# Good 500gb drive for Series3.....



## ncsercs (May 5, 2001)

Just got a Series3 and I have a virgin image for it.

What would be a good 500gb drive for it?

For my Series2 DirecTivo's I've been using Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 drives and they've been rock solid. 

I've heard nothing but bad things about Western Digital drives for the past several years.

I've been leaning towards the Barracuda 7200.9 (ST3500641AS) or the Barracuda 7200.10 (ST3500630AS).

Any suggestions? Thanks!


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## mphare (Jul 16, 2004)

The Seagate DB35s are made for DVRs. Look into them.


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## haysdb (Dec 11, 2002)

They are the 7200.2 and 7200.3 models. I don't see them at Newegg. The only place I've found online that claims to have them is Page Computers (and Weaknees, of course). I just ordered a 500 GB 7200.3 from them today.


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## 1283 (Sep 8, 2000)

ncsercs said:


> I've heard nothing but bad things about Western Digital drives for the past several years.


I use Seagates for PCs and WDs for TiVos. WD5000YS in my S3s. The regular Seagate is way too noisy for TiVo usage, but if the noise doesn't bother you, go for it.


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## kkluba (Oct 18, 2002)

c3 said:


> The regular Seagate is way too noisy for TiVo usage, but if the noise doesn't bother you, go for it.


The Seagate DB35's are dead quiet. I have two 750's in one of my HDTivo's and one 500gb in another. There is no additional sound with them and I'd venture a guess that they are quiter than the stock drive.


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## haysdb (Dec 11, 2002)

c3 said:


> The regular Seagate is way too noisy for TiVo usage, but if the noise doesn't bother you, go for it.


The DB35's are designed specifically for DVR's and Media PC's. These drives are recommended by Weaknees here and here.


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## 1283 (Sep 8, 2000)

I know about the DB35 drives. The regular (non-DB35) Seagates are noisy.

The DB35 750GB is the only quiet 750GB drive available right now, but there are other options for 500GB. WD5000YS is also quiet with 5-year warranty, and it's cheaper than the DB35 500GB ($170 versus $260).


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## haysdb (Dec 11, 2002)

I will not argue that WD makes good drives. I paid $213 shipped for my DB35.


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## 1283 (Sep 8, 2000)

haysdb said:


> I paid $213 shipped for my DB35.


Yes, I saw that price when you first posted it in the other thread. The price has gone up at Page Computers.


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## haysdb (Dec 11, 2002)

Ah. Good thing I didn't dilly-dally. The new price makes the DB35 almost $100 more expensive than the WD RE2. Pretty hard to justify at the higher price.


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## ncsercs (May 5, 2001)

I'm leaning towards the Seagate Barracuda 7200.9, Samsung HD501LJ, and the WD WD5000YS (just don't buy it at Newegg with the way they pack OEM drives).

I can't justify paying WeaKness prices for the bare DB35 drive.


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## BrokerDon (Sep 9, 2006)

DON'T buy a Seagatge Barracuda 7200.9 drive for a TiVo unless you don't a lot of noise. Hughes just replaced my HR10-250 drive with a 250GB 7200.9 and it is a LOT noisier than the DUAL 250GB 7200.10 drives in my other HR10-250.

I'd definitely buy a Seagate 7200.3 DB35 drive if the premium isn't too much more than a 7200.10 since it is recommended by Weaknees and is specifically built for DVRs

How does the noise of a 500GB WD5000YS compare to a Seagate DB35? I want to know since I need to buy a QUIET drive to replace the 250GB 7200.9 Hughes just installed...


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## 1283 (Sep 8, 2000)

BrokerDon said:


> How does the noise of a 500GB WD5000YS compare to a Seagate DB35? I want to know since I need to buy a QUIET drive to replace the 250GB 7200.9 Hughes just installed...


No personal experience with the DB35s because they're too expensive for me to even consider them. As a person who is picky about noise, the WD5000YS is fine for the S3. The seek noise level also depends on how the drive is mounted (bracket, vibration damper, etc.).


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## khom (Aug 17, 2002)

BTW, for those who may be having difficulty find the 750GB Seagate (7200.3 db35 series):

model no. ST3750640NS


the current lowest price is about $375


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## 1283 (Sep 8, 2000)

khom said:


> model no. ST3750640NS


That's "enterprise storage", not DB35.


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## flyersfan (Nov 11, 2002)

We bought a 250gb 7200.3 (model #ST3250820ACE) for our S2 from thenerds.net. It's easily the quietest hdd I've ever used and is inaudible from 2 feet away. After shipping it was only a couple bucks more than a regular Seagate drive from Newegg. 

The 500gb SATA drive, ST3500830ACE, has a slightly higher premium - at $210 from thenerds.net it's about $40 more than a regular drive. IMO, that'd still be worth it if sound is at all a priority.


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## 1283 (Sep 8, 2000)

ST3500830ACE is PATA, not SATA.


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## flyersfan (Nov 11, 2002)

c3 said:


> ST3500830ACE is PATA, not SATA.


Oops! My bad, I looked up the wrong model. That one isn't carried by the merchant I mentioned but is available elsewhere for around $229.


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## kkluba (Oct 18, 2002)

The DB35's are dead quiet and great performers..


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

The Western Digital 5000YS drives are also very quiet after enabling Acoustic Management. Plus thay are only around $170 and also have a 5 year warranty. or you can get the 5000KS drive for around $160 with a 3 year warranty.


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## ncsercs (May 5, 2001)

The 500gb Samsung HD501LJ is no slouch either.


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## buddhawood (Oct 9, 2000)

This was posted over at Fatwallet, Thanks to thekane.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Maxtor/3H500F0S/

500GB Maxtor *QuickView* 500 SATA I/II 3.0G Hard Drive - Enterprise class, 16MB Buffer, 7200RPM, 5yr Warranty. **SPECIAL OFFER, Limit 2 per customer** (MAX3H500F0S)

$133 is the lowest I've ever seen...


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## haysdb (Dec 11, 2002)

I had a 500GB Seagate DB35 on order from Page Computers. After a couple of weeks they canceled the order because they said they couldn't source the drives. So much for "in stock".

I just got around last night to reordering and was pleased to see that prices have come down. I saw the 500GB 7200.3 for as low as $178.96, and $338.52 for the 750 GB model.


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