from. Usually it's chants of hatred.

I'm going to place a vote for the Seagate Barracuda IV as well. Supposed to be near silent and I haven't heard of anyone having a problem with them. Otherwise, I'd go for the Maxtor, since none of my Maxtor's have died, but one of my Western Digital's kept dying RMA after RMA. Also, I hear Maxtor has a far better RMA service, although I've never had to use it.

 

[LXi]

I've never heard any Maxtors "whine", especially not the D740X which is considered one of quietest and swiftest. Seagates are virtually silent, but performance is nowhere Maxtor-like. And WD, well, I hope they stop treating their QA as a joke. For 80GB, the WD is no comparison to the Maxtor, you'd have to get up to the 1200BB to keep up with the D740Xs, but right now, nobody has really got a chance to beat Maxtor in access times besides IBM.

 

[Slawsk]

I stay away from Maxtor. Had 3 drives short out on me while taking extreme precautions. Never had an IBM nor WD ever fail. I have seen beat up 8 or 9 year old WDs run just fine. I personally use a WD.

 

[Strych9]

<< I've never heard any Maxtors "whine", especially not the D740X which is considered one of quietest and swiftest. Seagates are virtually silent, but performance is nowhere Maxtor-like. And WD, well, I hope they stop treating their QA as a joke. For 80GB, the WD is no comparison to the Maxtor, you'd have to get up to the 1200BB to keep up with the D740Xs, but right now, nobody has really got a chance to beat Maxtor in access times besides IBM. >>

Listen to LXi. The new Maxtor D740X's are the way to go.

 

[Bovinicus]

Between the Seagata Baracuda IV, Maxtor 740DX, and Wester Digital BB series it's really hard to distinguish. All of those harddrives perform at approximately the same level. An extra 3-5MB/s of additional sustained transfer rates won't do much. Go with the cheapest one.