Doesn't really matter if you get a Seagate, Western Digital, Maxtor, etc.... Everyone has had bad experiences with one of them at one point (the only 2 seagates that I have bought were both DOA). As far as drive specs, 16MB models are going to be faster than the 8MB models. Sata is going to have a faster thoroughput IDE. Besides that, just go with what gets you the most GB vs. $.
On a side note, I would recommend taking a look at the new Hitachi drives.
