WD3200BEKT or Samsung HM500JI?

I'm looking to get a new HDD, so I found those two in a good price( I don't live in the US ):

WD3200BJKT - 320GB / 7200rpm / 16MB cache

HM500JI - 500GB / 5400rpm / 8MB cache

I've searched through the forum and noticed that some users state that the difference in performance between those two isn't big, and the choice would be for the 500GB 5400rpm because it offers almost the same speed, more capacity and higher power efficiency.

I'd like to get some opinions on this. Both are priced at the same level, so I'm really doubtful on those two.

I already own an external HD, so capacity is not a problem for me, at least for now( we never know how much we'll need next month right? ), I'm looking mostly for performance, after I expanded the RAM up to 4GB. But, if the HM500JI performs as fast as the WD3200BJKT, I'll choose it since it seems to be quieter as well.

I'll also make a clean Vista install and use many tips from the guides I found here. They're awesome!

Thanks in advance!

 

I'm sorry, the WD model is the WD3200BJKT

 

In basic use (surfing, downloading, watching movies, office etc) there will be very little difference in performance.

In medium/heavy multi tasking and opening large applications the WD3200BJKT will be noticeably faster.

 

Thanks for your input Phil

I was told by the IT guy at work that Samsung is a more reliable brand than WD. He have had problems with 2 WD HDDs... He admits that it's just his particular view, but he would choose the Samsung HDD with no doubt. This is the only thing that is making me doubtful.

Also, can the WD's HDD be considered quiet? I don't want to install a noisy HDD...

 

I think he got unlucky. Every one has his favorite brands.

Any brand can crash, if your data is valuable always make backups

WD5000BEVT is slightly more quiet than WD3200BEKT. Techreport.com has measured the noise.

Whether you can hear the difference will depend on your notebook, your hearing and luck of the draw.

For some people the Black is totally quiet.

 

The difference between WD3200BJKT and WD3200BEKT is just the fall sensor?

 

Btw, Phil, I'm reaeding that guide you wrote about HDDs and it's being really helpful! Thanks man!

 

Good to hear.

Yes.

 

Thanks for taking your time to answer my questions Phil!

 

I would probably go with the 7200 drive if you don;t need the extra space. In certain cases the denser platters of the 500gb 5400 might perform similiar to the 320gb 7200 but not in all cases. You might want to google around to check in which cases the performance is comparable and not.

 

Thanks a lot for your input I'm almost deciding for the WD 7200rpm, since I already own an external 500GB HD - from WD, btw.

 

OK, I just bought the WD3200BJKT... it should arrive this weekend. Very excited

Then I'll format my notebook, do a clean install, and follow almost every step on tweaks and tips guide. It'll be a nice upgrade, although I can't change the CPU.

Thanks to all for your help. I really appreciate it

 

Good choice! WD3200BJKT is my current favorite, especially for OS drive since I could not afford SSD yet, except the one in my netbook which cost nearly the same as WD3200BJKT but with 1/10 of capacity.

If you have received it, could you post whether it makes clicks sound or not, since I have two WD3200BJKTs, one clicks (the newer) and one is not. But they're both silent (except when the one is clicking).

 

Thanks! I haven't received it yet, but I'll make sure to update this post as soon as I install my HDD.

Have you tried this: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=168425 ?

 

Yes, using software such as hdparm, NHC, or others which could set the hard drive's Advanced Power Management parameter to FEh or 254 (or performance state) could resolve the clicking sound issue, but it won't be permanent since the parameter would return to default 80h or 128 after restart or resume from sleep/hibernate. So the parameter setting needs to be re-applied again by running the software.

I find this to be inconvenient, so I'm not using it anymore and decided to dwell with the clicking sounds.

 

Sorry, I fixed the link. It's because I had sent that link to my own e-mail, so I could keep it.

 

Btw, can you please take that the link off your quote? thanks!

 

Done and replied.

 

Really? wow, that sucks... I haven't received mine yet, but I'll make sure to let you know if the clicking sound is an issue. And, if it does, I'll try to find an answer for that. Is the clicking sound very annoying?

 

Thanks!

 

At first, yeah... It is very annoying, but I could live with it now since I'm used to it.

 

It's easy to disable the clicking with hdparm for example.

 

There is nothing wrong with the Samsung HM500JI, just avoid the HM500LI

The LI is a three platter version, which is slower and based on lower data density platters.
The HM500JI is the same as the WD5000BEVT and Hitachi 5K500.B, in terms of data density

K-TRON

 

Phil, using software like that won't permanently fix the clicking issue. See the previous #15 post of this thread.

 

I've never had a clicking drive but I would assume it''s very easy to put such a command in your startup files.

Or accept the clicking.

 

The problem is when you often rely on sleep or hibernate instead of shutting down your notebook, then the startup will not be executed. So, yeah, in my case I end up accepting the clicking.

 

Hey guys, just an update, I've bought the WD3200BEKT and installed it along with a clean install of Vista Home Premium( which was the original OS ). Also, upgraded to 2x2GB DDR2667 and it's performance is wayyyy better now! The difference is huge!

Only problem is that System Information tells that there are only 3GB RAM. I've been told here that it might be a chipset problem, so I might have to install the latest version. Do you guys know what I exactly need to do? I'm a complete newbie about it...

Thanks in advance.

 

I think you are using 32 bit version of Windows. The only way to fully utilize the remaining 1GB is to install 64bit or u can use the remaining 1GB as RAMdisk.

Currently I have Samsung HM400JI in my Aspire Timeline. Im thinking of getting either Scorpio Black 320GB or Scorpio Blue 500GB to replace that Samsung as notebook drive. What do you guys recommend?

 

Yeah, it's a 32 bit Vista, but thing is that System Information doesn't even recognize or see the 4GB.

Scorpio Black is awesome. Btw, it doesn't click at all.

 

If you've got the money get a WD6400BEVT.

 

I don't think WD6400BEVT is worth the money for the amount of extra space. GB/$ wise, WD5000BEVT is still the better value.

I've checked some benchmarks and review and found that Scorpio Black is just a little faster than Blue in benchmarks. How does this translate to real world performance? Will the black be much faster is loading apps, starting windows and improve system responsiveness compared to Blue? SSDs are out of question at the moment because of price and small capacity.

 

Black 320Gb will be faster launching large applications and during heavy multi tasking. Black 320GB will not boot Windows any faster than Blue 500GB.

It is unknown whether 320GB Black or 640GB Blue will be faster in real life.

 

so guys, is samsung hm500JI silent or not ?

 

Hitachi 7K500 500GB hard drive is way better than any of these 2 drives... it should be cooler too... also both these drives are becomming old.... 7K500 is what u want..