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Staples Maxtor 80GB 7200 RPM $80 after 'deals'
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Posted by: Rcrew

Slick Deals had this today:

http://slickdeals.net/#p2436

Staples offering Maxtor 80GB 7200 RPM drive for $140. Spend another $10, and use a coupon for $30 off $150. Then there is a $40 mail-in rebate on the drive. Free shipping. Final price $80.

I added a couple packs of printer paper to get to $150.

Look at the Slick Deal link, all the info is there.

I placed my order this morning, 1 day delivery.

Rob

Posted by: sguthrie

Is that still good? They had a $40 rebate that ended 5/23. Are you sure there is another one?

Posted by: tornado

The old one was a 5400 RPM. This one is 7200.

The 5400 would run cooler, but this one will work.

Posted by: Rcrew

quote:
Originally posted by sguthrie
Is that still good? They had a $40 rebate that ended 5/23. Are you sure there is another one?

As noted, the rebate that expired was for the 5400 RPM. This rebate is only for the 7200 RPM. Slick Deals is usually pretty current, and pretty good about marking stuff expired. And when you bring up the rebate search on Staples for Maxtor, it shows the expired 5400RPM one just before the current 7200 RPM one.

As for the temperature issue, I'm not a PC drive expert. I read a post saying that the newer 7200 RPM drives weren't running noticably hotter anymore.

My personal experience with my two Hughes DTiVos, is that the one with the added 80GB B drive hasn't gotten any hotter since adding the drive. BUT that was using a Seagate Baracuda drive.

As soon as I have experience with the Maxtor, I'll put information up here, but it may be a while. I'm not sure I'm going to upgrade to another 40GB A + 80GB B configuration. I'm still waiting to see about how much time my current DTiVo gets. I'm thinking I'll wait until I can buy another 80GB and make my 2nd DTiVo 80GB + 80GB.

Rob

Posted by: Socrstud16

Hey there, I might be new to this but I understand everything up to the point where you get the $30 off when you purchase $150 of products. Where do I enter the code Slick Deals gives you and how do I know that all of the discounts are going to come off of it. Thanks for the help, this is my first help post. I recently purchased a Sony SVR-2000 unit and looking to upgrade it and know a lot about computers but TiVo is something new to me so if you have any suggestions then feel free to post them here or send me an email. Thanks in advance!

Posted by: tornado

When you go to the checkout, there's a button that says "click to enter coupons."

I ordered one before lunch. I have an 80 GB 5400 in my DSR6K; this will go in the GXCEB0T. I'll watch for temperature differences. The DSR6K temp went up 1-2 degrees after adding the drive, but it came back down when I raised it with 2 1x2" boards.

Posted by: Rcrew

quote:
Originally posted by tornado
When you go to the checkout, there's a button that says "click to enter coupons."

The other $40 is a mail-in rebate you do after receiving the drive.

I know some people hate mail-in rebates, but heck, 80GB for $80 seemed enough of a deal to wait on a mailed rebate.

BTW, with tax my total order came out to something like $89.

Rob

Posted by: Mars Rocket

If you missed this deal, newegg (www.newegg.com) has the OEM version of the Maxtor 80GB 5400 drive for $95 shipped. If you live outside of CA you won't pay tax either.

Posted by: dishtivo

Is this drive so-called quiet drive for 7200rpm. which can bring down the noise level

Posted by: flick

Since we're starting to discuss the 7200 vs 5400 issue, there's a question I have that I haven't been able to find an answer to by searching. (I've found more than enough heat and noise discussions to last a lifetime, I think.)

The question is one of performance. I've got an upgraded D-TiVo, upgraded by adding an 80GB Maxtor 5400 drive. The menus are considerably slower than my other D-TiVos.

So the question is, are the menus slow because of the speed of the drive or because of the increased capacity?

If it's because of the capacity, then I'll continue to use 5400s for upgrading. If, however, using 7200s will speed up my menus appreciably, then that's worth the extra $$$ to me.

Thanks.

Posted by: Rcrew

1) Drive arrived safely yesterday. UPS left it behind the gate, I had not signed the delivery release form. But UPS usually leaves stuff.

2) Tried to use the online rebate form, but I brought the serial number in, not the UPC number. Will try later.

3) No plans to upgrade yet, still trying to figure out exactly what I want for a configuration.

flick - My first upgrade also used a 7200RPM drive, and the menus are slower on my upgraded DTiVo than on my untouched DTiVo. I'm ass-u-ming that the slowness is due to the amount of information, not the transfer rate.

Rob

Posted by: arkham999

quote:
Originally posted by flick
So the question is, are the menus slow because of the speed of the drive or because of the increased capacity?

If it's because of the capacity, then I'll continue to use 5400s for upgrading. If, however, using 7200s will speed up my menus appreciably, then that's worth the extra $$$ to me.

I would SERIOUSLY doubt that a 7200 rpm drive would affect menu performance. The drive's performance really is only an issue with either simultaneous reads or sustained reads. We all know that a 5400 RPM drive works fine for TiVo's purposes in doing sustained reads (since playback is fine). The only possibility is that access could cause a problem, but access should not be an issue, since most 5400 RPM drives have access times within a millisecond of 7200 RPM drives.

The 7200 RPM drive is generally a disadvantage for the TiVo because of more noise and more heat. I think that slowdown simply comes with having more data to index and retrieve. I wonder if a TiVo with basic cable runs faster than one with 300 satellite channels?

Posted by: brianld

quote:
Originally posted by arkham999

I would SERIOUSLY doubt that a 7200 rpm drive would affect menu performance. The drive's performance really is only an issue with either simultaneous reads or sustained reads. We all know that a 5400 RPM drive works fine for TiVo's purposes in doing sustained reads (since playback is fine). The only possibility is that access could cause a problem, but access should not be an issue, since most 5400 RPM drives have access times within a millisecond of 7200 RPM drives.

Does anyone from TiVo ever comment on stuff like this? Perhaps it's best coming straight from the horses (or pony's) mouth ...

Posted by: Rcrew

quote:
Originally posted by arkham999
The 7200 RPM drive is generally a disadvantage for the TiVo because of more noise and more heat.

Guess I'm on a personal campaign on this issue. Sorry to bore everyone again.

At least you said 'generally'. So perhaps I'll limit my exception to 'disadvantage'.

And yesterday someone correct my complaint saying that some members TiVos are already close to maximum temperature so why add a 7200 RPM drive that 'might' run hotter than a 5400 RPM drive. And that exact situation is valid.

So, I'm just saying the above quoted comment is too broad and general. Not all drives have the same noise level. There are 54's that are noisier than 72's, and vice versa.

From what I've read here, I believe there are newer 72's that are cooler than some older 54's. But I would guess that as a generalization most 72's run warmer than most 54's.

But for my TiVo, and many others, installing a 7200 RPM drive did not change the temperature as indicated by the DTiVo unit.

So can we put this one to rest?

maybe I just need to let it go......

It's just that from my experience, I think it's a disservice to members if they let a great deal on a 7200 RPM drive go by because they are needlessly worried about temperature and noise.

Rob

Posted by: flick

Well there you have it. Since no one jumped in to say that their menus run faster on a 7200 drive, and there were replies that it wouldn't make a difference, I'll stick to 5400s/really good sales on 7200s for my upgrading.

Thanks all!

Posted by: Worf

I put in a 7200 RPM 80GB drive in my TiVo (was all the store had), and the menus don't *seem* any faster (took 20 seconds though to bring up the now playing list).

Posted by: bukshot

quote:
Originally posted by flick
So the question is, are the menus slow because of the speed of the drive or because of the increased capacity?

It's due to the increased capacity. Some models can be upgraded with more memory to speed-up the menus.

Posted by: Rcrew

quote:
Originally posted by bukshot
It's due to the increased capacity. Some models can be upgraded with more memory to speed-up the menus.

Hi bukshot! I'm always looking for succinct, authoritative replies, it really helps cut down on the noise. My perception that I was thinking the same thing probably helps.

To help convince others, can you share your background that helps support the view?

And how do you weigh in on the RPM debate?

TIA, Rob

Posted by: bukshot

9th Tee has a new page about it.

DTivo's already have the 32MG of RAM so I don't know of an upgrade path for you.

I'm going to have it done on my standalone soon.

Regards,
Tim

Posted by: tornado

I installed this Maxtor 80 GB 7200 drive last night. Neither of my (old) PCs would recognize it as a slave (primary or secondary), so I had to put it in as secondary master. (If you set it up as primary master, there are byteswap issues -- don't do it. I got this info from other threads.) Both PCs thought it was about 14 GB, but the boot CD software recognized the right size.

I also moved this DTiVo from below a VCR, sitting on 1x1" boards (as discussed in other threads, front-to-back inside the feet) to on top of the VCR (which is 12" wide, therefore perfect to separate the DTiVo air in and air out). This morning, the temp was 49 -- the same as it was before the upgrade. If it varies significantly, I'll post again.

EDIT: Last night and this morning (6/12), it was 51.

ANOTHER EDIT (in case someone searches on this some day): This morning (6/13), it was back to 49. So no perceptible heat increase.