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Experiences with TigerDirect.ca and Western Digital

post #1 of 15
12/4/04 at 3:37pm
Thread Starter 
I have decided to purchase a hard drive, as I need more than the 20gigs my computer is giving me. I researched a bit and most people seem to think Western Digital has superior drives, so I decided upon the WDXB1600JB, a 160GB 7200rpm Media Center drive with USB and Firewire. If I order from TigerDirect.ca it comes out to between $325(CAD) and $400(CAD) depending on the warranty.

So what do people think? Is Western Digital the right choice? And is TigerDirect.ca okay? They have a bad reputation on reseller ratings but I can't really find many more places in Canada to order from, any you know of?

Thanks.
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post #2 of 15
12/4/04 at 3:48pm
I don't know how much that is in USD, but you may want to consider looking into an internal hard drive and an enclosure. The enclosure will probably be better than a normal external hard drive, but it's usually cheaper.
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post #3 of 15
12/4/04 at 3:58pm
Great experience with the WD drive you mentioned, I have the 120gb non media model. When using Firewire and USB2 at the same time, It benches higher than my 60gb 7200 internal drive. As far as Tigerdirect, I've heard Newegg is a better way to go, but I haven't used either, as I usually buy all my Computer stuff offline, so I can easily take it back.
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post #4 of 15
12/4/04 at 4:05pm
Thread Starter 
I know NewEgg is great, but I don't think they ship to Canada . That is my main problem... if they did there would be no choice, NewEgg is far superior.

Saiyr: I started looking for the enclosure and internal drive, but they turn out to be around the same price. So I may just stick to the external drive.

LurkingJayhawk: Good to hear that WD is doing ok for you. Im deciding between WD ans Seagate, as I have heard Maxtor is not very good.

THanks for the help! Keep it coming
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post #5 of 15
12/4/04 at 4:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by B Nietsnie
LurkingJayhawk: Good to hear that WD is doing ok for you. Im deciding between WD ans Seagate, as I have heard Maxtor is not very good.
The Seagate was my second choice when I bought mine, I would definately see if you can hook up both the firewire and the USB2 at the same time, like the WD. I think it makes a huge difference. FYI, the WD firewire cable that came with my drive was 6-6 pin, I had 4 pin on my laptop. So I had to buy a 4-6 pin cable. May not seem like it matters, but they can run up to $30 retail, so just keep that in mind if you have a 4 pin firwire, and also so you will know ahead of time that you may need one.

About 10 years ago I used Tiger direct and Damark, I believe I had a problem with Damark and not Tiger Direct. The problem was that at the end of the year they billed my CC a yearly membership fee that I did not agree too. Since their billing put me on hold for 45 minutes and then disconnected the call every time, I had to dispute it with my CC company. Again, I think it was Damark and not Tiger, but if you haven't ordered from a magazine style mail order in the past, and you do, keep an eye on you bill at the end of the year. Really strange that they did this, I guess they figured people just don't pay attention. It was $35 out of the blue.
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post #6 of 15
12/4/04 at 5:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by B Nietsnie
I know NewEgg is great, but I don't think they ship to Canada . That is my main problem... if they did there would be no choice, NewEgg is far superior.

Saiyr: I started looking for the enclosure and internal drive, but they turn out to be around the same price. So I may just stick to the external drive.

LurkingJayhawk: Good to hear that WD is doing ok for you. Im deciding between WD ans Seagate, as I have heard Maxtor is not very good.

THanks for the help! Keep it coming
Really? That's interesting. You can get a 160 GB drive for ~$100 and an enclosure for $28-50 (USD) last I checked. I still don't know the conversion, of course, but it sounds cheaper.
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post #7 of 15
12/4/04 at 6:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Saiyr
Really? That's interesting. You can get a 160 GB drive for ~$100 and an enclosure for $28-50 (USD) last I checked. I still don't know the conversion, of course, but it sounds cheaper.
Not questioning price, I do know that usually the enclosure option is cheaper, but it should be noted that the WD drive will run Firewire, and USB2 simultaneously, which in the end will probably give you better performance than the enclosure.

Edit 1 - something else, the drive he mentioned has a 8-1 card reader built in, as well as 1 touch backup, which is really nice to have. The model without the 8-1 reader can be found for around $120.
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post #8 of 15
12/4/04 at 6:31pm
Thread Starter 
My bad. I was converting back and forth between CAD and US and when one was CAD and the other US they were the same .

I emailed NewEgg to see if they ship to Canada. If they do, this is what I think I will purchase:

3.5" USB/Firewire Enclosure
Macally 3.5" USB 2.0/ FireWire Aluminum External Enclosure (Model "PHR-100AC" and Retail) at $47.00

Hard Drives
Seagate 160GB, 7200RPM Hard Drive (Model ST3160023A and OEM) at $103.00
or
Western Digital 160GB, 7200RPM Hard Drive (Model WD1600JB and OEM) at $91.00


The totals would be either $150 or $138 (in CAD $180 or $165). This excludes shipping and all that... if NewEgg does not ship to Canada I think I would go with an external drive, as their enclosures (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...asp?CatId=1204) do not seem reliable. The external would be either the Seagate 160GB at $149 or $209 (does OEM contain cables and all that, and what other idfference are there with retail?) (CAD $180 or $250), or the WD at $155 (CAD $185).

Thoughts?

Thanks!
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post #9 of 15
12/4/04 at 6:45pm
Personally, ive gone through 10 hard disks,

4 old IBM "DeathStar" DeskStars 4 years old and all of which have died one way or the other at different times.
2 Western Digital 36GB Raptors, each a year old and still going strong
1 120GB Western Digital IDE Drive 6 months old, still going strong
1 120GB Seagate IDE Drive 3 years old, but maybe on the verge of death as ive heard a few clicks from it when i was booting up the system, but only once or twice. havent heard anything else.
1 120GB Seagate SATA drive, 8 months old and going strong
1 80GB IDE Seagate, 11 months old and still going strong

It's really just a tossup between WD and Seagate. It just seems that my IDE Seagate is hotter than it's WD counterpart, on average about 3 degrees hotter on load though it shouldnt be but the WDs are faster and noiser while the Seagates are pretty much next to silent.
In the end it's your decision, personally, i would go for the WD.
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post #10 of 15
12/4/04 at 7:01pm
Thread Starter 
Heat isnt an issue for me, as it will be placed on a desk where I can never feel or be affected by the heat. Silence, on the other hand, is golden. So I think I may be leaning toward Seagate right now. Thanks NovaShine .

Anybody else have experienes with Seagate and Western Digital?
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post #11 of 15
12/4/04 at 7:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LurkingJayhawk
Not questioning price, I do know that usually the enclosure option is cheaper, but it should be noted that the WD drive will run Firewire, and USB2 simultaneously, which in the end will probably give you better performance than the enclosure.

Edit 1 - something else, the drive he mentioned has a 8-1 card reader built in, as well as 1 touch backup, which is really nice to have. The model without the 8-1 reader can be found for around $120.
Eh, performance on a big hard drive like that to me isn't too important, but I guess that's just me. I don't use the one-touch on my Maxtor that I got for Christmas, but I suppose it's nice.
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post #12 of 15
12/4/04 at 9:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Saiyr
Eh, performance on a big hard drive like that to me isn't too important, but I guess that's just me. I don't use the one-touch on my Maxtor that I got for Christmas, but I suppose it's nice.
To be real honest, performance doesn't matter to me. I use it for backups and MP3's. I was just really surprised it benches higher than my internal drive. I do use the one touch, simply because I would not backup my drive without it, I would only backup important files.
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post #13 of 15
12/4/04 at 9:42pm
Ahh. I don't back my files up. Too lazy. That button...it's like a foot away. Too lazy to touch it. (or set it up, but that takes away from the humor)
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post #14 of 15
12/5/04 at 12:01am
Thread Starter 
Hi Jack!

Anyone had experience with Bytecc? There is a local store that is selling the internal hard drives I need, but only sell Bytecc enclosures. Are they any good? Thanks!
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post #15 of 15
12/5/04 at 12:11am
Bytecc is good. The 340 series is especially good for speed capabilities, from what I've been told.
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