Hd Recommendations, Make, Model, Size, etc... Options

[MagnumVP]

I'm looking for a little advice on which HD I should choose. I have version 1.1 Softmod Only and was using the guide found here to find a HD;

http://xboxdrives.x-pec.com/?p=list

However, I want to get some "Real Life" feedback. Anyone have any good/bad experiences with HD?

[xboxgamer733]

For a softmodded Xbox, it's only necessary to choose a hard drive that supports locking, and is in one the following formats ('SATA' and 'SCSI' drives, however, are not compatible with Xbox):

• IDE
• EIDE
• ATA
• UATA
• PATA

For size, simply decide how much information you'd like to save to your hard drive. Note that a standard Xbox game requires, on average, about 3 GB of free space to back up, and an uncompressed DVD movie usually requires more than 4 GB.

For features, most will be beyond what your Xbox can actually take advantage of. As an example, a 7,200 RPM drive will perform only slightly faster than a 5,200 RPM drive. A drive with a 16 MB buffer will also only run slightly faster than a drive with an 8 MB buffer.

For brand, most hard drives will perform similar to each other. Maxtor, Seagate, and Western Digital are the three largest drive manufacturers, and produce the highest-quality products. When you are looking at a specific drive model as a potential purchase, research it to discover if others have encountered any problems with it.

[MagnumVP]

Great information thank you very much.

You mentioned 16MB to 8MB. What about 2MB compared to 8MB. I'm sure anything will have better load times than playing a game/movie from its DVD.

What does everyone else have? 7200/5400 and 2/8/16MB Have there been any benchmarchs for xbox's?

[xboxgamer733]

You mentioned 16MB to 8MB. What about 2MB compared to 8MB.

When playing a game from the hard drive, you may lose, at most, a few seconds of load time when a hard drive with a large buffer size is used.

I'm sure anything will have better load times than playing a game/movie from its DVD.

Yes, you're assumption is correct.

What does everyone else have? 7200/5400 and 2/8/16MB

Most people will always decide on a faster hard drive over a slower one, especially if they are similar in price.

As I've already stated, though, differences between drive speeds is not drastic, and shouldn't be a large problem in your buying decision.

Have there been any benchmarchs for xbox's?

Yes, there have been some that have played a certain game on an Xbox with a different-speed hard drive installed for each trial run of the game.

The verdict: you may lose 3 to 4 seconds of load time when using a 7,200 RPM drive versus a 5,200 RPM drive, as an example.