Maxtor external drives - any good?

[floppybootstomp]

Anybody had any experience of These (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Maxtor.html)?

Maxtor external hard drives. 16Mb Cache, fancy arse case & stand, but are they any good? Anybody had a failure with one of these?

I was thinking of using one together with Acronis True Image to make backups of all 4 computers' main OS's. If I bought the 200Gb one that would still leave 40 - 50Gb free and I was thinking of using that space to store photos.

This would free up some onboard hard disk space and enable me not to have backup partitions as well.

Waddya think?

[Alakazam]

It sounds like a reasonable plan Floppy but I can't comment on the external drives though, I've never used one. I remember reading in one of our threads that a lot of folks weremn't too happy with their Maxtor drives failing. Here's a few reviews to mull over.

http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_content.asp?id=externalhdd&page=1&cookie%5Ftest=1

http://reviews.designtechnica.com/review1084_main5428.html

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/storage/display/ext-wd-maxtor.html

[floppybootstomp]

Aye, I'm aware that a lot of Maxtor drives have been failing recently, which is the main reason I started the thread.

I can choose between Maxtor, Western Digital and Seagate.

I was attracted to the Maxtor because it just looks so good compared to the others and it also has a 16Mb cache.

Thanks for the links to those reviews, interesting stuff.

I'm also wondering whether Acronis True Image will see the external drive OK through the Firewire port. Or USB 2 for that matter. I'm assuming there should be no problems there, but I'm not 100% sure.

[Jizzy]

I believe (in most cases) that it would be cheaper just to get a large IDE drive and a drive enclosure.

[Alakazam]

I remember from reading my TI manual that it supports external USB drives, not sure about firewire though.

[ImaginAsian]

i bought the maxtor 300GB 16MB cache for my HTPC. haven't installed it yet, but i think you'll be fine with proper cooling as these tend to run a bit hotter.

16mb cache is just too good to pass up eh :)

[TJM4FUN]

fwiw,

16mb buffer on a usb/firewire isn;t gonna matter much. you're limited by the interface.

As far as reliability, you likely could assemble your own for the same or less. usb/firewire enclosures are cheap. Drives are cheap. Putting it in a fancy case with a name logo costs you.

Most backup software now recognixes usb devices at the least.

If you are gonna use it as a backup method, turn the thing off when not in use. Mine sits on a shelf nice and cool, and I fire it up as I need it. andif you;re handy, you only need the one enclsure, you can open it and swap in different drives.

[JohnnyBra]

I agree w/ Jizzy... Just get a standard 3.5 external USB 2.0/Firewire enclosure and the 300gb HD. I've got an enclosure w/a 250gb HD.. Handiest thing since sliced bread.

[floppybootstomp]

The 200Gb version of the Maxtor drive I linked to above costs £137.00

A nifty black Akasa case w/usb and a 200Gb Western Digital drive costs £115.00.

That sounds better.

TJ has a point about the 16Mb cache not being fully utilised on a USB connection. The WD HDD has 8Mb cache.

Now then, which hard drive to choose? I don't have a firm favourite when it comes to HDD manufacturers, although Maxtor's about the only make that hasn't gone tits up on me, oddly enough.

[Jizzy]

I personally only use Western Digitals right now. I have six WD drives (two Raptors, 2 250GB, a 160GB, and a 120GB), none of them ever gave me any problem whatsoever.

But I know Seagate's good as well.

I had a Maxtor DiamondMax 120GB that took a shit in precisely thirty-six hours after I received it. So yeah.

[floppybootstomp]

Originally posted by Jizzy
I personally only use Western Digitals right now. I have six WD drives (two Raptors, 2 250GB, a 160GB, and a 120GB), none of them ever gave me any problem whatsoever.

But I know Seagate's good as well.

I had a Maxtor DiamondMax 120GB that took a shit in precisely thirty-six hours after I received it. So yeah.

I probably will go with Western Digital, I quite like them.

I can actually remember buying my first Western Digital Hard Drive - a Caviar 850Mb. I thought I had the Rolls Royce of HDD's at the time :D

atm I have, in one machine: 2 x 35Gb Raptors, 2 x 80Gb IDE.

And in another: 2 x SATA 120Gb, RAID 0; 1 x 120Gb, storage.

Other drives in use are (all IDE) 40Gb Maxtor; 40Gb Seagate and a 20Gb IBM Deskstar from 1999 or 2000, still going strong (although it's two brothers have died).

I've had one WD disk go bad on me, one of the SATA 120Gb RAID pair, died after one month. RMA'ed in a week.

[ImaginAsian]

why dont you buy the 16mb maxtor for your rig and move another slower drive off to the external

[Jizzy]

Originally posted by floppybootstomp
I probably will go with Western Digital, I quite like them.

I can actually remember buying my first Western Digital Hard Drive - a Caviar 850Mb. I thought I had the Rolls Royce of HDD's at the time :D

atm I have, in one machine: 2 x 35Gb Raptors, 2 x 80Gb IDE.

And in another: 2 x SATA 120Gb, RAID 0; 1 x 120Gb, storage.

Other drives in use are (all IDE) 40Gb Maxtor; 40Gb Seagate and a 20Gb IBM Deskstar from 1999 or 2000, still going strong (although it's two brothers have died).

I've had one WD disk go bad on me, one of the SATA 120Gb RAID pair, died after one month. RMA'ed in a week.

Yeah. I had a Western Digital 45GB drive go bad on me...when I was still in middle school. Since then, never had a WD go bad on me...so I quite like them, until they demonstrate that I shouldn't.

[James]

You were,"skint" a week ago,when Gand offered that Primo Sound card :D

I (hate to say this) but I agree with the Fruitcake :barf:

Use the 16MB,in the rig,You do Your video & audio, rendering/conversion in. ;)

[Jizzy]

Originally posted by Digital Junkie
why dont you buy the 16mb maxtor for your rig and move another slower drive off to the external

This, I agree with.

[floppybootstomp]

Originally posted by James
You were,"skint" a week ago,when Gand offered that Primo Sound card :D



I still am. But. I'm working Saturday and I've had one cheque arrive. And it may be a month or two before I buy this thing.

And also I prefer this thing over a sound card. And I can also make me own mind up.

And while we're getting bitchy, do you want that motherboard I offered you for free over at PC Review or not? A reply would be nice :D

As for why don't I use the 16Mb cache disk within one of my rigs, I can't use it to replace any of the RAID 0 setup disks and the biggest storage disk I have is 120Gb.

I need 200Gb external to do 4 backups.

And anyway, I'm not getting the Maxtor now, thought I made that clear in the above posts.

Don't you people ever read stuff properly?

[JohnnyBra]

I like Maxtors just fine. This last batch of HD's I bought were WD's.. 160gb (1 for a DVR, one for the server, and one for my Xbox ;)

For the Xbox and server they worked just fine. But the security DVR wouldn't work with the WD HD. I had to clone my Maxtor 160 to the WD and use the WD in my desktop here.. The maxtor from my machine works flawlessly in the DVR.

Was just kinda a weird fluke.

[whipat]

I have an external WD, can't beat it for storage

[tim]

16mb buffer on a usb/firewire isn;t gonna matter much. you're limited by the interface.

USB 2.0 is quick enough to make use of it.

I have used a Maxtor 120GB external USB2 before with Norton Ghost.
Create the boot floppies with the USB2 driver and image backup/restore just flies!

Did tend to get quite hot so keep it in open air (when ya get one).

[TJM4FUN]

Originally posted by tim
USB 2.0 is quick enough to make use of it.

usb2 max is 460mbs, 57.5MB/s theoretical. practical speed is usually half that. usb drives never seem to hit anywhere near what they should in real life performance tests. I'ts not really worth any price premium for the larger buffer for a backup drive. once files are significantly larger than the buffer, the performance boost takes a hit, as it still comes down to how fast you can read data off the disk.



I have used a Maxtor 120GB external USB2 before with Norton Ghost.
Create the boot floppies with the USB2 driver and image backup/restore just flies!
(drive image7 supports usb and network attached drives from cd boot)
Yes they do run fast, but if you compare it to a restore from another partition, it is slower.


Did tend to get quite hot so keep it in open air (when ya get one).
Oh yeah! that they do! look for enclosures that have cooling, some do ,some don;t. even a little fan makes a big difference!

I would have loved to see how firewire did, but the adapter on my drive and the included cable did not have the mini firewire plug, and the only pc atm that has firewire is a laptop.

[floppybootstomp]

Together with a WD 200Gb IDE drive, 8Mb cache, this is the enclosure I've decided upon, unless anybody here has serious misgivings about it...

Total cost, including shipping - £111.00

[Night Rider]

"Data cables and condition foot in the scope of the supply container"

I take it that means "They're in the fookin box dude!!" :)

Do they do one with both Firewire and USB 2 Flopps? From what I've seen in reality Firewire performs better than USB 2.0 when it comes to this sorta shite.

(Ofcourse, that assumes you have a Firewire port ;))

[floppybootstomp]

Originally posted by Night Rider

"Data cables and condition foot in the scope of the supply container"

I take it that means "They're in the fookin box dude!!" :)

Do they do one with both Firewire and USB 2 Flopps? From what I've seen in reality Firewire performs better than USB 2.0 when it comes to this sorta shite.

(Ofcourse, that assumes you have a Firewire port ;))


Funny you should mention that. It was on my mind as well.

There are adapters out there with both Firewire and USB.

I have firewire on 3 out of 4 machines. My main machine, a DFI board, has a front mounted firewire port.

Maybe I'll look for a dual capability adapter.

Only thing I can't seem to determine is if both firewire and USB cables are supplied with adapter.

USB's not a prob, I have spare cables, but I don't have any firewire cables at all.

Time for more research :)

Thanks for the nudge, Mr Rider.

Totally off topic - just been playing lots of old reggae, 'erbman hustling and stuff, and there's no Glastonbury 2006, will I get a ticket for 2005? Who knows?

[tim]

usb2 max is 460mbs, 57.5MB/s theoretica

I always thought is was 480Mb/s, 60MB/s.

http://www.usb.org/info/usb_nomenclature

[TJM4FUN]

your right, had that number stuck in my head.

But that is still the theoretical speed. theory and reality seldom match.

[James]

Originally posted by floppybootstomp

And while we're getting bitchy, do you want that motherboard I offered you for free over at PC Review or not? A reply would be nice :D

Don't you people ever read stuff properly?


:hat: I was going to get back to that offer soon.

I guess an explaination,is in order:eek:

You and I and many peeps here,really got into the tech forum participation.After We purchased Our first Abit KT7's.

What a finniky board that beast was in the begining:eek2:

I only posted the ? at PC Review to see what answer's or HELP would come along:tooth:

I know,exactlly what to do,to get the KT7-A installed without it's PS2 port's functioning.

But I do thank You verry much for that generous offer.I actually was expecting You to do,something in that way.I've come to learn quite a bit about,My cyber Friend across the pond in these past few years.

And all of it is VERRY GOOD,indeed! :cheers: M8

Now then the HD issue.

I don't give 2 shit's which You buy or how You use them,if ever! :D

[floppybootstomp]

Originally posted by James

I don't give 2 shit's which You buy or how You use them,if ever! :D

James, you're nuts.

And I f*****g love you man :D

;)

(cuss word edited by me - I was tipsy at the time)

[JohnnyBra]

This is the enclosure I bought.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=987137&CatId=1204

Havn't had a problem out of it! The case itself acts as a large aluminum heat-sink, making pretty good contact w/ the drive to help draw away some of the heat. And boy, does it get warm!

Only difference is I only got USB2.0 on my model. This is the same exact one w/ USB 2.0/Firewire both onboard.

[TJM4FUN]

I have this one:
http://www.acomdata.com/hdp/fs.html
(the combo drive 2nd one down)
80 gig model, had it about 1.5 years now.
It has a fan tho they don;t seem to mention that. (it's on the bottom)
Still gets warm, but not bad.
As I said, it sits on a shelf til I need it, not powered.
Got a good deal at the time on it, 80$ final cost, after waiting 6 mos for the rebates from compusa.
At the time a phenominal deal. now it;s so-so, but 80 gig holds alot of images with compression.

I also have a 2.5 inch enclosure, usb2 only, with
a 60 gig drive in it. now that's a neat pocket dongle. (the enclosure was 16$, the drive was a
"new defective" from work)

[Furton]

I've only heard good things about that Icy box flopps, should do the job, I would use a nice Seagate Drive for it though, 5 year warranty, quiet and very reliable + new sizes are out, up to 400GB:D

I can vouch for the Maxtor OneTouch (version 1), my mate's been using it for over a year and it's going strong, very easy to use and quiet and a nice Blue light:D

[Zema Bus]

Originally posted by Furton
I've only heard good things about that Icy box flopps, should do the job, I would use a nice Seagate Drive for it though, 5 year warranty, quiet and very reliable + new sizes are out, up to 400GB:D

I can vouch for the Maxtor OneTouch (version 1), my mate's been using it for over a year and it's going strong, very easy to use and quiet and a nice Blue light:D

I have to agree with Furton on the Seagates. I have two of them now. I never had a problem with Maxtors but the statistics and the 1-year warranty on them & on most other drives sure made the Seagates look really good. Seagates also seem to get really excellent user reviews. If you go WD be sure to look for one with a 3-year warranty since they seem to have a mix of 1 & 3 year warranties.