WD's Power Drive For Power Users

Before we even took a single look at the technical specifications and speeds and feeds, there was one feature that we liked immediately: Western Digital provides a five-year limited warranty with the Caviar Black. Until they figure out how to manufacture hard drives that don't fail, providing a five-year backing to the Caviar Black is a very likeable option.

The drive lists a SATA transfer rate of 3 GBps, with 32 MB of cache and a speed of 7200 RPM. After formatting, a data transfer of 2 GB between a WD Caviar Green drive with an RPM of between 5400 and 7200 took approximately 1 minute and 41 seconds -- slightly faster than similar 7200 drives we've transferred in that same scenario.

Street pricing on the OEM box of the Caviar Black 1 TB runs about $115, which is anywhere from on par with to 25 percent or 30 percent below other drives in that class. Measured with an infrared thermometer, the drive rose to about 90 degrees Fahrenheit after about 20 minutes of working -- or more than 10 percent cooler than similar drives we've reviewed in that class. That was a nice surprise, and just one indication of why the company believes it can offer the five-year warranty—longer than other vendors who typically provide three-year warranties. In addition, the sound of the drive never rose above the ambient level of the lab.

Heat, especially in performance systems, not only pushes a PC into drawing more power to keep fans operating fast enough, but takes a toll on system wear and tear. Less heat, less overall wear and tear. This will be a key metric we examine in drives going forward. (Perhaps because of the engineering Western Digital has put into its ecofriendly, energy-efficient Caviar Green class of drives, the company has been able to deliver efficiency gains in other parts of its product line.)

The combination of price and performance for system builders designing desktops with HDDs is compelling, and we believe Western Digital will only improve upon this as it continues to build on this line.

Western Digital has a tiered channel program for its HDD drive products and a separate program for channel partners for its Solid State Drive (SSD) product line. Its SelectWD program provides rebates, marketing collateral and assistance, product bundles, product training and support for some partners who exhibit in trade shows.

Competition in the desktop drive space will only get fiercer as SSDs become more available and less expensive, and as the industry's anticipated desktop refresh builds out over the next 18 months. We believe that Western Digital has positioned itself well in the desktop space with Caviar Green, Caviar Blue and Caviar Black product segments.

The bottom line: Western Digital has a long history of providing strong products for system builders and VARs, and has put heavy investment into R&D and engineering in recent years. It's starting to show up throughout its lineup, and we expect good things moving forward.

The Caviar Black 1-TB drive is a nice component to consider for desktops that require that unique combination of performance, efficiency and durability, and with its channel program and warranty, the company is ready to provide both partners and their customers strong support to back up a strong product.