Need new HD suggestions

[Cajun]

The Maxtor 500g I put in just a few months ago is cycling between the green screen of death and rebooting. After researching...I'm assuming that its dying. I'm needing suggestions for my next HD. Heard the DB35's are expensive and loud, so I"m thinking of staying away from them. Don't really want to give Maxtor anymore of my money...so what should I get?

Thanks for the help

[Rendus]

You should contact Maxtor and get a replacement drive. If it's only been a few months, it's surely still under warranty.

[innocentfreak]

I have used two WD AV drives which are around the same price as the DB35 drives which I bought through Buy.com for around $95 each for the PATA version. They are quiet and happy with them so far.

[bareyb]

Hitachi drives are a little more pricey, but they have a proven track record. DVRUpgrade uses them extensively in their 1 TB upgrade kits and they give them high marks too. I just ordered a Cinemastar myself from buy.com. I have a deskstar in one of my series 3's and so far it's been fantastic. Very quiet and very fast. My S3 has never been more responsive. I liked my Hitachi drive enough to invest in another one.

I know what you mean about "once bitten twice shy" as I won't buy another WD drive. I've only had two drive "die" in my life and both were Western Digitals. I just can't bring myself to trust them again. Even though their drives are a lot cheaper.

[nigebj]

OK, reading the spec's the Cinemastar seems like a good choice - has anyone here installed one in a TiVo yet ? Seems better than the Deskstar, as the power saving modes on the DS will never be effective with continuous recording.

[bareyb]

OK, reading the spec's the Cinemastar seems like a good choice - has anyone here installed one in a TiVo yet ? Seems better than the Deskstar, as the power saving modes on the DS will never be effective with continuous recording.

Mine should be here on Tuesday and I'll let you know. As far as the Deskstars go, they have software whereby you can tweak them to be comparable to Cinemastars as mine is. I almost got another one but found the Cinemastar at bestbuy for a decent price ($172.00) and in the end, it was just easier to buy a Cinemastar already configured.

If it's anything like the Deskstar I expect to be very happy. The noise coming from my rack has decreased considerably since I added it. No more external enclosure (with fan) and the Hitachi is quieter than the stock WD it replaced. So far it's been working great.

One thing though. I wouldn't recommend buying one from Newegg.com. I've read a lot of horror stories about their packing practices. They generate a lot of RMA's.