Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive ST2000DL003

2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive ST2000DL003
by Seagate

Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache
3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive ST2000DL003

I'm using previous Seagate 2TB LP (ST32000542AS) for over a year now. And, I was never very pleased by the older model: it make some strange noises that scared in the beginning. All four ST32000542AS units that I have do the same strange "click" noise. Googling I discovered that this annoying noise is normal for the first LP generation. This is a problem when you have 5 of then working together in a NAS. 

So, the first improve I noticed in STL2000DL003 is the quiet operation. Then I made some benchmarks using HD Tach: 

- Compared with ST32000542AS (firmware updated to CC35) the unit is faster in average read (113MB/s against 97.1MB/s) and uses less CPU (2% against 3%), but has worst Random access (17.4ms against 14.2ms). 

- Compared with WD20EARS: the unit is faster in average read (113MB/s against 100.6MB/s) and same CPU use (2%), but has worst in Random access (17.4ms against 16.2ms). 

Anyway, it's a nice HDD for the price. 

Other Thoughts: Some people do prefer WD hard drives, but in my experience there is no advantage in this particular brand. In the past I need to use worldwide RMA (from Brazil, to be specific) from WD and from Seagate. More than one time for both companies. Seagate was always fast and painless: no more than one week between send the defective unit and receive a new one (again: outside USA!).But with WD was a nightmare every time! More than one month to receive back the same unit, but refurbished. Guess what? The defective unit that they refurbished and sent me back has become defective again... Another "over a month" waiting for a solution. This happened more than one time, first with external HDD then with internal HDD (green caviar)! Since these events, I never bought a WD again and I don't recommend to anyone. 

So, in my opinion and my experience, the Seagate costumer service is another highlight for this HDD.