Western Digital Reveals New High-Performance 2TB Hard Drives

Western Digital continues to stay ahead of its competitors by announcing new products that take advantage of the latest technology developments in the storage industry, with today's introduction of the new desktop 7200RPM hard drives, boasting a 2TB storage capacity. Featuring the company's 500GB-per-platter technology, the new drives are part of the WD Caviar Black and WD RE4 families of storage solutions, providing computer enthusiasts with high-capacity, high-performance products suited for use in server, network attached storage and storage networks. The new drives come to complete WD's 2TB offering, which includes the industry's first 2TB hard drive, the WD Caviar Green, introduced early this year.

“WD Caviar Black 2 TB hard drives maximize the features and functionality of power computing applications such as gaming, photo editing, user generated multimedia and video,” said Jim Morris, senior vice president and general manager of WD's client storage systems. “With the selection of WD Caviar Black hard drives, WD desktop customers receive the best possible mix of capacity, performance and reliability that is required for intense desktop computing.”

According to the specifications of the new drives, Western Digital’s latest 2TB installments have been featured with a dual processor design to maximize performance, dual actuator technology, NoTouch ramp load technology, as well as the company's own technologies, including IntelliSeek and StableTrac. In addition, both drives are built with four platters and boast 64MB of cache and a SATA 3Gbps interface.

“Specifically designed for enterprise-class applications, WD's RE4 2 TB drives incorporate the best combination of features, optimum performance, and superior reliability that customers have come to expect from WD,” said Tom McDorman, vice president and general manager of enterprise storage solutions for WD. “Our enterprise products are directly aimed at customers who require additional features and extensive testing that are necessary for high-end enterprise environments.”

As far as pricing and availability goes, Western Digital claims that the WD Caviar Black 2TB model is already available through select distributors with an MSRP of US$299, while the WD Caviar Black 2TB model is currently being qualified by OEMs.