Maxtor White Label HD?

[Beta Geek]

Does anyone know anything about Maxtor's line of "White Label" hard drives? I found some at a very low price and am afraid to buy one without knowing why they are so cheap. From what I can tell they're regular Maxtor drives with a white label on them that says "Generic".

Thanks!

Beta Geek

[Jhorner1]

I don't know about the Maxtor white labels, but I have used Western Digital white labels with no problems.

[Budfred]

Hard drives have generally fallen to less than $1/gig if you do the rebates, so how cheap are you talking about??? I am guessing the white label may just mean it is OEM and thus it wouldn't come with the software or cable. You can download the software and buy the cable pretty readily...

[Beta Geek]

Here are a few figures:

60GB 5400RPM - $45 (2MB buffer)
80GB 7200RPM - $56 (2MB buffer)
120GB 5400RPM - $70 (2MB buffer)
120GB 7200RPM - $81 (8MB buffer)
160GB 7200RPM - $105 (2MB buffer)

I found them at Just Deals.com ( www.justdeals.com ).

Even though most of them have the 2MB buffer, that would still be a great drive for a slower system in need of more storage space.

Beta Geek

[Paul Komski]

Generic parts, if applied to computer parts in the same way as they are for motor car parts should be absolutely fine - particularly if supported by any guarantee.

When company A provides parts for company B these become "branded" for company B - and company B (often an OEM in the computer world) generally marks up its prices for spare parts accordingly. The same parts made by company A, but unbranded, are usually the exact same parts - but cheaper.

Whether its generic drugs in place of brand names, a generic water pump for a Mercedes or a generic power supply for a HP computer - one can generally save bucks without being hit by poor quality by buying the generic variety; particularly where the actual maker is known and has a "quality name".

[Budfred]

You can get similar deals at any number of stores these days, if you don't mind dealing with rebates. These would be brand name retail boxes. I would check that company at ResellerRatings (http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1685.html) before ordering from them....