I need to get a new hard disk. I'm gonna use my actual IDE Maxtor 10g as a secondary (slave) drive. I don't need much space (about 30-40g will be fine) but I'd like to get something that works fast (good cache and good date transfer speed). I'm thinkin' of getting it from ebay. So I'd like to have inputs on what are good brands to take a look at when it comes to Hard Disks. Thanks

Hi, If it was me, I would not order a hard drive from ebay. Second, and this is my opinion of course, my choices in order are Western Digital Special Edition, Maxtor and Seagate. Good luck

You will get many different opinions regarding your question. I personally use only Maxtors, for I own many ranging from 20GB-200GB and haven't had a single problem with any of them (oldest dates back to 1998). I also have bought many HDDs from eBay (new and used) and they are still going strong. But, you take your chances if you're buying a used one. So, if you're set on buying one off eBay, try to get a new sealed one from a seller with a good feedback. Preferablely, one with a 8MB cache and ATA133 and ask the seller for the serial number. You can then go to Maxtor's site and check if the drive is still under warranty. I doubt you're going to find a 30GB or 40GB with a 8MB cache, as most are 2MB, but I have two 40GB Maxtors and they do the job fine. The Fireball series are known to have problems, so I would get a DiamondMax 8. But, like I said, everyone has their own opinion on which HDD is the best and it's your decision. Stick with the brand you're using that has been reliable and bid away!

If i were you i wouldn't buy it of off ebay. You don't know what the previous owner do with it and the warranty is probably expired. As for the brand, I, personally like Western Digital because it has never givin up on me, Maxtor because it's not that expensive and reliable and IBM (Hitachi) because of it's quick acces time. IBM makes a little bit more noise than Maxtor and WD though. I also would recommend a cache of 8 mb because you can tell the difference between a 2 mb and 8. Good luck and happy shopping ~Liz

Samsung HDDs used to be crap, but know they want to 'clean' their image and made good products with good prices and 3 years of warranty, see them here: http://www.samsung.com/Products/HardDiskDrive/index.htm - If sound it's a concern Seagate HDDs are the quietest. Only those with 8MB. of cache have 3 year warranty. http://www.seagate.com - If you prefer performance Western Digital HDDs are the ones for you, only ones with 8MB. of cache have 3 year warranty. http://www.westerndigital.com Since you are looking for transfer speed get only ones with 8MB. of cache and 7200 rpm

I've never had any trouble with Western Digital, Maxtor, or IBM. New HDDs are so cheap that I wouldn't consider getting one used unless it was for a special application where needed a small HDD. They are geting harder and harder to find.

I started another thread about Hard Disks since it seems I'm missing information. http://www.computing.net/hardware/wwwboard/forum/25031.html Once I'll know what kind of HD I'm gonna get I'll decide what brand to go with. But overall it seems that Western Digital, Maxtor and Seagate are about the bests available.