250gb Samsung Spinpoint or Maxtor DiamondMax 10?

[sumpm1]

Hi. I am in the market for a 250gb ATA133 drive. My last 3 hard drives have failed me. The first was an old Seagate. Next was a 40gb Maxtor D540x. And finally, my current hard drive is failing and it is a 4 year old WD Caviar 8mb cache 160gb. Basically, I have had all brand drives fail on me over time, I must just be hard on them. I run 24/7 and download almost all of that time, this may be the reason for the sonsistent drive failures.

For me, the final choice lies between these 2 drives. Performance and noise is not paramount. I would sacrifice performance for reliability, I don't need another dead drive around here! What's your take on these 2 series of hard drives and reliability over time?

 

[mantralord]

People may say there's no difference in reliability between modern drives, but I still can't equate reliability with Maxtor in my mind. I would go for the Samsung.

 

[nickyhoward55]

ive got 2 samsung spinpoint 80 gb drives and they have been running almost 24/7 for 2 years. still very fresh, and quiet 2!!

 

[grumperfish]

How hot have your drives been getting and what kind of psu are you running? That many hdd failures in a row is unusual and possibly related to heat and/or shaky power. It's possible that your case doesn't get enough intake causing the drives to heat up and prematurely fail.

 

[Drec]

Considering Seagate bought Maxtor i would go Samsung, cause who knows what will happen if a Maxtor fails and you try to RMA...

 

[Amarkarian]

yeah if you run a fan over your drives you could greatly increase there life

 

[Dukeman]

if your looking for top reliablity then I would check out www.storagereview.com as they have a reliablity database which uses real world information.

 

[sumpm1]

Thanks guys. The first drive was in my first PC, a $300 piece from Best Buy in 1999, it was an 8Gb Seagate. Actually it is still running, but has had a few run-ins with SpinRite, which I am thankful exists, otherwise this drive would not work any more. The 40GB Maxtor, yeah it was undercooled, and had genero PSU. My recent 160GB WD Caviar has an intake fan right in front of it on purpose, and has been running on a decent name brand PSU. I have a million freakin case fans that I bought from newegg. I'll have to make sure tha my next drive is cooled overboard, cause $100 for a new drive every couple years is not that bad, but to waste a 160 or 250 gig drive is a SIN!

I will probably go with the Samsung.

 

[hotrod469]

I have a 250G Samsung in a USB enclosure works great.

 

[CGR]

If they both have the same warranty, then probally doesnt matter. If they dont have the same go with the one with the longer warranty.

 

[Quailane]

You could spend a couple extra bucks for the maxline III that has a 5 year warranty.

 

[sumpm1]

You could spend a couple extra bucks for the maxline III that has a 5 year warranty.

That's a good idea. 5 years is longer than any drive has lasted me. Performance is not a big issue, longevity is.

 

[H2]

Another thing that shortens the life of a hard drive is moving the Computer while its on. You can't believe how many people I have seen move their computer out to check plugs on the back of it while it is on. Old hard drives used to spin 4000 to 5400 rpm and laptop drives are built different than Raptors or Maxline III.

1. Even if you have a slide out tray with a drive in it, make sure it has spun down all the way before removing it.
2. Keep the drives as cool as possible.
3. Use a good Power Supply and I think that will eliminate most of your problems with all drives.

 

[JCLW]

If you have an nF4 board take note that the Maxtors might have problems with it.

You could try an enterprise level drive, if you're going to be running 24/7.

 

[Nexus Realized]

If performance is taking a backseat to reliability you'll definately want to go with whichever drive has the longer warranty.

 

[Quailane]

If you have an nF4 board take note that the Maxtors might have problems with it.

Not if he buys a new drive.