Western Digital Scorpio vs. Hitachi Travelstar 7k200

[Roadster]

I want to replace the stock 80GB HD on my first-gen 2.0ghz Macbook, and I'm in a bit of a dilemma... any help would be appreciated.

I originally decided on a 250GB WD Scorpio - decent reviews + prices. However, I then read that these drives often seem to emit 'clicking' sounds during use... and having read a few more user reports, it seems they are also prone to S.M.A.R.T failures.

So then I looked at the Hitachi 7k200, which, according to the reviews I've read, seem to be the fastest and best-performing of all 2.5 SATA drives. Only problem is they're also quite a bit more expensive, and in slightly lower capacity.

So now I can't decide which one to go for. The Hitachi is much faster, yes, but the speed isn't necessary at all (not that it wouldn't be nice, of course) - plus I'm concerned about the noise and heat that the 7200RPM drive may generate. The WD Scorpio seems great, but I'll always worry about the drive's reliability.

So, anyone here installed these drives on their laptop? I'm more keen on hearing how the Hitachi fares. Lower heat + noise and battery life is much more important to me than speed or even capacity (200GB is enough for me). Or is there another, more reliable HD out there that would be a better option for me?

 

[velocityg4]

Considering all of the happy customer reviews on newegg.com the Hitachi seems like a good choice. Many of those reviewers are using this drive in their Macbooks some specifically stating the drive is quieter than the stock one. As far as battery life goes there really should be no noticeable difference. From what I recall tomshardware.com reviewed battery drain in laptops comparing 7200RPM and 5400RPM hard drives and found only a few minutes difference. This guide is the only one that I could find, the article I was referring to could not be found. But even here the power difference when idle is negligible when compared to energy consumed by other components even under load, since other components would also be drawing their max power.

For another hard drive option this Western Digital runs about the same price as the Hitachi it also gets great reviews and is 320GB.

 

[timish]

Don't forget Samsung has some competent offerings in that size/speed arena.

Their Spinpoint is a mature offering that meets the specs of the other drives mentioned.