WD Caviar 120gb SE

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Steevo

Any thoughts on the 120gb version of theWestern Digital caviar special
edition hard drive? I have been very impressed by its specs compared to
other drives and am seriously considering buying one. Is there anything that
should put me off?

Many Thanks
 
Any thoughts on the 120gb version of theWestern Digital caviar special
edition hard drive? I have been very impressed by its specs compared to
other drives and am seriously considering buying one. Is there anything that
should put me off?

Many Thanks
Click to expand...

Ive bought several WDs bit mostly Maxtors the last year. I usually
seem to upgrade every 3-4 months selling or giving away the smaller
ones and buying bigger ones to gain more space and avoid running 4-5
Harddisks. Havent bought the one you are talking about but havent had
any problems with either make.

There are some killer deals lately on HDs at COMPUSA and other places.
For awhle the 5400s were deeply discounted but not the 7200s that much
.. Then they started doing ti a few months ago at COMPUSA etc and the
last few weeks wow. Ive seen 120 meg and for $60-79 and other
comparable deals. One deal after another. They had a good sale last
weekend and then another Friday 6 hour sale this weekend.

I got my Maxtor 200 gig for $129 with Promise card inside a month or
so ago but now I see deals like that everywhere. They already sent my
rebate they said and I got my 120 gig Maxtor rebate already which I
bought a month a half ago.
 
Any thoughts on the 120gb version of theWestern Digital caviar special
edition hard drive? I have been very impressed by its specs compared to
other drives and am seriously considering buying one. Is there anything that
should put me off?

Many Thanks
Click to expand...

It's a good solid drive, it's primary weakness is that it has
ball-bearings still, is louder than something like a Maxtor or
Seagate. It's more annoying because it's that high-pitched sound, and
some are louder than others (even comparing exact same model), but
they all seem to get a little louder during the first few months of
spinning.

The noise isn't THAT bad though, it's not a good reason not to get one
unless you've already tweaked the system to be quiet and then might
notice the noise more than the average user. On the other hand,
Maxtor also has an 8MB cache model with fluid bearings, and same 3 yr
warranty. I don't recall how the prices compare.


Dave
 
In order of noise for 120GB IDE drives:

Seagate Barracuda IV
Seagate Barracuda V
Samsung
Maxtor
Western Digital

WD is the noisiest of the bunch. Decide if you want to spend the money
(worth it) for the 8 MB cache rather than the 2 MB cache.
 
kony said:
It's a good solid drive, it's primary weakness is that it has
ball-bearings still, is louder than something like a Maxtor or
Seagate. It's more annoying because it's that high-pitched sound, and
some are louder than others (even comparing exact same model), but
they all seem to get a little louder during the first few months of
spinning.

The noise isn't THAT bad though, it's not a good reason not to get one
unless you've already tweaked the system to be quiet and then might
notice the noise more than the average user. On the other hand,
Maxtor also has an 8MB cache model with fluid bearings, and same 3 yr
warranty. I don't recall how the prices compare.


Dave
Click to expand...

I have the 120GB WD drive here. I have had it for 3 or 4 months, and the
noise appears to have increased indeed. In fact, I think the HD delivers the
most annoying noise of all noise-making parts of my system, not because it's
very loud, but because it's a strange high-pitched noise. On the other hand,
my system case is right next to me, the HD is approximately 40cm away I
think, so I don't think you'll hear much from it if you place the system
under your desk.

Apart from this, I really like the drive, it's fast, big, seems reliable,
wasn't expensive. The noise is indeed not a good reason not to get one.

Erik
 
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