Western Digital Caviar Black WD2001FASS vs WD1001FALS

[MahZi]

Hi guy

I want to buy a new HDD and my options are
Western Digital Caviar Black WD2001FASS
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS
and
maybe Seagate

I was checking to choose and saw this
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/wd6000hlhx-velociraptor-600gb,2600-7.html

they both are 7200rpm, sata 3gb
is it just because of the cache that the WD2001FASS is that much faster?

 

[sminlal]

Cache is the least important factor in hard drive performance, because all manufacturers include enough cache to buffer as many tracks as are needed to optimize throughput.

The difference in performance between these drives is because the WD2001FASS has higher density platters, which means that in each revolution of the platter it's able to read or write more data. Since both drives spin at the same speed, this means the transfer rates of the WD2001FASS are higher than those of the WD1001FALS.

 

[MahZi]

great info thanks

how about "Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB"?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697&Tpk=ST31000524AS

where can i find the density platters info for it and compare them?

 

[MahZi]

I searched the internet and found out
Seagate and WD 1T have 2platter and WD 2T has 4

so does in mean both Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS and Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS have same transfer rate?
what about Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX?

I can't decide between them
WD1002FAEX seems to have better reviews but ST31000524AS is much cheaper
PLEASE help me decide

 

[sminlal]

Actually the WD1001FALS has three platters - it holds 334GB per platter while the WD2001FASS holds 500GB on each of its four platters - that's why the larger drive has a faster transfer rate.

It looks like the ST31000524AS also uses 500GB platters so it should have faster transfer rates than the 1TB WD Drive and similar transfer rates to the 2TB WD drive.

 

[MahZi]

ST31000524AS uses 500GB platters so it should have 2platters for 1T
am I wrong?

 

[sminlal]

You're exactly right.

 

[fzabkar]

Just FYI, Seagate's old model numbering system indicates the number of platters in the second last digit, ie ST310005(2)4AS.

The "5" indicates the cache size.

Be aware that some drives are also short stroked, so even though the platter capacity may be 500GB, the actual data density (and transfer rate) may be that of a 600GB platter.