I am about to purchase a hard drive. Do you have an experience between brand names such as Western digital and IBM in the 7200 rpm class

Don't buy an IBM 7200RPM drive. If you do, you'll regret it down the road. There are well-documented problems with the newer IBM drives (namely, they're not meant to be run more than 8hrs per day) and have a higher rate of failure than most other drives in their class. Go with WD or Maxtor if you want a fast, reliable 7200RPM drive.Max Cowgill