Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ vs. HE103SJ

[src1425]

So I'm looking at upgrading my storage drive, and after hearing about how loud the WD Blacks are, I started looking at the Samsung Spinpoint F3 drives. What's the difference between these two:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=40000014%20600003269&IsNodeId=1&Description=spinpoint&bop=And&CompareItemList=14|22-152-185^22-152-185-TS,22-152-238^22-152-238-TS

They seem virtually identical, except one is $69 and the other $99, with no discounts on either. The HE103SJ seems like a new model, since it only has 1 review. Other than a .03 difference in latency, they seem the same.

On a slightly different track, I can probably do just fine with the 500 GB version, as I only have about 116 GB of data. Are there any advantages to getting the smaller, single-platter drive?

Thanks in advance!

 

[src1425]

Well, from what I can tell, the F3R HE10SJ is the new RAID version, hence the "R" added to F3, which I hadn't noticed before. If that's the only difference that seems like a steep price difference, although RAID isn't a concern for me since I use NAS.

 

[popatim]

the single platter 500gb will generate less heat than the multiplattered drive otherwise there is no real difference. I've run two of the 1tb HD103SJ drives in a raid 0 with no issues for about 3 months now.

 

[djfp]

this is how I roll:
storage: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB
boot: OCZ Technology 60 GB Vertex 2 Series SATA II

Do you run games and apps on your boot or your storage? I was thinking of running a Crucial C300 128 for OS and apps, and 2 X HD103SJ RAID 1 for storage. For the storage, I was also glancing at the Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB, but wasn't sure if a 5400 storage drive would take away any of the added gain from the SSD OS/boot drive.

 

[src1425]

Best answer selected by src1425.

 

[Aguster]

This is a good question that deserves a good answer...

The HE is Samsung's "Enterprise Level Drive" and comes with a 5 year warranty compared to the HD's 3 year.

The other differences are almost negligible:
HD is slightly more quite at idle and performance seek..at about 0.2 Bel.

The HE draws about .1 Watt less during most operations.

If you have a RAID capable NAS (purchased without drives) most of them (Netgear NV's for example) carry a five year warranty, so logic would dictate your drives have the same warranty duration.

 

[hot rats]

The R version times out, while non-R versions wait until hell freezes over.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-Limited_Error_Recovery