WD BEVT vs BPVT (Advanced Format Technology)

Advanced Format drives use a 4K block size rather than the traditional 512byte blocks that HDDs have used since the year dot. There are various reliability and capacity issues which are addressed by moving to Advanced Format.

The problem is that XP doesn't support Advanced Format very well so there are various workarounds needed depending on how the drive is going to be used - these should be documented on the drive itself. If you're using Vista or 7 then there's nothing to worry about, just use it in the same way as any other drive.
 
thanks for the explanation, it will be used in a laptop running fresh install of W7 32bit, so if i've understood you correctly the BPVT is the better drive as it is more reliable.
 
The difference in reliability is going to be minimal between the two. The advanced format drives should, in theory, have better internal ECC handling but it's unlikely you'd notice a difference.

Personally I'd go with whichever is cheaper...
 
The BPVT is the better drive but you will find that the older model is starting to get cheaper. The 5000BEVT I can buy for about £5 less than the BPVT at the moment.
 
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