Hi again and thanks for all the replies to the coincidental hard drive plights of Brian and me.
A day or so of determined shopping turned up way too many options, not to mention pages of reviews, tests, and mfgr sites. The hardest task has been to find the 2 or 3 pieces of hardware/connector/adapter/card/cable for any particular solution from the same site to avoid double shipping. I am currently nursing 2 completely different solutions for my OEM J700/OS9.0 with what seem to me to be balanced sets of pros & cons. 1.from macsales.com aka OtherWorldComputing (IL): MAXTOR 20GB DiamondMaxPlus D740DX 7200rpm #MAX6L020J1 ATA133 8.5ms seek 3yr mfgr.warranty $76, plus ACARD AHARD 66 controller ACDAEC6260M 1yr Warranty $55 UDMA/UATA 66/100 IDE ribbon cable OWCCBLIDE663I $15 2-DAY AIRBORNE shipping $7 Total $153.00 2.from techforless.com (CO): QUANTUM ATLAS 9.1GB 7200rpm #XC009L2 68pin SCSI 6.5ms seek 5yr mfgr.warranty $79 2day shipping $10 plus a 68pin to 50pin adapter which I will have to get elsewhere. (OWC has one for $15 + $4.50 ship - is there a cheaper source?) Total $100.00 My target was under $200, so the price difference is a minor consideration. The GB difference is also not important. After 5 years at 2.1GB, only 3GB of zip disks to backup with, and no multimedia needs, what low-risk use is there for the extra 17GBs anyway? My impression is that the Maxtor IDE will probably improve speed more by avoiding the SCSI bus bottleneck, even though its seektime is slightly higher. It also comes in one shipment from OWC with their customer service reputation. The ATLAS offers uncomplicated installation and long-term reliability. It has the lowest seektime of the 7200s and the longest warranty of any drive. It also would avoid any IDE/ATA conflicts some have apparently had (though my 1st slot is free, so I presume the AHARD would not be vulnerable). Comments? Tips? Advice? A related question that came to mind along the way: Is the noise-level/heat-buildup difference between 5400 and 7200 or 10K drives noticeable or significant? The 5400's are always cheaper, but I had no way to judge if their slightly lower speed would be offset by a slightly quieter noise-level vs the 7200s and 10Ks. Also, dirtcheapdrives.com (TX) has the same 20GB Maxtor but with liquid bearing (6L020L1)for $80. It has 2.7/3.0 bel sound levels vs. the 3.2/3.5 bel for the one I am considering. I think I saw a 10K with 4.5/5.7 bel. Are such differences meaningfull? Michael __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! News - Today's headlines http://news.yahoo.com -- SuperMacs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | Service & Replacement Parts [EMAIL PROTECTED] | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> SuperMacs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/supermacs/list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/supermacs%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
