Differences between these HDD's

[mrgoodkat]

I was wondering what the differences between these two Seagate HDDs are, both are 250gb, one is ES, and $10 more.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148155

For the same price as the ES 250gb there is the 320gb @ $79. Some of the reviews say the 320gb 'clicks' and is overall a loud drive. Does anyone have any experience with this drive, should I take my chances?

 

[grumperfish]

Hey that's my review in the ES link! Neat. I haven't tried the 320gb drive you're talking about (read the reviews for it when buying recently as I was deciding on a purchase) so I can't comment, but I have 2 of the 250gb ES drives and one of the 250gb non-ES models and they're both great. The ES ones supposedly have longer running life for server/network storage use. Other than that they're really not much different in tests. As I tend to abuse my drives via torrenting/transcoding and I run my system almost constantly I thought the extra $10 was an investment (note: this isn't totally true: The first ES drive was purchased by accident as I was finishing the remainder of a decent 2001 Legaris that night while ordering). For non-raided 7200rpm drives, they're both very fast models though.

If you want to save 10bux, then the vanilla 250gb model would be great. If you want (potentially) longer running-life then grab the ES model. If you want more space then try the 320. It'll probably work fine, and if not you could always RMA it. I think alot of the returned drives to Newegg are from people who had them shipped alone. Whenever I get drives from there I try to buy a few other small parts or fans as well just to ensure that I get a bigger box with more packing material. Not sure if it helps, but it makes me feel better about it. [/rambling anecdote]

 

[mrgoodkat]

Thanks mate, I went ahead and ordered the non-ES 250gb.