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Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black

J

JackSpadesSI

Senior member
I am going to buy the Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black HDD soon. Initially, I was going to buy this from Newegg because their price was good about a week ago. However their price went up to $129.99 and I also realized I may want some of the accessories (screws, cables) that come with a retail product.

Best Buy (as incompetent as they are) has a Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black HDD for $149.99. This is the retail version of the product, but it has a different model number from the one listed on Newegg that got such great reviews. I just want to make sure that it is the same HDD.

Newegg OEM HDD = WD1001FALS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136284

Best Buy retail HDD = WD10000LSRTL
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...oduct&id=1213047091732

Are these the exact same HDD?

Also, does anyone know of a place that may have the retail version (if they?re, in fact, the same) cheaper?

Thanks!
 
Originally posted by: JackSpadesSI
I also realized I may want some of the accessories (screws, cables) that come with a retail product.

Also, does anyone know of a place that may have the retail version (if they?re, in fact, the same) cheaper?
Click to expand...
Google Shopping or Price Grabber

 
Retail drives are not worth it IMO.
All they include it just cables, screws, manual, and software.
Thing is the cables and screws usually come with the motherboard and case, the manual is a free download from the manufacture site, and you can get the WD tools from manufacture site too. Just not worth the extra markup.

Also as far as I can tell they are the same drive(perhpas one is a newer revision), just one is using the retail sku. while the other is using oem sku. Either case its the WD1001FALS that is listed on WD sites; the other isn't.
 
Originally posted by: Quiksilver
Retail drives are not worth it IMO.
All they include it just cables, screws, manual, and software.
Click to expand...
* The OP says... "I also realized I may want some of the accessories (screws, cables) that come with a retail product."
If he wants to spend an $10 on the "extras", so be it.
* One other point is that in some cases "retail" version and "OEM" versions don't have the same warranty period. Not in this WD 1TB case, but others, retail warranties have been shorter than the oem equivalent.

 
Originally posted by: Blain
* The OP says... "I also realized I may want some of the accessories (screws, cables) that come with a retail product."
If he wants to spend an $10 on the "extras", so be it.
* One other point is that in some cases "retail" version and "OEM" versions don't have the same warranty period. Not in this WD 1TB case, but others, retail warranties have been shorter than the oem equivalent.
Click to expand...

It's an extra $20 based on the prices the OP found initially. A 100-count bag of hard drive screws can be had for about $5, maybe cheaper. I'm betting a local hardware or computer supply/repair store would GIVE you 4 of them if you asked nicely. And you can get a SATA cable for $1 from monoprice.com.

I guess if the OP finds these things inconvenient enough to warrant a $20 upcharge, it's worth it. I know I wouldn't.
 
Point taken - it is a large upgrade in price for some screws and a cable.

What I'm really worried about are the stories I've read on these forums/Newegg reviews/Amazon reviews where they ship you the OEM HDD with just one sheet of bubble wrap or something equivalently bad. At least I know when I buy it from Best Buy it wasn't shipped like that. I can also inspect the box for any signs of being dropped. That peace of mind (along with those cheap screws and cables) is what I was really going for with the retail version.
 
Last OEM hard drive i got from newegg was a single sheet of bubble wrap tightly wrapped around it then taped. The hard drive wasn't able to move at all.
 
Originally posted by: JackSpadesSI
Best Buy (as incompetent as they are) has a Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black HDD for $149.99. This is the retail version of the product, but it has a different model number from the one listed on Newegg that got such great reviews. I just want to make sure that it is the same HDD.

Newegg OEM HDD = WD1001FALS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136284

Best Buy retail HDD = WD10000LSRTL
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...oduct&id=1213047091732

Are these the exact same HDD?

Also, does anyone know of a place that may have the retail version (if they?re, in fact, the same) cheaper?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Nobody has answered the oriniginal question.
Are they the EXACT same drive?
 
The WD "retail" model number, AFAIK, stays the same for the lifetime of that retail SKU.

Which actual drive comes in the box, is up to WD. Say, for instance, they come up with a newer 1TB WD Caviar Black model. The retail boxes could contain either model.

AFAIK, right now, there is only one model of 1TB WD black, a three-platter model. So right now, the retail box is probably the same drive as teh OEM. But eventually, they will be moving to two 500GB platters, so that will no longer be true in the future.
 
Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
The WD "retail" model number, AFAIK, stays the same for the lifetime of that retail SKU.

Which actual drive comes in the box, is up to WD. Say, for instance, they come up with a newer 1TB WD Caviar Black model. The retail boxes could contain either model.

AFAIK, right now, there is only one model of 1TB WD black, a three-platter model. So right now, the retail box is probably the same drive as teh OEM. But eventually, they will be moving to two 500GB platters, so that will no longer be true in the future.
Click to expand...

Very informative.
THNX
 
Originally posted by: JackSpadesSI
Point taken - it is a large upgrade in price for some screws and a cable.

What I'm really worried about are the stories I've read on these forums/Newegg reviews/Amazon reviews where they ship you the OEM HDD with just one sheet of bubble wrap or something equivalently bad. At least I know when I buy it from Best Buy it wasn't shipped like that. I can also inspect the box for any signs of being dropped. That peace of mind (along with those cheap screws and cables) is what I was really going for with the retail version.
Click to expand...

I ordered a WD OEM drive recently from Newegg and, like Quiksilver, mine was shipped with a single sheet of bubble wrap taped around the antistatic sleeve holding the drive. The rest of the box was filled with packing peanuts. No issues with mine so far.

I've heard that Amazon is a little better than Newegg for HDD shipping, if you're worried.

Anyway, if something is wrong with the drive you can RMA it... Inconvenient, yes, but you're not just stuck with a bum drive if it gets damaged in shipping.
 
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