TiVo Community Forums Archives - Upgrade Drive Questions

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Upgrade Drive Questions
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Posted by: jhanson

Can someone recommend a "safe" place to get a 80-100 gig hard drive for an upgrade? I know about PriceWatch, but don't know about the companies. I'm looking for a good price, but also somewhere I can trust. I'm hoping there are some holiday discounts going on now. I'm located in the San Fran area if there are any stores someone knows of, but I don't mind ordering over the net and saving sales tax, too.

Also, what brand does everyone recommend? I see the Maxtor used alot, but there appears to be different versions like DiamondMax and non-DiamondMax? What's the dif?

I have a first batch DSR6000 with 2 factory drives. I really want to upgrade my dTiVo but am terribly nervous about the whole process. I think I'm psychologically dependent on TiVo (where was that support group again?!). Well, I figure worse case scenario is that I screw up everything and go get one of the $99 units at Best Buy or Circuit City.

Thanks for any help!

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John

Phillips DSR6000 DirecTiVo -> HK AVR300 Receiver, Spica TC-50 spkrs w/ Kinergetics subs
Hughes GXEBOT DirecTiVo -> Just plain ol' TV speakers 

[This message has been edited by jhanson (edited 12-11-2001).]

Posted by: hinsdale

www.newegg.com is excellect retailer with fast shipping and great prices. I get almost everything from them. They may not have the best deal you can find but are reliable and there prices will be close to the best you can find.

Another option is Sam;s Club is selling a WD 100GB drive for $120 with $100 Mail in rebate for the month of december.

Posted by: oosik77

Ditto on newegg.com.

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I am Porky Pig of Borg. You will be assim... assim... assim... abosorbed.

Posted by: jhanson

Where is Sam's Club? Is that a store or online site?

There are 2 80gig drives on NewEgg:

Maxtor Vulcan 80GB 5400RPM 536DX EIDE Hard Drive
Maxtor Vulcan 80GB 5400RPM D540X EIDE Hard Drive, Model# 4D080H4

What's the difference?!!

Also, are the WD reliable as the Maxtors? I know WD only has a 1 year warranty.

Thanks for the quick replies!

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John

Phillips DSR6000 DirecTiVo -> HK AVR300 Receiver, Spica TC-50 spkrs w/ Kinergetics subs
Hughes GXEBOT DirecTiVo -> Just plain ol' TV speakers 

[This message has been edited by jhanson (edited 12-11-2001).]

Posted by: Igor

Got a Seagate ST380020A from NewEgg -- couldn't be happier... If you're looking for a quiet drive, I'd recommend this one over the Maxtor.

Cheers, Igor

Posted by: hinsdale

quote:
Originally posted by jhanson:
Where is Sam's Club? Is that a store or online site?

There are 2 80gig drives on NewEgg:

Maxtor Vulcan 80GB 5400RPM 536DX EIDE Hard Drive
Maxtor Vulcan 80GB 5400RPM D540X EIDE Hard Drive, Model# 4D080H4

What's the difference?!!

Also, are the WD reliable as the Maxtors? I know WD only has a 1 year warranty.

Thanks for the quick replies!

Go to the Maxtor website www.maxtor.com to get the detailed differences in the drives although either will more than adequate for a TiVo. Im not a big fan of WD but I couldnt pass up the Sam's Club price (Sam's Club is a discount member wharehouse - started by Walmart's Sam Walton - similar to Costco) and as far as I know WD has a 3 year warranty on all of their retail drives.

Posted by: inaka

You can always check http://www.techbargains.com/ for coupons which work at Dell.com.

I got the Maxtor 80GB 5400 RPM drive for $142 shipped. Nice deal, and it's the retail box version.

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Inaka
Oakland, CA
Phillips HD112 - 198 hr 2.5.1

Posted by: mrtickle

That nasty 536 drive didn't do very well in tests: http://www4.tomshardware.com/storag...html#conclusion

The 540 has faster access and should be ok, though. As previouly said, the specs are on Maxtor's website.

Posted by: remy

Get the D540X drive for your TiVo. See this:
http://www.avsforum.com/ubbtivo/Forum6/HTML/009076.html

Posted by: jhanson

What about the Maxtor DiamondMax ATA100? I went to the Dell site and with all the discounts the retail box version is cheaper than the 536X or 540X (thanks inaka). Not sure what is actually in the retail box and couldn't figure it out from the Maxtor site. Does DiamondMax = 540X?

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John

Phillips DSR6000 DirecTiVo -> HK AVR300 Receiver, Spica TC-50 spkrs w/ Kinergetics subs
Hughes GXEBOT DirecTiVo -> Just plain ol' TV speakers

Posted by: remy

You've got to look at the part number. I believe that current versions of the 536DX and D540X are both ATA 100 Diamondmax drives.

Posted by: jhanson

The one on the Dell site is a family line called DiamondMax80. After going round and round with the Maxtor people, it sounds like this is an 8-platter drive that is discontinued, but actually performs faster than the D536 and D540 with an average seek time <9 ms. I went ahead and ordered it since it was on sale. I'll let you know if it has any probs, but it seems like a good drive from the specs at least.

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John

Phillips DSR6000 DirecTiVo -> HK AVR300 Receiver, Spica TC-50 spkrs w/ Kinergetics subs
Hughes GXEBOT DirecTiVo -> Just plain ol' TV speakers

Posted by: psieczko

I just started reading the avforum yesterday....but I already see that many undergrounders are very dead set on using a 5400RPM hard drive when upgrading a TiVo.
Would people really rather pay $150 for a Maxtor 80GB 5400RPM then $120 for a Western Digital 100GB 7200RPM (sams club)? Are the cons of a 7200RPM really that bad?

Paul

Posted by: remy

7200s run hotter and noisier, and on balance are likely to make your TiVo less reliable. If you've got a nice cool room, run the fan at 12v all the time, and don't mind the noise, then go with the 7200s.

Posted by: psieczko

quote:
Originally posted by remy:
7200s run hotter and noisier, and on balance are likely to make your TiVo less reliable. If you've got a nice cool room, run the fan at 12v all the time, and don't mind the noise, then go with the 7200s.

Having read several threads on the forum I do understand what the core cons of the 7200RPMs are. I guess it's just hard to discern the degree of these negatives....people use qualifiers like less or adjectives like hotter and noiser which are relative. What is easier to appreciate is GB and $$$ differences. I really do think it is all important and I guess it is just going to take time in the forum to slowly uncover more hard evidence that sways me.

[This message has been edited by psieczko (edited 12-12-2001).]

Posted by: remy

From my own experience, running the fan at 12v is noticeable noise inside a glass cabinet. Running it at 7v is only noticeable from a few feet away. All the 7200rpm drives I've used are louder than the fan at 12v. The 5400rpm Maxtor D540X's are quieter than the fan at 7v with acoustic management on (I simply can't hear them from more than 3-4 feet away.)

The 7200's I've run (WD & Seagate), had temps from 32-36 with the fan at 12v. My D540X's run 28-33, with the fan only at 7v, so in general they run more than 4 degrees cooler.

Posted by: foolerytom

80 gig Maxtor D540X available through Dell for $128 shipped, using today's 10% discount, $25 coupon and free shipping deal. DEAL EXPIRES TODAY.

If you want WD, try OfficeMax for the WD800 at $199 minus $80 rebate = $119. 7200 RPM, but for WD fans it's a good deal.