drccsc wrote:
WD6400AAKS... blazingly fast and haven't seen any issues yet with them or the single-platter WD3200AAKS that is the same tech.
These drives are amazing for performance, I have the 640AAKS myself and I love it, it actually beats the older raptor in many benchmarks (not the velociraptor though)
Of course this is a WD so if the drive fails and you must recover from it, there is always the issue with the heads, but it should be less prominent since this is only a 2 platter drive, with a ramp also (always makes things easier)
I think there are pros and cons to any brand, I don't really see any brand standing out completely from any others; hard drives are mechanical devices that all have a chance of failure, and such back-ups should ALWAYS be used, no matter how new, or "reliable" you brand/model drive's track record is.
Personally, I say go for the drive with the best performance possible, and make sure you keep a good backup, and you can't go wrong.