A disk drive is disclosed including a disk having a plurality of tracks, and a head actuated over the disk. A write frequency of write data received from a host is monitored. When the write frequency falls below a threshold, the disk drive is configured to operate in a low frequency access mode when accessing the disk, wherein a parameter of the disk drive is configured to increase the reliability of the disk drive. When the write frequency rises above a threshold, the disk drive is configured to operate in a high frequency access mode when accessing the disk, wherein the parameter of the disk drive is configured to increase the performance of the disk drive.