Pretty sure they use Seagate, but was curious what the consensus on them was, as far as reliability, performance, etc.?
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Reliability of APPLE configured 750 GB HDs?
- Thread starter FatSweatyBlldog
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I would stay away from ANY "Apple-configured" 750 gig hard drives, unless of course you have an overwhelming desire to get ripped off.
Get the stock 250 and then populate the other bays with after market drives. Your wallet will thank you.
I agree there.
I just ordered a new Mac Pro 2.66
It was cheaper to get it with the standard 250 GB drive and then purchase a second 500 GB Western Digital 7200 R.P.M. (16 MB cache, SATA II) drive somewhere else.
I spent less doing that than I would have just to step up to the 500 GB drive in the configuration from Apple.
So, I got a combined total of 750 GB for less than what Apple would have charged me just to step up to 500 GB.
Essentially, I could look at it like I got 250 GB for free going this route by comparison.
Definitely good points regarding the higher cost of buying the drives from Apple.
I was more concerned about reliability of the (seagate?) drives apple uses in the mac pros, outside of the cost issue.
I guess since the only concerns center on cost, that the drives are not plagued with reliability issues, and are high performance drives for their class?
Related question that doesn't cover reliability: does the apple firmware that supposedly comes on the apple configured HDs increase their performance when in a mac environment?
I was more concerned about reliability of the (seagate?) drives apple uses in the mac pros, outside of the cost issue.
I guess since the only concerns center on cost, that the drives are not plagued with reliability issues, and are high performance drives for their class?
Related question that doesn't cover reliability: does the apple firmware that supposedly comes on the apple configured HDs increase their performance when in a mac environment?
I guess since the only concerns center on cost, that the drives are not plagued with reliability issues, and are high performance drives for their class?
Related question that doesn't cover reliability: does the apple firmware that supposedly comes on the apple configured HDs increase their performance when in a mac environment?
A hard drive is a hard drive is a hard drive.
Very few people allow themselves to be insulted by Apple's BTO options... and therefore I don't think we have much experience to pull on.
Go to Newegg.com and get a good seagate or western digital (look at the reviews; if it's DOA newegg will replace). You won't regret it.
Definitely good points regarding the higher cost of buying the drives from Apple.
I was more concerned about reliability of the (seagate?) drives apple uses in the mac pros, outside of the cost issue.
I guess since the only concerns center on cost, that the drives are not plagued with reliability issues, and are high performance drives for their class?
Related question that doesn't cover reliability: does the apple firmware that supposedly comes on the apple configured HDs increase their performance when in a mac environment?
No reliability issues with Seagates or Western Digitals. I used to manufacture systems as an OEM, and found Seagate and Western Digital to be the absolute best when it came to reliability and especially when it came to taking care of the few problems that did arise.
Even in the days when all hard drives were less than 10 MB in size, and every single one of them had numerous defects (due to being new and unrefined technology at the time), Seagate didn't even ask any questions before sending me a new drive when I told them that it worked fine but had more bad spots than I personally liked.
There was no industry standard as to how many was too many. All shipping drives had bad spots that you needed to manually map as bad so they wouldn't get used. And, Seagate said "Hey, if you're not happy, then here's a new one".
I have dealt with them ever since, and never ever have had a single complaint.
I have dealt with companies other than Seagate and Western Digital on behalf of other clients, and usually had no success getting a drive replaced from the other companies even under warranty.
For warranty service, I would put Seagate at the very top of the list. I'd put Western Digital next (not because of any fault on their part - Western Digital is quite helpful - just that Seagate is very eager to please).
You can't go wrong with Seagate or Western Digital. Great quality, and excellent service if you need it.
Understand that if you buy an OEM drive instead of a retail boxed drive, then you have no direct warranty with the manufacturer.
OEM drives typically carry a one year warranty. That warranty is to be honored by the system builder / computer manufacturer.
Many of NewEggs parts are OEM and not retail boxed units.
Retail boxed drives typically carry a 3 to 5 year manufacturer warranty. A replacement drive from Seagate or Western Digital is as easy as calling them or filling-out a form online and waiting for the new drive to arrive (and shipping the old one back).
In many cases, these companies are selling OEM drives for the same price as retail boxed drives. But, sometimes they are cheaper.
What you buy is up to you. Just be sure that you understand what you are buying. You don't want to pay the same price for a reduced warranty.
Note that I haven't checked warranties on OEM drives recently, so they may have been extended. But, the last I looked, the OEM warranty was not serviceable to the end user directly with the manufacturer. So, then you have to deal with the reseller and whatever their terms are (and of course hope that they are still in business when you need them).
I'd get a retail drive anytime you can for the better warranty and serviceability with the manufacturer directly (since they will likely be around longer than you or I).
Nope, no issue with performance there.
It used to be (back in the early days prior to the G3's), that you could not use a drive without an Apple ROM in it.
Since the G3's, I've used any drive I chose to, and never had an issue.
It's only been since 10.4.x that Apple has extended the same benefit of 3rd-party drives to DVD-Writers in the Finder and iLife.
But, now you can safely use hard drives or optical drives from any company you chose.
Thanks for the replies.
Great point in particular about OEM vs Boxed drives vis a vis warranty.
Seagate or Western Digital it is, then.
Great point in particular about OEM vs Boxed drives vis a vis warranty.
Seagate or Western Digital it is, then.
Thanks for the replies.
Great point in particular about OEM vs Boxed drives vis a vis warranty.
Seagate or Western Digital it is, then.
glad to help
I am supposed to be on hiatus. But I saw this as inaccurate and decided to post.
OEM drives in most cases have the same and sometimes longer warranty than a retail boxed drive. For example, this Segate 750GB OEM has a 5yr warranty. The same as the retail boxed drive:
OEM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148134
Retail: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148217
This is true of Western Digital and others as well. In fact with Western Digital many time the retails have 1yr while the OEMs have a 3yr.
Western Digital retail: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136038
Western Digital OEM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822144423
Of course, do your homework before you buy. But it is not true that the warranty is shorter for OEMs.
On the topic of fulfilling that warranty. The warranty on OEM drives is serviceable to the end user. I have an IDE Western Digital 320GB that I bought OEM from newegg.com and I have serviced it once. It works the same way. You are the OEM when you buy that drive. You DO NOT have to deal with the reseller.
Both your points were completely wrong. The warranties are not shorter and it is serviceable by you directly with the manufacturer. If you can save money going OEM by all means. Go for it. For western digital, that is the only way to go. You get a 3yr warranty instead of a 1yr.
Just wanted to clear that up as it was completely inaccurate.
many thanks for returning from hiatus to clarify
i do appreciate all the thoughtful replies.
definitely paying attention to warranty terms
i think i have a decent deal with an 0EM Seagate Barracuda 750GB for a little under $200 (though it says only a 1year warranty...will have to doublecheck).
i do appreciate all the thoughtful replies.
definitely paying attention to warranty terms
i think i have a decent deal with an 0EM Seagate Barracuda 750GB for a little under $200 (though it says only a 1year warranty...will have to doublecheck).
A tip to users here...if you don't know these sites, then always check before buying something, they might have a link to Hard Drive specials. The WD 16MB Cache ones were going for $79 at newegg....for a 500gigger
Anyways here are the sites:
Spoofee.com
Passwird.com
Anyways here are the sites:
Spoofee.com
Passwird.com
Hello,
Sorry to disagree with you, but I have never seen a single case where an OEM drive had a longer warranty than a retail drive.
Also, don't go by the advertisement on the reseller's website when you are comparing warranties between OEM and Retail.
NewEgg will also sell you a copy of OEM Windows which is explicitly in violation of the terms of sale printed on the seal that they must break to open the OEM bundle package that the Windows copies come in from Microsoft. I know what it says since I had to deal with the same terms when I was a licensed OEM with Microsoft. All the little loop-holes that you hear about people using to justify using OEM software are not really there.
The OEM software must only be distributed with a New Computer, or a hard drive, or a Mainboard and Processor combination.
It cannot be legally sold separately of the above hardware, and it cannot be sold with a printer cable or some such other nonsense that people are using to try and claim they purchased it with new hardware.
The terms of distribution are very clear on the OEM license that they must break to get inside the box that contains the software that they are distributing.
The fact that they will sell it at retail as a separate product demonstrates that they are a questionable company when it comes to ethics.
I just checked, and they allowed me to add only the OEM Windows XP package for $89 to the shopping cart and check-out. So, there is no requirement to purchase it with hardware from them.
According to the license that they are ignoring, they must be:
1) A licensed OEM distributor with Microsoft. They should not even have these if they are not.
2) Only offer them as part of a bundle package such as a new hard drive, a mainboard with a processor as a bundle, or a new computer system.
3) They cannot be priced separately. For example, the only way it is to be prices would be to say that the hard drive that comes with Windows XP would be $250 as a package (or similar if it were a mainboard and processor combo).
So, I don't trust NewEgg's printed pages to mean anything. If they'll violate one rule, then they'll violate another.
In regards to the OEM warranties, I can tell you from personal experience that OEM Seagate drives are not usually serviced directly with Seagate by the end-user. I have personal experience there as a system manufacturer and authorized distributor.
Seagate does not appear to mention this in the consumer pages. But, you can find out when you enter your OEM serial number and see if it is a component drive in their warranty page.
For a little confirmation, here's someone else who found this out the hard way:
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=20139
Seagate does address this in the Maxtor branch that they just took-over:
http://tinyurl.com/3xbukm
The above URL was shortened due to excessive length. Hope you don't mind the TinyURL link.
Western Digital addresses this by saying that they will not directly honor warranties on drives which came as part of a computer (which is how their OEM drives would appear in their database).
http://support.wdc.com/warranty/policy.asp
And, here is some additional reading on the subject:
http://www.macgurus.com/productpages/sata/satadrives.php
When in doubt, call the manufacturer. It's an 800 number. Call them, ask them all your questions, and then buy where-ever you like.
Get a name, write down the date and time you called. And, if they tell you that they'll service on OEM drive for you, then file that paper and keep it. You may need it come dispute time.
The manufacturer is under no obligation to honor a OEM drive just because NewEgg says they will. So, check their policies directly if you want to be sure.