@dadrian
#1) I meant built in as in inside a desktop box as opposed to externally usb connected. Sorry for not anticipating your ignorance. Guess I should have said 'internal'.
#2) Everything I've read and been told on these drives say they are variable speed (thus more power efficient). NOT just set at 7200 or 5400.
#3) My drives are only different because of manufacturing/tech advances. The second drive is just a newer version of the first, although marketed as the same drive (manufacturer reserves the right to change specifications without notice). I was only surprised due to the short time between purchases. I used their serial numbers for ID online when I bought them and I'm not about to reopen the cases just to prove it all to you. Read more at wdc.com
Btw, both of mine have 32MB caches.
#4) When would YOU like to find out you have a bad drive (platter). Before you store your irreplaceable files? Or after?
#5) Having had computers at home for 27 years and me as the sole administrator and usual assembler ... I ain't perfect but I do all right.
#6) Go heckle someone else

1 TB drive is a good choice. Samsung or Seagate would be my top choices.
Sorry if I offended people that have computers since long before x86 hit the market, they surely know computers better than anyone that finished an informatics college.

Glad you can see that, given that most of your lecturers would have been either largely self-taught or gained the vast majority of their knowledge and experience in the real-world

Ok, enough about that, it's silly, 2 grown-ups acting like kids.
I have a thread, perhaps you can give me a tip there. It's about my laptop's performance, it's a new domain to me.

http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread197832.html

Thanks.