WD Caviar Black vs Samsung Spinpoint F3

Nine Iron

Member
Couldn't find a thread that compares these directly:).

I'm considering one of these (in 1TB) to go along with an SSD - are the any owners of both who can offer a real-world comparison? Most reviews I've read suggest the Sammy will blitz the WD, but they're predominantly benchmarking; my priority is sheer application opening and responsiveness.

Any thoughts on noise? Again, reviews suggest the Sammy is the quieter.

Many thanks,

9i.
 
The Samsung is indeed quiter but it has only 32Mb cache where the Caviar Black has 64, making it a bit quicker?
I personally own a Spinpoint F3 1TB and it is pretty quiet and very reliable so far (been using it for 2 years+ now and not a single problem).

WD are known to be the #1 brand when it comes to speed and reliabilty but the Spinpoints are also good drives.

Tbf, I'd just go with the cheaper option...
 
As you already have an ssd for boot drive I would recommend the WD Cavier Green, it is cheaper and as a storage drive is all you need.
 
I would say the black from personal experience, although mine developed bad sectors after a year. It was a 2 TB hard-drive though and less platters does generally lower the chance of bad sectors or other issues appearing.
 
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As you already have an ssd for boot drive I would recommend the WD Cavier Green, it is cheaper and as a storage drive is all you need.

Depends on the storage imo.

For photos and videos the 5400 RPM would be plenty, yes, but for games and other software I'd prefer a 7200 RPM drive
 
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