Western Digital Caviar WD1000BB Review

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Storage Review has posted a review on the Western Digital Caviar WD1000BB harddisk

 

With the release of its 20 GB/platter Caviar WD400BB nearly a year ago, Western Digital proved that it was a serious challenger in the ATA drive sweeps. Though IBM´s Deskstar 75GXP managed to retain its throne, the WD400BB nonetheless provided a solid alternative to Big Blue´s drive. Last spring, WD followed up the 400BB with the Caviar WD800BB, a drive that doubled the 400BB´s size while delivering incremental performance gains. Interestingly, around the same time, the Deskstar-GXP series took a step backwards in capacity as IBM abandoned its premiere 5-platter design in favor of a more practical 3-platter implementation. The net result was a Western Digital offering that surpassed Big Blue´s in capacity while creeping ever closer in performance terms.

 

This summer Western Digital brings the industry a product of symbolic significance. The Caviar WD1000BB is the first 7200 RPM ATA drive to hit 100 GB of capacity. It´s also the first three-digit-capacity drive we´ve tested that features a low-profile, 1" high design. The 1000BB achieves its monstrous capacity by utilizing three platters each packing a bit over 30 gigabytes. WD specifies seek time at 8.9 milliseconds. A standard 2-megabyte buffer rounds out the package.

 

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