WD Caviar Blue 640GB 2.5" Hard Drive

Western Digital hard drive model WD7500AAKS

Strengths: Huge hard drive for price.

Weakness: Drive failed after a short time.

I ordered two of these drives. One failed after about two weeks, error 0226. I RMAed unit to WD and received a new drive. It took about 5 days to get the new drive. The other drive failed after about 3 months with same error. I RMAed unit to WD. It's been over a week and the new drive hasn't been shipped. I called WD and was told the drive was not in stock and I had to wait two weeks to get a new...
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I ordered two of these drives. One failed after about two weeks, error 0226. I RMAed unit to WD and received a new drive. It took about 5 days to get the new drive. The other drive failed after about 3 months with same error. I RMAed unit to WD. It's been over a week and the new drive hasn't been shipped. I called WD and was told the drive was not in stock and I had to wait two weeks to get a new drive. After talking to tech support they agreed to send me a different drive. I will never recommend their hardware ever again. If I could put a negative 4 star rating I would. Now I can spend the next two days installing the OS and all my photos again......

By dhlxrayman; - Apr 21, 2009

The only hard drive you'll need

Strengths: Fast, quiet, cool, competitive pricing

Weakness: None so far

I struggled to choose between the WD6400AAKS and the 750GB Samsung F1 for my primary drive for my gaming rig. The two traded shots with each other in all benchmarks I could find (and with the various generations of Raptors, too), and were priced similarily. In the end, I got the Western Digital, simply because 640GB is plenty for my needs. If you don't need more space than that, this single drive...
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I struggled to choose between the WD6400AAKS and the 750GB Samsung F1 for my primary drive for my gaming rig. The two traded shots with each other in all benchmarks I could find (and with the various generations of Raptors, too), and were priced similarily. In the end, I got the Western Digital, simply because 640GB is plenty for my needs. If you don't need more space than that, this single drive should be all you need.


This drive has 2 platters, each with an areal density of 320GB. Places like Anandtech have shown these drives to perform nearly the same as the Raptors, only with 2x-3x the capacity and a lower price. This is a no brainer for me, especially when Raptors are relatively loud, and this drive is whisper quiet. I don't claim that my system is silent, but whereas before I could easily hear the seeks of my 320GB 7200.10, I hear nothing from the WD6400AAKS. No problems with heat, either, and it all came at a very attractive pricetag of ~$94 - and it keeps dropping.

I've included my HD Tach results; they aren't the only indicator of performance, but it's something.

By Graalmeister - Jun 16, 2008

Raptor killer

Strengths: 2 high density platters

Weakness: none

This hard drive is Western Digital's new 640GB drive with 2x 320GB platters. The increased platter density allows for faster data transfer per revolution. HD Tune results: minimum - 53.1 MB/s maximum - 113.0 MB/s average - 89.5 MB/s Access time - 12.5ms How to make this drive into a raptor killer: Partition your drive in the outer 20% or smaller. Use this partition for your operating system, and...
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This hard drive is Western Digital's new 640GB drive with 2x 320GB platters. The increased platter density allows for faster data transfer per revolution.

HD Tune results:
minimum - 53.1 MB/s
maximum - 113.0 MB/s
average - 89.5 MB/s
Access time - 12.5ms

How to make this drive into a raptor killer:
Partition your drive in the outer 20% or smaller. Use this partition for your operating system, and you'll have an average transfer rate of 110.0 MB/s, with access time of ~9ms. Put two or more in a raid configuration and your system will be flying.

By AntLee29 - May 6, 2008

Outstanding!

Strengths: speed, whisper-quiet, remains cool

Weakness: none

I purchased this drive to replace my "green" WD 1 TB WD10EACS which crashed after causing numerous system freezes and often not even appearing on a reboot. I use it externally in an Antec MX-1 enclosure with the eSATA connection to my Dell XPS 420. This drive has performed flawlessly storing all my Recorded TV from my Media Center. I was so impressed, I purchased a 2nd unit to use in the same...
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I purchased this drive to replace my "green" WD 1 TB WD10EACS which crashed after causing numerous system freezes and often not even appearing on a reboot. I use it externally in an Antec MX-1 enclosure with the eSATA connection to my Dell XPS 420. This drive has performed flawlessly storing all my Recorded TV from my Media Center. I was so impressed, I purchased a 2nd unit to use in the same manner (eSATA), using it for storage of media, video and music files. Sometimes the size of a drive is not the best benchmark.

By 4218rgrif - Aug 25, 2008

Best drive I have owned!

Strengths: Fast, quiet, and cool.

Weakness: None

Wow, I was instantly impressed with this hard drive! I can tell it is faster than the my 500GB Seagate and 750GB WD drives. It also runs very quiet and cool. I am running it on an Asus P5B-Plus board, and have not experienced any issues. This is easily the best performance drive I have owned.

By Master_FOB - Aug 10, 2008