New, Fast HDD for an i7/Win7 Build - WD or SG?

[drokkon]

I'm going to buy a hard drive for my new build. I currently have two (Hitachi and WD) 500GB 7200rpm SATA drives, but I need more space, and was looking at something faster like the Caviar Blacks and Barracudas. (Maybe I'll set the 500GB drives up in a RAID array in a future WHS build.) I've been reading that the Caviar Blacks and Barracudas are usually in a dead heat speed wise - but I know that the number and density factors into this. Perhaps even more so, I'm interested in comparing value (GB/$) and volume (trying for a quiet build). Also, I've heard that the Barracuda 7200.11's had trouble of some sort...?

newegg.com prices as of this morning, all with free shipping:

1TB WD Caviar Black $94.99
1TB Seagate Barracuda (7200.12) $89.99

or is this worth the few extra bucks:

1.5 Seagate Barracuda (7200.11) $119.99

or... something else entirely?

Thanks!!!

 

[drokkon]

Just one more little note - the WD bundles with the RAM I'm looking at to save me $7, so that's the drive I've been leaning towards for the past week. Just wanted to make sure I was on the right track.

 

[andy5174]

Stay away from the 7200.11! Both Black and 7200.12 are good, but most people tend to buy Black these days due to the bad firmware on 7200.10 & 7200.11 seagate drives.

 

[andy5174]

I would toss a coin to make my decision if their warranty period are the same. However, the warranty of Black is 2 years more than Seagate 7200.12 and so Black will be my choice. If you are not planning to use it for more than 3 years, get whichever is cheaper.

 

[Yoosty]

WD Black has 5yr, warranty compare to 3yr warranty on Seagate...

 

[drokkon]

Thanks - I know I'm splitting hairs, but I just had to ask. The Black has been in my cart for two week, and it looks like I'll stick with it.

 

[drokkon]

I guess my big question was whether the 1.5TB was worth the extra $30... but since it's a 7200.11, I think I'll steer clear.