Best SATA-2 HDD on the Market (if you get a good one)
With a massive 64MB cache, the WD RE4 is a fantastic performer. I have three of these, one which has seen action in 6 different PC's. Still going strong today, there's a reason why these shipped with a 5 year warranty.
In reality, these WD RE4's are upscale (or upgraded) Caviar Blacks, has 2x the cache, and runs quieter also. This is because the RE4 isn't a consumer oriented HDD, there's businesses with multiple of these drives installed, so has to be quiet & fast. Check the specs closely so that you don't get a WD RE4-GP, a 'power saving' drive that's not the same, though a simple trick booting into the freely available Ultimate Boot CD to disable parking (under HDD's, go to WDIDLE & when loaded, type wdidle3 /d) can make these two models the same, as well as disable parking of any other installed WD drives. I'm including this information to inform consumers to check specs & be aware of features that can extend drive life. Disabling parking can in reality, double a drive's lifespan, regardless of number of hours used. That's the trick used by many, and in some cases, one can get a HDD with over 50,000 hours of use, and less than 200 start/stop cycles. Consumer can benefit from the same trick, though will have more start/stop cycles by default when computer is shutdown or rebooted.
The WD RE4 is a true workhorse of a HDD, it's as simple as that. Even post retirement, makes excellent backup drives using a docking station or enclosure constructed of metal, the heavier, the better & avoid plastic models, though it's OK for the end caps to be. A fan is a plus, though if not ran 24/7, not a necessity.
Check the seller's feedback before purchase, chances are that the best sellers will give a great deal on these drives, some of which are still covered by WD's warranty.
As long as the drive is good, everyone's a winner!;-)
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Verified purchase: No
