HTPC HDD - WD or Seagate?

[coolVariable]

I have been using a very nice 1.5TB Seagate HDD (model: 7200.11 ST31500341AS) w. 32MB cache in my HTPC for 1 year.
SMART info says that there are 2 reallocated sectors but the drive has been working fine.

I just got in on the Dell deal for a 1.5TB external WD drive and am thinking about swapping the WD against the Seagate as the internal drive. The external drive would be used as an additional back up drive (probably weekly backups) - my other external is a Seagate like the internal seagate (both are in fact external freeagent drives - I just took the 'internal' Seagate out of its enclosure).
I know that the Western Digital drive is a Caviar Green HDD (model WD15EARS) w. 64MB cache.

Should I just leave the Seagate as the internal drive or should I swap them out?


Pros - swapping:
- new drive doesn't have reallocated sectors
- new drive will get more use as the internal storage drive, so I will know 'sooner' whether it is good or not
- new drive might be faster (true??? it has more cache?)
- new drive might be more energy efficient
- while I don't want the drive to fail, WD has a better warranty if it happens (cross shipping)
- new advanced format on the WD (can I also do this for the Seagate??? How?)

Cons - swapping:
- new drive isn't proven yet
- old drive "just works" (never touch a running system)
- if the new drive fails in the near future, it is easier to exchange/use the warranty if it is still in the original external enclosure
- WD (due to its power saving features) might fare better as an external drive with lacking ventilation.


PassMark says the Seagate is faster, though that does not really make sense:
http://www.harddrivebenchmark.net/hdd_lookup.php?cpu=SATA+ST31500341AS
http://www.harddrivebenchmark.net/hdd_lookup.php?cpu=WDC+WD15EARS

 

[Gigantopithecus]

- while I don't want the drive to fail, WD has a better warranty if it happens (cross shipping)

Removing the drive from its enclosure voids its warranty.

 

[brxndxn]

It's not worth your time to swap

 

[coolVariable]

- while I don't want the drive to fail, WD has a better warranty if it happens (cross shipping)

Removing the drive from its enclosure voids its warranty.

That is no argument, except for the hassle.
Putting the drive back into the enclosure enables the warranty.

 

[SimMike2]

That is no argument, except for the hassle.
Putting the drive back into the enclosure enables the warranty.

Many enclosures have a little paper/plastic sticker over the screws for taking the enclosure apart. If you remove the sticker, it invariably gets damaged and can't be put back in place, which would void the warranty.

 

[coolVariable]

Many enclosures have a little paper/plastic sticker over the screws for taking the enclosure apart. If you remove the sticker, it invariably gets damaged and can't be put back in place, which would void the warranty.

1. No enclosure I ever bought had that.
2. Back on topic please.

 

[mikeford]

If one will be the backup for the other, what's the point of swapping?

HTPC in general a better option is to run slower green drives, they are still plenty fast.

 

[SimMike2]

1. No enclosure I ever bought had that.
2. Back on topic please.

I just bought a 1TB Fantom that had a sticker over the removal screws. Many complete drive and enclosure kits have these warranty stickers. But then, every drive you ever bought didn't have one, so that settles the question. Back on topic.

 

[fuzzymath10]

I use a 7200.11 and WD Green (both 1.5TB) in a case. The Seagate gets quite hot without proper ventilation so I would advise against using it in an enclosure. The WD Green is probably 5-10C cooler (runs at around 39 vs 47).

Speedwise it's a wash. They're both so far behind SSDs that I don't care anymore (my laptop has an X25-M) about timing them since it's like comparing 105 seconds to 100 seconds to 10 seconds for example.

Also WD Greens have this annoying buzz when idling that disappears when they're in use. I have to enable indexing on them to get rid of it. This affects both my Green drives (1 and 1.5TB) which I've had for 12 and 6 months respectively so I'm sure it's by design and not a defect.