.:Maxtor:. or .:Western Digital:.

[i3OSS]

Between:
MAXTOR 80.0GB DX6Y080L0 EIDE ULTRA-ATA 133 8.5MS 7200RPM 2MB BUFFER (Bare drive) $96.00

WD 80GB 800JB EIDE ULTRA-ATA/66-100 8.9MS 7200RPM 8MB BUFFER (Bare drive w/3-yr warranty) Detail Specs(*Limit 1pc/customer) $99.00

Which one is more quiet? which one would you choose?

[Force Flow]

I would go for the WD because it has a larger cache.

The price difference at access speed are almost neglagable.

Quiet? They should both be quiet, that is, WD's are quiet when build on a Monday and Mators on a Wednesday.

[TwoRails]

Hi i3OSS,

Where did you get those specs and prices? Maybe I'm tired, but the specs don't seem to match up somehow.... The Maxtor Ultra should also have a 3 yr war., but you don't indicate it. Also, the price spread between a 2MB Maxtor and 8MB WD is normally much greater than that. Heck, even with both being 8MB models, the Maxtor is normally a lot less. With the prices being that close, they may both be 8MB models, or the Maxtor may not be an Ultra, just a regular '9' series...

TwoRails

[glc]

TR: The ONLY Maxtor IDE drives that still have a 3 year warranty are the retail boxes that are specifically marked - ALL of the bare OEM drives are 1 year except the Maxline - which is a 250 gig drive.

Warranty At-A-Glance
Service & Warranty Information
Effective October 1, 2002, Maxtor will implement the following Standard Worldwide Warranty Policy:

Maxtor Fireball™, DiamondMax® and DiamondMax Plus ATA drives will carry a Standard Warranty Period of 1 year.
Maxtor MaXLine™ ATA premium drives will carry a Standard Warranty Period of 3 years.
Maxtor Atlas™ SCSI drives will carry with a Standard Warranty Period of 5 years.

Effective October 1, 2002, Maxtor branded retail ATA drives will carry a Standard Warranty Period of 1 year, unless otherwise indicated by Maxtor on the retail packaging.
Limited warranties apply to the geographies in which originally sold by a Maxtor authorized channel reseller.
The Standard Warranty Period may be subject to variations imposed by local law or regulations.
Standard Warranty Period effective as of October 1, 2002.

[TwoRails]

Hi glc and Everybody,

(Note: been up almost 24 hours and had a few beers, so sorry if I have any typos and the like...)

I don't know about OEM Maxtor warranties, because I buy retail for the simple fact I get them cheaper locally on sale than I can buying OEM online (even at Newegg). I haven't bought an OEM Maxtor in years. I am not disputing what Maxtor's Web site sez, which you have quoted. What I am saying is that I can still walk into the local Best Buy and look at any Maxtor on the shelf: and they all say, as you mention on the retail box, 3 year warrantee. This was true as of two weekends ago.

I can't remember off hand the release dates (I am quite tired) but I'm certain that most of the drives I've purchased since October of last year are new models and not old stock. Each has a 3 year warrantee. My latest purchase is a 120 giger with an 8MB cache, which, I'm certain, was released well after Oct. It has a 3 year warrantee.

I also don't feel that the warrantee is even an issue to a large extent. How many people buy OEM CPUs with only a 30 day warrantee? Or other items with only a 30 day or 1 year warrantee? They don't complain. I would still buy Maxtor even if the box said only 1 year warrantee. Maxtor is an excellent drive, which most will admit even if they are WD fans. I admit that WD is a good drive even though I would not own one. I would not and do not base my purchase decision on 1 year versus 3 year warrantee. I base my decision on what has reliably worked for me for the last 15 or more years.

Even though I don't buy WD, I would not, not recommend the drive on the sole basis that it had "only" a 1 year warrantee (which it doesn't) nor would I do the same for Maxtor. If the decision to buy were based only on warrantee, as mentioned above, then nobody would buy an OEM CPU when the retail warrantee is much more. My decision to buy Maxtor is based on personal track record, reviews, track records of those that recommend the drive, and so on. I encourage people to buy WD if that is what they want. A good friend of mine is building his first box and asked me what HD to get. I told him Maxtor or WD. He bought a WD due to the price of the drive on sale after rebate. I told him good choice. I would have said the same if he bought a Maxtor.

Either drive is a good drive.

Just my $0.02

TwoRails

PS: i2OSS's post still doesn't add up for me, as the 120 giger w/ 8MB cache and 3 year warrantee cost me only $129 in the retail box at Best Buy.

[glc]

All I was doing is making sure that correct info was being posted, not "recommending" on the basis of warranty alone.

Of the 2 that were mentioned, I'd recommend the WD because it has more cache - the extra warranty is just frosting on the cake.

[ghost_of_war]

I vote for WD all the way...

[whargoul]

Yes, thanks for the tips. The noise doesn't bother me that much, and it doesn't sound abnormal. Just thought I would point it out.

[i3OSS]

i got the prices at MWAVE.com i think...