I want to add a second hard drive to my desktop for dedicated storage of flash video and other small media files. I am considering the Western Digital model WD1601ABYS, which is the current 160GB SATA drive from their RE2 series. As it uses a single platter, the drive might generate less heat, and thereby create less cooling fan noise. That’s important, as I need to use the desktop extensively in my bedroom.
Being enterprise grade drives, the RE2 series offers a potentially longer life span than those from Western Digital’s otherwise well reviewed SE16 series. The WD2000KS is the smallest capacity drive I can find from the SE16 series.
But with the WD2000KS’s 200GB capacity, its bound to have at least 3 platters, thereby raising the risk of more heat and consequent fan noise. For that reason I’m hovering around the 160GB models from the RE2 and the earlier RE series.
However, I do have one final concern:
Since early 2006, Seagate has been using the perpendicular recording format throughout their 7200.10 and their enterprise ES series drives. Western Digital began doing so last year. Do you believe long-term data integrity to be no less secure with perpendicular recording as with conventional longitudinal recording?
If you have reason to suspect that perpendicular recording may not be quite as error-free and/or give long-term data
protection as securely as longitudinal recording, there is the Western Digital model WD1600YS. From the earlier RE series, it does not use perpendicular recording, however it may use two platters.
So again, I thought the safest bet was either:
The Western Digital model WD1601ABYS, a definite single platter model, but using perpendicular recording.
OR
The Western Digital model WD1600YS, which probably uses two platters but does not use perpendicular recording.
Please help me choose between these two drives-unless you happen to know of another drive, which might suit my needs even better.
