These have finally shown up on ebay at prices nearer the distributor cost. Was going to setup an array of 6-does anyone have enough uptime with these to comment on reliability? Also, does any1 know if these are Quantum drives with Maxtor stickers(like the 10K IV's), or are they actually made by Maxtor?. I'm partial to Fujitsu myself, but the Maxtor's are much more favorably priced now. Any input is appreciated. Thanks
-Don
Five months ago I was able to acquire four Maxtor’s 300GB 10K drives; retail and at a great price. The drive perform phenomenal, not one problem since the purchase, and I had to run them 24/7 for a few day on a SQL database project.
The drive sticker is pure Maxtor, and the casing is the most futuristic design from the three major brands. The casing looks like is made from titanium.
However the drives temperature is a big issue. I have the drives in an external enclosure that is designed to cool 15K drives, but the Maxtor idle temperature was around 42C and during extensive use the temperature jumped to 50C; with forced air ventilation, it generates way too much heat for a 10K drive. I am trying to find a larger air blower for the enclosure.
I decided to purchase the Fujitsu 300GB MAT3300NC and installed it in the same enclosure, the drive performance is a good as the Maxtor, better in some situations, and the temperature, even at high usage remains around 39C; better that the Maxtor at idle!!
I am now purchasing Fujitsu’s 300GB, I’ve never had a problem with the brand and they operate at the coolest temperature of any SCSI drive I’ve ever purchased.
Also be careful with the drives being offered on EBay. There is a large amount of units being sold and they are labeled ‘evaluation units with “testing firmware being sold as OEM. Make sure you inquire that they have a regular Maxtor label; ask for a picture of the actual drive if not provided on the auction, and make sure the seller’s has the $ 1,000 protection policy incase you don’t receive what is promised
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