http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST3000DM001/dp/B005T3GRLY/ref=lh_ni_t

Looks like Newegg is matching with a promo:

 

$20 off (of $169.99) w/ promo code EMCNDHJ33, ends 6/27

A word of caution about this drive, I ordered 4 to add to my server, 1 was DOA, the 2nd died 10 hours into preclear, the other 2

are still preclearing, at a 50% failure rate so far, I am not sure I want to trust these drives, YMMV.

Thanks for the heads up - I'll be starting on Tower #2 in about 24 hours, and immediately preclearing my new 3TBs for at least two cycles.  Not sure how Amazon will treat me on RMA's, but Newegg shouldn't be too bad... What's frustrating is that I'd fully intended to start Tower #2 as an all-4TB monster, but the dearth of 4TB drives on the market killed that idea pretty quickly.  Plus, at current rates, a single drive failure could seriously impact my savings account.  $150 a pop isn't fun, but it's doable, so I'll be snatching up any 3TB by any manufacturer at that price for awhile now... Crazily enough, it seems like the only "green"-ish 3TBs out there are this one and the WD (which I've also heard complaints about), so there may just be a bunch of preclearing and failures in my immediate future.  Really wishing I'd have started down my 4TB path back before the floods...

My main concern is what happens if two drives fail at the same time, the odds of that happening are probably slim,

and once the drives preclear and run for a while, they will probably be ok. but still I have to wonder.

A word of caution about this drive, I ordered 4 to add to my server, 1 was DOA, the 2nd died 10 hours into preclear, the other 2

are still preclearing, at a 50% failure rate so far, I am not sure I want to trust these drives, YMMV.

 

Look at the date of manufacture on the drive. I have 2 of the ST3000DM001 manufactured in China on 04/2012 firmware CE9E with the power down option turned off by default. The 2 drives have been precleared and added as data drives. They seem to be OK so far. There is apparently some firmware available for older drives.

Yeah, I steer away from these.  Around here we talk about the Seagate COD (click of death).  Last year during the drive crunch we were in a situation we had to have something and that was all that was available locally.  Violated our own rules and got it.  COD right out of the box, and totally gone before burn in finished.  Sooner or later I assume they will get this fixed.  If they survive the initial few months the seem to work well, but out of the box they seem to have an at best 50:50 shot of surviving. 

External Drive is on sale for $89.99 right now of this same drive.

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0056YNA1Q

 

I have 3 and they work great so far.