WD's 1TB SATA 6.0 Gbps HDD Out in Japan

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Western Digital is selling an HDD in Japan that uses the SATA 6.0 Gbps interface.

TechConnect reports that over in Japan, hard drive manufacturer Western Digital has introduced a new Caviar Black model that uses the speedy SATA 6.0 Gbps interface. Codenamed WD1002FAEX, the 3.5-inch, 1 TB drive has a 64 MB buffer memory, and operates at 7200 rotations per minute (RPM). The drive also features a sound output of 33 dBA while seeking.

Legit Reviews adds to the report, translating information provided by Japanese website Akiba. According to the site, WD's new drive has a maximum internal transfer rate of 126 MB/s. The drive also consumes 6.8 W of power during an active state, 0.7 W while in sleep mode.

Right now WD is selling the WD1002FAEX drive for 10,000 yen-- that's roughly around $111 USD, making it slightly more expensive than the SATA 3.0 Gbps model (WD1001FALS).

Currently there's no indication that the drive will hit the States, however this is a good indication that a new wave of SATA 6.0 Gbps drives from WD could be on the horizon soon.

Kevin Parrish
15 Comments Comment from the forums
  • huron
    Correct me if I am wrong, but mechanical drives have not yet been able to saturate the 3Gbs interface...

    I thought SSDs were the only things that could truly take advantage of the increased bandwidth.

    It's not that I'm not happy that we keep pushing the envelope with technology, but I couldn't imagine spending more on a drive when I couldn't take advantage of it.
    Reply
  • Shadow703793
    huronCorrect me if I am wrong, but mechanical drives have not yet been able to saturate the 3Gbs interface...I thought SSDs were the only things that could truly take advantage of the increased bandwidth. It's not that I'm not happy that we keep pushing the envelope with technology, but I couldn't imagine spending more on a drive when I couldn't take advantage of it.+1. Well said. Hell some really high end SSDs in RAID could probably swamp up SATA III in a year or two.
    Reply
  • crazymech
    I think even tho it doesn't max the 3Gbs interface, it's important to get the industry moving towards the next standard, if not for HDD's, then at least for the sake of SSD's.
    Reply
  • 33dB is incredibly loud even for a desktop drive. Then again maybe I'm just spoiled from using Samsung drives. *shrug*
    Reply
  • ljport78
    This reminds me of the My Book World Edition NAS that comes with a gigabit ethernet connection. It basically would perform the same with a 10BASE-T or 100mbit connection.

    Advertising that something has a high speed connection, whether you can utilize that connection or not, will boost your sales enough to compensate for using slightly more expensive components.
    Reply
  • micky_lund
    all the above are basically summing it up...the only point of SATA6 is to help the next gen ssds, but if its not implemented now, it'll take that much longer (6months) when they come out

    good move technically speaking, but not worth buying as a consumer
    Reply
  • pink315
    huronCorrect me if I am wrong, but mechanical drives have not yet been able to saturate the 3Gbs interface...I thought SSDs were the only things that could truly take advantage of the increased bandwidth. It's not that I'm not happy that we keep pushing the envelope with technology, but I couldn't imagine spending more on a drive when I couldn't take advantage of it.
    You are completely right, but the new 64mb buffer is nice, and this might also be the new higher density platter design. This is great for those of us who have extra sata 6 ports, and if priced at 111usd thats not too bad over the 90ish 1tb 32 mb older line of drives.
    Reply
  • masterjaw
    ^ The 64mb cache might be the only thing that buyers will benefit from these drives. The question is does the difference in cache (and assumingly the performance) would justify the additional $$ from the 1tb sata 3.0 variant?
    Reply
  • darthvidor
    good move ... for marketing
    Reply
  • TheDuke
    now I care less for SATA 6 because SSD's are still out of my price range
    Reply