WD 640 still king of bang for buck?

[LOUISSSSS]

is the wd 640gb 16mb cache still the best bang for buck hard drive out there?

it will be used solely for storage or until both of my 150gb raptors die (they're still faster for booting an OS)

 

[capeconsultant]

There is the same but with 32mb cache on NewEgg for wicked cheap.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136319

this is the only "same" 640gb WD drive on newegg with 32mb cache and its $85. mine was $70

 

[Rabbits]

Yes these are awesome drives, 320GB platters each, it's like running RAID except without setting it up.

 

[Denithor]

The 32MB "Caviar Black" is slightly faster than the standard 16MB "Caviar Blue" in some applications but it also costs a bit more. Basically you get double the cache and tweaked firmware for an extra $15. If you already have the 16MB drive it's not worth an upgrade, if you're buying new or replacing old drives it's probably worthwhile to spend a little extra.

 

[Fallengod]

I believe the blacks also produce less heat and are slightly quieter as well. I just bought one off ebay few days ago and damn this thing is so quiet and is barely warm to the touch. I love these blacks.

Remember the blacks also have a 5 year warranty where as the others do not.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

i dont see any black version of the 640gb on newegg but the 32mb cache drive is $15 more. not worth it for storage purposes.

 

[Denithor]

WD6401AALS 640GB Caviar Black 32MB cache $85

Quieter & cooler than the Blue version? Hmm...that's saying something, my Blue 640GB is virtually silent (I have never heard it, even when heavy reads/writes are underway) and is also the coolest running hdd I've ever owned.

 

[SickBeast]

IMO the new Seagate 1TB drives are rivalling it.

They can be had for around $100 now. :Q

There were some initial reports of reliability problems is all, plus it's not quite as quick as the 640gb WD drive.

There are also super-cheap 1TB WD 'green' drives now, which can be had for around $115.

The Samsung 1TB drive has also really come down in price.

I guess it comes down to how much space you need.

 

[flxnimprtmscl]

Originally posted by: Fallengod
I believe the blacks also produce less heat and are slightly quieter as well. I just bought one off ebay few days ago and damn this thing is so quiet and is barely warm to the touch. I love these blacks.

Remember the blacks also have a 5 year warranty where as the others do not.

Damn, you got yours already? Mine doesn't show up until Thursday

 

[Fallengod]

Originally posted by: flxnimprtmscl

Originally posted by: Fallengod
I believe the blacks also produce less heat and are slightly quieter as well. I just bought one off ebay few days ago and damn this thing is so quiet and is barely warm to the touch. I love these blacks.

Remember the blacks also have a 5 year warranty where as the others do not.

Damn, you got yours already? Mine doesn't show up until Thursday

I got mine from the buy.com seller on ebay. I actually got my drive in 1 day after buying it lol. I am in CA thats why. I actually got the drive before they even updated the shipping information.

 

[flxnimprtmscl]

Originally posted by: Fallengod

Originally posted by: flxnimprtmscl

Originally posted by: Fallengod
I believe the blacks also produce less heat and are slightly quieter as well. I just bought one off ebay few days ago and damn this thing is so quiet and is barely warm to the touch. I love these blacks.

Remember the blacks also have a 5 year warranty where as the others do not.

Damn, you got yours already? Mine doesn't show up until Thursday

I got mine from the buy.com seller on ebay. I actually got my drive in 1 day after buying it lol. I am in CA thats why. I actually got the drive before they even updated the shipping information.

Yeah, I got mine from buy.com on ebay too. I'm only one state away in Oregon. Meh.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

so i just installed my 640gb 16mb BLUE drive its been real good to me. temps are +-1C from my 2 x 150gb raptor drives. they're all between 29-31C (all sandwiched one on top of the other with about 1cm in between. i don't hear it at all over the rest of my system. (+ i dont mind hearing my hdd's seek, it tells me they're working, and that my pc is working on something)

i've posted benchmarks comparing the two drives in my other thread in this forum