Best drive to upgrade an 09 mini?

I've got a mac mini at the in-laws and it needs a new drive. I put a WD5000BEVT in it last Christmas and by April the drive had died. No idea why, Drive Utility won't repair it, nor will fsck_hfs. So it's coming out.

What brand and model drive is suitable for use in the mini? Something with around 400gb storage would be helpful (we send them a lot of pix and videos of their grandchild). Overall their use of the machine is pretty limited, mostly just e-mail, skype and light web surfing. So speed really isn't an issue. The machine is 400 miles away and I really don't want to be repeating this repair call again.

I'm open to suggestions on the best possible drive to consider.

Hellhammer said:

Call Western Digital and ask for a new drive as they have 3-year warranty if I recall correctly

Click to expand...

I'm not worried about getting this one repaired. I just don't want to put the same make/model back into the machine and ship it 400 miles away, only to have it fail again. I've had mixed success with WD in the past and thought I'd give them a try again. So much for that idea. Yeah, yeah, all sorts of variables might explain the problem. I'm just not willing to roll the dice again with WD in this particular situation.

So the question remains, whose +400gb drives are known to work reliably (over time) in the mini? Given the size and heat issues. Noise, I could care less about.

Hellhammer said:

I agree. Western Digital has always been my favorite. Their drives are reliable, you just had bad luck. You don't have to ship anything else but the hard drive to WD and they'll send you a new one, for FREE

Click to expand...

C'mon folks! Try a little reading comprehension.

The computer is at the in-laws, which is 400 miles away. That's why I'm not eager to have the same make/model back in it's place. In the 30+ years I've dealt with drives I've had more than a reasonable share of failures with WD gear. It was what was available at the time when I needed to do the upgrade. I'm not willing to make that mistake again. Glad some of you have had good luck with WD.

I'm well aware of how drive repairs get handled. In the case of this one it'd be straight back to the retail store for an exchange. But that isn't what I'm asking about, so please stop trying to answer THAT question, 'kay? Seriously, I appreciate the effort and all but it's not what I'm asking about.

The mini isn't exactly the friendliest environment inside, what with it being tight quarters and not the most robust amount of ventilation.

So ACTUAL ADVICE REGARDING KNOWN GOOD ALTERNATIVES would be welcome. Not just random advice. If nobody's got the answers, hey, no problem. Just spare the answers to questions I'M NOT ASKING. Yeesh.