HDD Choice???

[Staz]

I am going to upgrade from an ATA100 40GB 7200RPM 8mb Cache HDD to an 80GB SATA150 7200RPM 8mb cache HDD. I am also finally giving Bill his due and getting Win XP (still on 98se).

All of the drives from Seagate, WD, IBM, Maxtor, Samsung, & Hitachi are all within $5 of each other. Does anyone have advantages or disadvantages over the others? Or should I just get a WD or Maxtor?

Also, is XP PRO worth the extra $45 over XP Home for a client PC?

[SoddemFX]

I've been very impressed by my 120GB Seagate Barracuda-V for its sheer silence! Reliability is supposed to be very good too...

[mookydooky]

XP Home is fine. Here are the additions to XP Pro.

Greater security, including the ability to encrypt your files and folders, using NTFS file system, which allows you encrypt individual files or folders for local security.

Access control. User(s) with Administrator privileges can limit access to resources, including files and directories.

Remote Desktop. Remotely access your Windows XP Professional PC, from another Windows PC, so you can work with all of your data and applications while away from your PC.

Offline Files and Folders. You have access to files & folders on a network share when disconnected from the server.

Multi-processor support. Windows XP Professional supports up to two microprocessors (Home Edition only supports a single processor).

Backup and Automated System Recovery (ASR). Another Professional only feature is the ability to "ASR-enable" your backups. An ASR-restore can be triggered from Setup, which allows you to return your system to its previous state. ASR is useful when hardware (for example a hard disk) needs to be replaced.

Domain membership. Windows XP Professional can be used to logon to a Windows Server domain.

Group Policy. This simplifies the administration of groups of users or computers, and is not supported on Home Edition since Home Edition cannot be used to logon to a Windows Server domain.

Roaming User Profiles. Let you access all your documents and settings no matter where you log on.

Remote Installation Service (RIS). Windows XP Professional includes support for remote operating system installations where desktops can be installed across the network.

Software Installation and Maintenance. Windows XP Professional supports automatic install, configure, repair, or remove of software applications.

Multi-lingual User Interface (MUI). Let you change the user interface language to get localized dialog boxes, menus, help files, dictionaries, and proofing tools etc. all in a single install.

Internet Information Services. Windows XP Professional includes the IIS Web server 5.1 software.

Source: http://www.windows-help.net/WindowsXP/home-vs-pro.html

[Staz]

I ended up getting the Maxtor Diamond Max 9 and an OEM version of XP Home.

[robbie]

Originally Posted by Staz

I ended up getting the Maxtor Diamond Max 9 and an OEM version of XP Home.

Sorry to chime in so late. This is the drive that I got. The Faceless wonder also got one about the same time I got mine. When I built her box I DID NOT add a cooler too her HD. When I built mine I did add a cooler to mine. (mine runs 24/7) I didn't think that she would run her's 24/7 but she did for a while (folding for me) Turns out the HD started to make noise. (clicking) Mines still chugging along just fine.

I HIGHLY recommend that you add a cooler too it REGARDLESS if you leave it on 24/7 or not. They seem to run pretty warm just being on for a few hours. They also warm up if you transfer some pretty big files as well.
Hope that helps,
Rob

[Staz]

Thxn for the info Robbie. Seeing as this is my case and my HDD mounts under the MoBo tray it may take some ingenuity to cool it properly.