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    WD vs Seagate hard disks?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by noamgat, Jul 23, 2011.

  1. noamgat

    noamgat Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi,

    I'm about to replace my laptop's (Dell XPS M1530) HD, and the shop near me (I prefer to buy local when possible, as they handle unit replacement instantly) has the following two products :

    WD Scorpio 500GB 16MB 7200RPM Sata II WD5000BEKT
    Seagate Momentus 500GB 16MB 7200RPM Sata II ST9500420AS

    Both cost about 80$ (a bit more than online shops), but they both come with a 3 year warranty, so I'm fine with that.

    I tried the main HD thread, but it seemed out of date (last update jun 09), so I'm creating this thread.

    Is there really a difference between the two products?
     
  2. fatlardo

    fatlardo Notebook Consultant

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    I believe the scorpio black has a 5 yr warranty. And from my search, the black is slightly faster and more reliable. I just had the same dilemma as well and went with the black since it was about the same price as well.
     
  3. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    Doesn't matter. Not one whit.

    A hard drive warranty will not recover lost data. Nor does a hard drive warranty somehow 'guarantee' the longevity of any particular unit.

    Get your backups done and do them frequently.

    Every disk volume I have is raid 1. Primary and backup volumes are all raid 1.

    With the price of drives and raid 1 enclosures these days it's relatively inexpensive insurance.
     
  4. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    WD Scorpio Black, great drive, quiet and fast. And WD warranty is great.
     
  5. nu_D

    nu_D Notebook Deity

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    Let me put it this way...
    My 7200.4 Seagate drive died, or well, was on it's way to dying a week or two ago. Out it went and inside went a 750GB Scorpio Black.
     
  6. thetoast

    thetoast Notebook Evangelist

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    Where are you? Here in Canada, the WD 5000BEKT can sometimes be had on sale for ~$60 (particularly at NCIX)
     
  7. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    OP said he tried to buy locally (indicating a brick and mortar store). Many online retailers charge a restocking/RMA fee for defective items (baloney, I say!). Yes retail brick and mortar stores usually cost more (my workplace has the WD5000BEKT for like ~80-90 while it is like 60-70 on Newegg).
     
  8. thetoast

    thetoast Notebook Evangelist

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    I understand he said locally. I can walk into their storefront (one of their several, actually) and buy such a drive on the spot. If I didn't notice his desire to buy locally, I wouldn't have asked where he is.

     
  9. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    Yes the WD Black is faster. $80 seems expensive though.

    Samsung HM640JJ is good too, sometimes cheaper than WD5000BEKT.
     
  10. noamgat

    noamgat Notebook Enthusiast

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    "Locally" is israel (which is why I prefer not to order from the states etc). I guess I'll go for the WD then.

    (BTW, in newegg it comes with a 2 year warranty, not 5)
     
  11. SoundOf1HandClapping

    SoundOf1HandClapping Was once a Forge

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    I haven't had a Seagate or a WD drive fail on me yet (well, one if you count a WD external from like three years ago), so take that as you will.

    I do like how WD has an advanced replacement system, so you can get a new HDD before you have to send the defective one back.