You bring some interesting points, Chuck. I looked at two HDs yesterday.
One is 500 GB external for $130 with a 5 yr warranty, and the other is a
320 GB external for $100 with a 1 yr warranty. The 500 GB is cheaper in
terms of $/GB, but that warranty was the reason I bought it, in spite of
Scott's recent issue with Seagates.
The thing is this: I assume that HD manufactures just make a bunch of
drives and sell some with 1, some with 3, and some with 5 yr
warranties. I think this because I've had plenty of 1 yr drives last
way longer than that, and some 5 yr drives don't last to the complete
warranty period. Is there really such a thing as "seconds" in the HD
business? Sure, I can see this notion holding up on the CPU business
were people want to overclock, but is there any real way other than the
manufacturing process for vendors to ensure longer drive life? Are there
separate fabrication techniques for 5 yr drives as opposed to 1 yr
drives? Are those drives made from different parts or in different
plants, for example?
Maybe I should get another 500 GB external....
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
----- Original Message ----- From: "Winterlight"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "The Hardware List" <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, May 12, 2007 11:42 PM
Subject: Re: [H] Seagate drive died
I think it has more to do with how drives are shipped from the
vendor. Vendors use to send these out in boxes with big foam inserts,
but now you are lucky if they secure it in bubble wrap. I have bought
What does it take to convince people that there are many reasons to
avoid name brand computers? In just the hard drive arena, name brand
computer manufacturers buy 1 year hard drives. That is all the
warranty most offer and they are not going to pay for 5 year hard
drives. You can bet the quality of a Seagate or WD 1 year drive is
nowhere near the quality of a 5 year drive.
This thread is about other than name brand computers I assume. It is
about who you purchase your hard drives from. My supplier, ASI
http://www.asipartner.com/ packages their merchandise very well. Not
only in packaging does the choice of supplier count, but also in who
you buy your hard drive from. Having already been said, the 1 year
drives going to the name brand manufacturers are the worst. Do you
think Dell buys 3 year drives so they will be covered when a customer
purchases the Dell 3 year extended warranty? I doubt it. My bets are
Dell takes its chances on a 1 year drive for all Dells and hopes they
last long enough to satisfy the Dell 3 year service agreements
purchased on some of their computers.
Still, I have not gotten to your situation. Don't you think Seagate
and WD ship their best 5 year drives to large wholesalers like ASI who
have to continually defend their own reputation to OEM's they sell
merchandise to? My bets are any 2nds do not go to ASI. So where do the
2nds go? What about the stores such as Circuit City, Office Depot, New
Egg etc.? Why not consider New Egg as 2nd rate in quality? You, (not
I) have already slammed the hell out of people like New Egg for crappy
shipping. If the shoe fits, wear it.
If you are an OEM who orders multiple units such as hard drives, the
solution is easy. Change to a supplier like ASI and get top notch
service and packaging etc. If you are not licensed etc. to purchase at
wholesale from suppliers like ASI, still avoid folks that do not
package properly. Either find an OEM who will supply you or let that
OEM build your computers to your specifications. This is if and only
if you know that OEM does quality business from the choice of supplier
to overall price and quality of components.
The bottom line is no matter who you are, you do not have to settle
for 2nd rate packaging or merchandise. You can have quality, if you
are an OEM or can find one who is honest and deals only in quality.
You will pay a higher price for overall quality in service and
product. Cheapskates (those who are bragging about that 500 watt power
supply they found on the net for $29.95) should have deleted this post
long before getting this far!
Chuck
