In search of a new hard drive, any suggestions?

Hello All,
It seems I didn't end up with good success from my new Seagate Momentus 7200.4 500GB Model ST9500420AS. As it began clicking this evening. So I reinstalled my original 320GB Hitachi drive and did a clean install of the osx as well.
I would like some suggestions as to another brand I might wanna try.
I'm looking for the best 5400RPM and the best 7200RPM for a 500GB to choose from.
I would like to stay with a 7200RPM drive only because since installing the 5400RPM stock drive, I have been able notice the difference in speed between the two rpm's. Also since installing the stock drive, I've also gotten one beach ball spinning effect I didn't get while using the 7200RPM drive. Unless someone can suggest a really good 5400RPM drive.
I have a brand new i5 15.4" Macbook pro that the new hard drive will be going into...
Thanks in advance for any suggestions...
Greg
Message was edited by: gorylewis

You're not alone regarding the Seagate Momentus failures. I bought the same model 5 months ago and began noticing random freezes and Finder restarts. After reformatting the drive and doing a full zero-erase (stress testing), Disk Utility reported that the SMART status was showing early failure. There are numerous posts regarding failures of this particular drive.
I've seen quite a few recommendations for the HITACHI Travelstar 7K500 HD20500 which is equivalent to the Seagate drive in all performance specs. I found one post on NewEgg's site about an early failure within 4 months but otherwise the feedback has been excellent. Until May 13, you can get this drive from NewEgg for $78 with the special promo code and no tax or shipping charge. I went for it.
The Hitachi drive uses less power so battery life is extended a bit and heat generation is lower. Heat and shock are the primary causes of laptop drive failures.
Message was edited by: Tony Scaminaci
Message was edited by: Tony Scaminaci

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