WD vs. Seagate: Noise factor & Reliability

[roland.g]

Looking for a 750GB TM solution. Might be overkill as a 500 might do as well. I have owned a WD and a Seagate and was under the impression that the Seagates were generally better drives. But I have also heard that the 750s of the Seagates are somewhat noisy and the WD are not. Looking at these 2 drives.

WD vs. Seagate

Any experience?

Recommendations.

 

[juanster]

i know most people here will probably say to go with the seagate, i voted wd because i ve had that one for over a year now, and i think it's awesome, no noise and super fast not my first wd drive, never had a seagate in the past either....

 

[tersono]

To be frank, whilst you'll get people who have had bad experiences with one or the other and therefore have a preference, there's really nothing much to choose between them. Personally, I'd go for whichever you can get at the best price...

 

[roland.g]

To be frank, whilst you'll get people who have had bad experiences with one or the other and therefore have a preference, there's really nothing much to choose between them. Personally, I'd go for whichever you can get at the best price...

Well for me it really is noise and reliability. I know the Seagates have 5yr warranty and the WDs are 3. But I also have a 2.8GHz iMac that is ultra quiet. I can hear the clock ticking on the wall. And I have a Seagate 7200.10 IDE in a miniStack, but that only spins up when accessed. I plan to get a Cool Drives RAID Case and JBOD 2 drives in there, starting with one 750 for TM and adding a 2nd 500 or 750 later for video. So I want something quiet. Right now the WD is $15 less than the Seagate, and there may be better prices out there. But $15 is not worth it if it's not quiet.

 

[richardson.hila]

I've had the much older WD Caviar for over 5 years now and it's still going strong. I'm very happy with its performance and it's not that noisy either...Although with Seagate you do get a five year warranty which makes it all the more tempting...

 

[mondesi43]

Read my mind

I would like to know as well because my 500G WD (2 years old) sounds/feels like the Gillete Fusion razor when it's cranking. I was planning on getting another HD soon. There are some pretty sweet deals going at the local stores right now.

 

[MacOSXuser]

I would say WD even though is more expensive

I reckon WD is just the best overall

 

[byakuya]

To be frank, whilst you'll get people who have had bad experiences with one or the other and therefore have a preference, there's really nothing much to choose between them. Personally, I'd go for whichever you can get at the best price...

I agree...
I have an old western digital drive that I still use and am happy about...had a seagate and samsung and I think all of them are pretty good and the differences in noise are really tiny.
I love the samsung spinpoint series the most though...they're cheap, fast and very silent.

 

[~Shard~]

Just to balance things out (at least with repsect to the comments being made!) I'll vote Seagate. I have never had a problem with a Seagate drive, they have 5 year warranties and in many cases are cheaper than their WD counterparts. Plus, I have heard of some bad reviews regarding the WD MyBook line (although admittedly not the larger 500GB+ models) and I have also heard of a couple user with Mac-specific issues with repsect to WD external drives (do a search here on MR for details).

 

[junior77]

The WD G line of drives (lower speed 5400-7200rpm) is the quietest drive out there. Granted it's lower RPM drive so not comparing apples to apples to the 7200.10 or 7200.11 Seagate drives. It also runs the coolest when compared to other drives. It's not the fastest drive out there, but should do excellent for Time Machine backup. I'm using that right now, very quiet drive. Much quieter then the 240GB hitachi it replaced. You can get the 1TB for ~$260 right now.

As far as quality....it's really hit or miss. Until someone posts some factual numbers of reliability from both drive mfg, it's all hersey who makes more reliable drives. I've personally been using WD over the years. Never had a drive go bad, but then again never owned/used a drive for any extended period of time. As new machines have replaced old computers.

Once someone has a bad experience with a drive, they typically never go back to them, but in reality it could happen to any drive manufacturer.

 

[roland.g]

Well I had a 120GB WD SE in my G4 tower as a 2nd internal and it was a good drive. I bought a 500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 for my miniStack b/c I heard that their reputation and warranty was unmatched making them the unofficial industry leader, but even moreso for the perpendicular recording technology in their 7200.10 series drives that also "supposedly" gave them a performance edge.

I was ready to get another one of those drives in a 500 or 750 version for TM for the same reasons until I read a few user reviews complaining that their larger (750GB & 1TB) offerings were somewhat noisy. However, I didn't know how reliable that info was. So I left to the MR users to vote on. Performance shouldn't be the deciding factor for TM. I certainly won't have multiple sources writing simultaneously.

 

[rogersmj]

I love, love, LOVE Seagate drives. With my file server that I've been running for about 8 years now, they have had the lowest failure rate with me by far (and I've had everything -- Seagate, Western Digital, Maxtor, Quantum, IBM, Hitachi, etc). These days, Seagates are very affordable and have really long warranties too.

 

[~Shard~]

I love, love, LOVE Seagate drives. With my file server that I've been running for about 8 years now, they have had the lowest failure rate with me by far (and I've had everything -- Seagate, Western Digital, Maxtor, Quantum, IBM, Hitachi, etc). These days, Seagates are very affordable and have really long warranties too.

Thanks for the info, it's always helpful to receive feedback from users such as yourself with that type of firsthand experience.

And Quantum drives, wow, I remember those...

 

[-Alan-]

Have you considered this enterprise class Hitachi? OWC has it too.

 

[JurgenWigg]

My one complaint about the seagate is the noise! But even then it's not very noticeable, its just kind of like white noise coming from speakers when nothing's playing, but in a quiet room it's definitely noticeable - keeps me awake sometimes . I've since put it on the floor covered by a bunch of cardboard boxes, probably not the best thing to do, but hey, quiets it up a BUNCH!

 

[roland.g]

Have you considered this enterprise class Hitachi? OWC has it too.

A little on the pricey side. I'd like to get a 750 for sub-$200, and with xmas coming there should be some good deals. Last year I got my 500GB 7200.10 which retailed at the time for $230, for $150 - $80 off!!! It was a Black Friday sale, I think from OWC, so no lines, just ordered it.

 

[Umbongo]

WD if noise is an issue.

 

[-Alan-]

A little on the pricey side. I'd like to get a 750 for sub-$200, and with xmas coming there should be some good deals. Last year I got my 500GB 7200.10 which retailed at the time for $230, for $150 - $80 off!!! It was a Black Friday sale, I think from OWC, so no lines, just ordered it.

Thanks for letting me know that. I'm actually in the market for a few drives and am willing to wait a month or so before I make the purchase. I've seen one drive I was interested in already drop $20. I'm a bit gun shy when purchasing computer parts. I've been burned on memory and hard drives in the past--that's the reason I recommended an enterprise class drive.

 

[aafilmlaw]

WD vs Seagate: Noise Factor & Reliability Hitachi?

I am running a dual 3.0 Mac Pro and want to set up an interna RAID. I would like to use four 750 gb HD's but I am concerned about noise and heat. I know Seagate and Hitachi make 750's (unfortunately WD goes only to 500). My Mac tech tells me he had the Seagate 750's in his and he found them loud and hot and he then went back to whisper quiet WD 500's. Has anyone had any experience with the Hitachi 750 drive (which I believe maybe apple OEM)?

I would like to know before I lay out $800 for 4 of these drives.

Thanks.

PS. I am a Mac user since '91 and this is my first post. I feel like a 40+ year old virgin.