[SOLVED] New Hard Drive to replace the one that got FRIED!

Lastest PC mag over here compared the 3 caviar drives (amongst other ones) however as far as the WD drives go, they mentioned the green was the quietest but (not unexpectedly) the slowest of the 3. The black was faster then the green but not as quiet and did run warmer but still within specs and the blue fell somewhere in between the two. They also rated the drives performance in short read/write blocks/bursts and large file writes but I don't have those specs to hand.
However it was mentioned that people will mistakenly assume a given drive to be faster across all paramenters of it's use but that is not neccessarliy the case and some drives can score well in burst read/writes but not so good in large file transfers and vice versa.

I have a 1 TB Black. It's not very audible at all. I hear the psu fan if anything and not really any of my 3 WD drives. The case is right next to me too, at ear level.

I've heard (or read) others say the same, that the Caviar Black is quiet. Perhaps I need to contact WD, it has a five year warranty, and I registered it after purchasing it from Newegg.

Also, I've read that Newegg's shipping methods (especially with hard drives) can cause damage itself, this was a complaint on their site (user's ratings). The Caviar Black arrived to me in a slightly beaten up box, with only a minimal amount of cushioning to protect it. It was wrapped in bubble wrap, but the foam "peanuts" were loosely packed, making it easy for the drive to move around.

While this may or may not have been the problem, the fact remains that the drive is too noisy for it's price and WD's (as well as consumer's) ratings. When I get my Samsung drive setup and going, I'll contact WD on the issue. That's the best that I can do.

Cat

Nah. The shipping will not damage the drive. I bought mine from there as well and received it the same way. People say the weirdest things on Newegg with relation to products. It boggles my mind sometimes and others, provides a decent laugh.

If the drive is not powered on as in shipping, nothing can really damage it short of intentionally destroying the package.

Cant't remember the exact figures but a HDD when not powered up has some huge shock rating. Something in the order of 100g's. Still just 'cos you can drop a drive doesn't mean ya should. I've completely gone off mail order purchases for that reason.

I'm glad that's the case, because I had concerns over the free shipping that Newegg offers. Evidently, I received a bum drive. Opinions vary, some says that performance drives are sometimes noisy and warmer than the standard ones. That's why I didn't contact Newegg at the time of purchase.

Like I said, as soon as I get the Samsung going, and the data on the Caviar Black moved to the Caviar Blue that I'm now running, I'll contact WD to get a RMA #.

Thanks TorrentG, for letting me know about this. If yours are quiet, then mine should be, too.

Cat

My old Raptors were certainly more noisey and ran warmer but they run at 10,000 rpm.

It would be nice to get off of mail order for me, too. But there's few choices here to purchase drives from. Best Buy is here, but they are too expensive for me. In order to get the best price, you have to (in most cases) get it delivered to your door.

And another thing to keep in mind, the products were shipped to the merchant in one way or the other. So the product was mailed (or shipped) at some point, even to a retailer.

Cat

True but when you buy over the counter you can see the product in the shop.. It's certainly not the cheapest way to buy things but I'm getting old and cranky (sigh) and just like the convienience.

It is more convenient to some to run to the retailer, especially if you need it on the spot. But I don't, and it's not easy for me to leave home, so I do a lot of my family's (my spouse & I) shopping online. Not just computer parts, but clothes, home furnishings, and even one of my meds arrive by a carrier of some sort (mail, UPS or FedEx).

I've saved a lot of money, as well as wear & tear on our car, by online shopping. Plus, it's good for the environment, too.

Cat