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750Gb HDDs for MacPro ~ Any opinion on these?

If we assume all HDDs are the same quality, since everyone has different experiences with each brand, we should then just look at their warranties.

Fujitsu - 1 year
Western Digital - 1 year (retail/SE models) or 5 years (RE/Raptor models)
Samsung - 3 years
Hitachi - 3 years
Seagate - 5 years

Not only does the warranty tell you how long the drive is covered, it also gives you an idea of how well the mfg stands behind their product.

In case anyone's wondering, I've bought nothing but seagates for the last few years :)
 
Samsung Spinpoints

I've got two of the 500gb Spinpoints and have had them over a year. When I bought them, I looked at the reviews and they seemed to be the best value. I agree about the warranty to a certain extent, but when a drive crashes, no warranty helps, only the backup.

As to your link, I saw it before I saw your thread and as I was in the market for another drive, I couldn't resist, the price for 750gb is just too good, so the new one also goes in my Mac Pro.

Ultimately, most electronics from reputable manufacturers are reliable, if you're going to have a problem, it generally happens right away. The only drive I ever had crash was in a LaCie, but I've got three other LaCie external drives still humming away, so even the crach proves nothing. Me, price ultimately is my deciding factor.

ps I note that the Samsung has a 32mb cache compared to the Western Digital's 16mb, besides beign $10 cheaper, but then I never even looked at the Western Digital this time around, the Samsung 500gb had such good reviews when I bought them and the lack of problems meant that I didn't consider any other drives this time.
 
The only drive I ever had crash was in a LaCie, but I've got three other LaCie external drives still humming away, so even the crach proves nothing.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that LaCie doesn't make the drives. Just the enclosure. But your point is valid.
 
I just got the Samsung. After doing a system restore of the OS onto the drive from a Time Machine backup, I was slightly disappointed in it's performance. It was still faster than the stock WD 320GB (8MB Cache), but I was expecting a little more.

I've since installed a fresh copy of the OS, and the performance increased significantly, according to a couple of benchmarks. Runs cooler than the stock drive as well. Couldn't be happier.

That being said, I'd choose the new WD 640GB. It seems to top even the aforementioned Samsung.
 
thanks guys, i got a WD750 recently (a replacement to one before that had "Delay Write Errors" and made a loud hum too) apparently WD has OEM/Retail drives now at 3 years according to my registration, so thats no big deal.

I was debating whether or not to go with a different brand as Samsung has highly reputable products and never had one of their drives before.

Currently have 5 WD drives and 2 Seagate model drives (all so far soo good)

So basically something that could withstand alot of read/write and erasing and adding to it (larger files 4Gb and up) i work with alot of video and i wanted to obtain two drives one for XP and one for OSX based work


*btw the 640Gb drive, does the 2x320Gb platter result in less platters in the overall drive giving it more efficiency? since most drives have multiple platters and can definitely get worn over time.*

thanks alot for the input and feedback!
 
ThirteenXIII said:
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD753LJ 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152100



Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS 750GB 7200 RPM 16MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136131


im just curious if there is a performance difference if anyone has used them or recommended for the macpro


thanks
Click to expand...

You might consider also a 640GB WD. Apparently these come
with higher density platters yielding better performance. Why
640GB? It's a multiple of 320GB, the platter size:

http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3269

Note: all else being equal, fewer platters are preferable.
 
Spinpoints are $115 at ZipZoomFly.

You have to pay for shipping, but they are still unbelievably cheap per GB.

Tracer
 
Unable to buy the WD 640GB after several attempts at newegg due to unavailability, I had a Samsung F1 750GB zipzoomed to me.

Wasted most of this afternoon, apparently, searching to confirm the jumper settings — never had occasion to install a SATA, having just moved from my trusty ol’ AGP 450 to the Early 2008.

The joke’s on me, right? Imagine my amazement when I finally took it out of the plastic and ……NO JUMPER SETTINGS, NO JUMPERS! How could my legacy brain have missed that! Duh, idunno.

Later, when the WD 640GB availability comes up, and prices come down, I figure my OS and apps can be SuperDupered to WD as a simple "sandbox" and I’ll be good to go -- don’t know ‘bout this new-fangled Time Machine. If it turns out to be anything like Spotlight…well……
 
I have 4 of the spinpoints and have had no problems to date. Quiet as can be and good performance.
 
miK. said:
Barefeats just did a WD640 shootout vs. Samsungs & Seagates:
http://www.barefeats.com/harper14.html
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. Really.
But I've been reading, to little avail, the shootouts at barefeats, OWC, storagereview and other sites, and can't quite piece together what they all mean in real world performance.

Barefeats, for example, finally concluded that the Radeon HD 2600 XT, which is installed on this box, beats the pants off the 8800GT in FCP and such. However, most everyone here still seems infatuated with the 8800.

What am I missing? Where does one go to find out?
I'm not a gamer.
 
The 8800 looks better because of "specs". However, I can tell you from my engineering experience that specmanship is an artform specialized by marketing folks to obfuscate reality.

You have to go by the tests, because even though the 8800 may have more memory, its chips are geared to 3-D rendering that is used in games. Some have pointed out that it might be the drivers. If so, when new drivers appear I'll reevaluate the situation.
 
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