WD6401AALS Really that good

[zod96]

I've been hearing and reading the the WD6401AALS is probably one of the quietest and the fastest 7200 rpm drive out currently, any truth to this? Anyone that has one care to comment on how quiet or fast it is 🙂

Thanks

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,

Yeap. It's a great performing drive. A lot of why various HDD's are faster than others comes down to the disk's density and the number of platters that are used. The WD640 there has two platters, just two, instead of three, making it faster. That's the key difference between it and other drives of that size. However also, newer drives and larger drives in general tend to be faster than the older smaller capacity drives (even though they're the same interface and 7200rpm spindle speed), due to better tech, and again, better disk density and platter size and amounts.

Very best,

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

that's why the Vraptor is such a good performer; 300gb on a 2.5" platter(s)

 

[Rabbits]

Yeah, they even surpass the speeds of raptors in some ways.
Thank those awesome platters. 🙂

 

[TBSN]

what about noise? Is it a loud drive?

 

[jjmIII]

The WD6401AALS has a few key features:

2x320gb platters - dense and fast
twin processors - all others have one
32mb cache - even most 'good' drives are only 16mb
5yr warranty - industry best

WD tuned the firmware and drive for speed. That is why it gets the special 'Black' title in its name.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: MalVeauX
The WD640 there has two platters, just two, instead of three, making it faster. That's the key difference between it and other drives of that size.

Actually, I'm pretty sure that all 640GB drives on the market have two platters (three WD models, one Seagate, two Samsung).

 

[Jeff7181]

I have the WD6400AAKS and it works well. Seems speedy enough and it's nice and quiet. I have it mounted in an Antec Sonata with those grommets and sitting right next to it in an otherwise silent room I can't tell when it's reading/writing.

The only dilemma I face now is whether to get another 500-640 GB drive to replace my 250GB backup drive that's not large enough anymore, or get a 1 TB drive to use as my main drive and demote the 640 to backup duty... decisions decisions.

 

[capeconsultant]

I have the AAKS and it is amazingly fast and quiet. They really seem to have done it this time. I would buy no other. Well, I would give the AALS a try, of course 🙂

 

[Team Spicoli]

Ciao,
I purchased one to house my OS after reading rave reviews. Haven't installed yet, though I'm confident it will live up to the expectations. When I read that it was benched faster than two raptors, I was sold.
Ultimately with my next build, I would like to entertain the SSD's.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: capeconsultant
I have the AAKS and it is amazingly fast and quiet. They really seem to have done it this time. I would buy no other. Well, I would give the AALS a try, of course 🙂

I have the 500GB version and it is indeed fast. I went from an WD 80GB 7200 8MB to the Black 500GB and wow what a difference in speed and noise. Great drive. Works awesome with Vista64. I have occasionally heard it spin up from time to time but only for a sec or two.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: zerocool84
I went from an WD 80GB 7200 8MB to the Black 500GB and wow what a difference in speed and noise.

That's not the difference in "Black Edition versus others," but more of an "old drive versus new."

 

[wayliff]

How does the WD Black compare to the WD RE3. RE3 really that much better for a raid1?

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: zerocool84
I went from an WD 80GB 7200 8MB to the Black 500GB and wow what a difference in speed and noise.

That's not the difference in "Black Edition versus others," but more of an "old drive versus new."

Well yea but it's still faster than my 7200.10 drive that I have had as well. And a hell of a lot quieter.

 

[Rhonda85]

Just upgraded my vintage seagate 7200.7 120GB w/2mb buffer to this drive and it is like a whole new system. It is so much quieter than the old seagate that I keep looking to see if the HD light is on. I am running an older compaq PC w/ athlon xp2800 and this drive made such of an improvement in overall performance I have decided to hold off building a new system.