Seagate Barracuda. should I buy one?

**MoufRoof** · 08-15-07, 07:30 PM

i'm thinking about buying this hard drive from newegg:

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822148140

i am upgrading from an old 160GB western digital IDE. i don't know shit about SATA except that it's faster and the latest thing. i have always bought WD hard drives so i am leery of trying another brand, but this one gets great reviews and it's a steal at $80.

since it's OEM i know i have to buy cables for it. when i search for cables i pretty much have 2 choices....data only and data/power. i am assuming i need the data/power cable since there are 2 connections on the back of the drive, one for each. is it common for people to buy seperate power and data cables? i just don't want to buy something and it not work. also, i am making the right choice for buying a SATAII cable versus a SATA one? i assume that SATAII is the faster 3.0Gb/s drives. any input would be helpful.

**Rumble** · 08-15-07, 07:35 PM

Does your Power Supply have SATA power connectors, if not make sure to buy an adapter.

Also, get the SATA cables which have the right angle connector, makes doing cable management easier.

Here's a link to both....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812200050
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812189005

**MoufRoof** · 08-15-07, 07:39 PM

thanks rumble. my power supply is a cheap one so it probably does not. so what is the difference between these two cables?

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16812123106

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16812123175

i understand the data cable runs to the motherboard, but where does the power cable go to if the power supply has a sata cable?

**Rumble** · 08-15-07, 08:02 PM

The first cable is a combo cable. The data one goes into the MB and the power one connects to a standard 4 pin power cable off your power supply.

If you use the 2nd cable, which has the nice right angle plug you'll need the power cable I linked you.

If your Power Supply has a SATA power connector all you need is the 2nd cable.

(on that first cable the power and data are in one big connector, but I prefer independent cables, that was if one goes bad I don't have to replace both cables)

**woof** · 08-16-07, 01:07 AM

I like Seagate drives a lot, but beware with OEM drives you are generally SOL on warranty. If you try to warranty an OEM drive, they'll generally tell you to go through your computer manufacturer...which means you're screwed (since the drive didn't come from a pre-built computer vendor).

If the price is fairly close (including cables, etc.), it might be worth it just to get a retail box drive.

**ImitationMan** · 08-16-07, 12:18 PM

Originally Posted by woof

I like Seagate drives a lot, but beware with OEM drives you are generally SOL on warranty. If you try to warranty an OEM drive, they'll generally tell you to go through your computer manufacturer...which means you're screwed (since the drive didn't come from a pre-built computer vendor).

If the price is fairly close (including cables, etc.), it might be worth it just to get a retail box drive.

If you keep the receipt, the manufacturer will replace the OEM drive if it dies under warranty. I've done this countless times with IBM (replaced by Hitachi) drives, twice with Western Digital, & once with Maxtor. That is why I use Seagate drives - 5 year warranty !!! And none have failed since I started using Seagate 3 years ago!

**nmeboat** · 08-16-07, 12:55 PM

aside from the power issue (which can be solved with a cheap molex adapter which sometimes ship with the retail drive), you will want to make sure that your motherboard actually supports sata drives... :P

**MoufRoof** · 08-16-07, 06:43 PM

i have an asus a8n5x mobo. it supports sata. since i am buying from newegg i'm not too worried about the warranty. if it arrives DOA they know how to hook a brotha up.

**nsRaven** · 08-20-07, 10:25 AM

I actually have a pair of these drives in RAID 0. Excellent performance and the price for these on Newegg has been steadily declining since last year. I bought mine from Newegg, OEM when they were $95.

They are SATA II 3.0 Gb/s, but they come preconfigured for SATA 1.5 Gb/s. You'll have to remove the jumper on the back to get SATA II. Not too sure if your mobo will support the SATA II, all I saw when I checked was just SATA support. Pretty solid drives, fast and roomy. The 10k rpm Raptors are a bit faster still, but you have to trade off for space.