Interesting comparison. I wonder if that has to do with buffer size though. The maxtor has a 2 mb buffer and I think that the WD has an 8 MB buffer. Either way I didn't realize that there was that much of a difference in speed.

 

maxtor is 8mb as well.

The difference in speed is when it has to load ALOT of data. Windows maybe 5 seconds faster on bootup... But you get into a game that needs to load 1gb of data to ram... MUCH nicer.

 

Hmm the spec sheet I have on the diamond max 9 says that it has a 2 mb buffer. That's sweet that theres so much of a difference. I guess that I was just looking at seek time. I may have to buy one of those. I don't do any gaming but I like speedy stuff.

 

Windows 2003 server will not support allot of software, it is meant for server applications.
Also Windows Server is very expensive..

http://www.microsoft.com/products/in...3740d&type=ovr

http://www.microsoft.com/products/in...6-2615fc883e5c

I have a couple of 300 GB Seagate Hard drives on my DVR that are 16 meg buffer, I think Maxtor also has one.
http://shop1.outpost.com/product/459...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG

W2K is still available and you can get an OEM version under $100.00
I have XP Pro on a couple of my home computers and have problems because I upgrade like every 3 months and I keep having licensing issues. It is just a hassle.
Jim

 

2000 is way less secure than XP these days... dont hear about it as much because 2000 is mainly used in businesses where they have multiple lines of defense before the end users o/s.

Like mentioned, alot of software wont install on server 2000/2003 either.

As for now, take your pick of xp home or pro. For those that think Pro is better than home need to lay off the crack pipe.

I use pro on my machine here for one reason and only one, Remote Desktop. I use it to connect to our server for our store and do things from home. Pro also has some more security features you can setup to limit access on the machine, mostly for use in business environment to keep people from changing settings. Also has file level security, which xp home has if you boot in safe mode.

If you have the extra $100+, go with xp pro, just to say ya have it.

My main pc is pro only for doing work, my other 3 pcs (including the music one in my truck) is xp home.

 

They were 2mb or 8mb, the specific one i have is a 6Y160P.

Speedy stuff is always good.

The hour glass symbol is a sign of failure to me.

In regular cases you wont see too much of a difference though, only when its under heavy use.

For light use / speed, a higher RPM drive such as the WD Raptor would help more... but it has a slower interface speed so if it needs to move alot of data Sata-II drives kill it.

 

I've got XP Pro on two computers and Win2000Pro on two others and have never had any problems loading software onto any of the computers - I'll hazard a guess that comment was referring to gaming (no gaming here).

As far as being secure, I reverted back to Win2000 on the kids computers after encountering numerous issues with spyware, malware, and whatever other junk that easily finds its way into XP - user friendly also contributes to hacker friendly. All those problems ceased when I loaded W2k onto them.

3 of the 4 machines are AMD's - and all are homebuilts purchased from the likes of tigerdirect, newegg and mwave.

I'm waiting for the 64 bit software to mature before buying the hardware - then we can talk about speed.

 

Quote:
I've got XP Pro on two computers and Win2000Pro on two others and have never had any problems loading software onto any of the computers - I'll hazard a guess that comment was referring to gaming (no gaming here).

{If you were in reference to }
Windows 2003 server will not support allot of software, it is meant for server applications.
Also Windows Server is very expensive..

I was refering to Windows 2000 & 2003 Server not W2K or XP.