Western Digital WD RE4 WD2503ABYX 250GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Enterprise Hard Drive

Pros: This drive has been running in a Win server 2008r2 for 2 years 24/7. Using it as a system drive. This drive has had zero issues.

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: Wish all drives I bought were this good. Will be happy if it makes it the full 5 years before replacing all hard drives as I usually do. This drive is installed along with 4 1tb RE4's that are all the same age. All the 1tb drives are doing just as good. I would by these again with out thinking twice.

Pros: Solid performance, very affoardable cost per gigabyte.

Cons: None!

Other Thoughts: Purchased 2 for mirrored RAID configuration in a barebones server for a SQL database in a small 5 user workgroup. System is running solid with quick boot time. All SMART & disk diagnostics report no errors. Very happy with these!

Pros: Replaced dead Seagate drive in our Buffalot TERAStation. Works like it's supposed to for now.

Cons: None right now

Other Thoughts: We'll see how long it lasts, I haven't had much longevity with SATA drives in our NAS

Pros: Fast reliable quiet

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: on 7/18/11 i reveiwed the 4 drives i had in a raid 0. I have recently purchased 1 more and rebuilt the old machine. Again they are solid performers.
System specs:
MSI 990FXA-gd80
32 Gigs corsair vengance 1600 mhz
AMD 4100 cpu
2 MSI 560ti's 2gig cards in sli

HD TUNE Results
Transfer rate speeds
Min= 532.1 MB/s
Max= 824.4 MB/s
Average 666.6
Access time= 6.8 ms
Burst rate= 2723.9
CPU usage= 6.1%

I Know ssd's are fast but this will give them a good run

Pros: 1) Large amount of space compare to SSD.
2) 64 MB Cache
3) Rounds pretty quiet when on, but does a screech when shutdown.
4) very high rpm.
5) iron packs that throw in to keep it air tight is no longer place next to pin connector area.
6) 4 drives raid gave me 500 mb read and write speed. = D

Cons: 1) Loud screech when shut off PC. not sure if drives are going bad or what. only happens when turning off PC.
2) had to reinstall my OS wasn't able to clone my drive = (
3) Western Digital arconis software wouldn't let me clone my sea gate drive to my new western drive seems they only prefer all WD only.

Other Thoughts: it makes loud bag sound when shutting off my pc for some reason. it only happens when i place the pc in shutdown. the raid is great when you working on cs6 pushing out a video encoding is a lot faster then my old drive in ide setup. 500 mb read and write helps a lot when working on youtube videos. = D

Pros: Cheap
Works

Cons: lasted 1 year
completely dead now

Other Thoughts: just buy a SSD, hd aren't cheaper in the long run

Manufacturer Response:

We appreciate your feedback and apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced with the Western Digital 250 GB Raid Edition RE4 Drive, as this is not the typical experience with the product. We recommend downloading and installing our Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows (WinDLG) utility within your Windows operating system so that you can run diagnostic tests on your drive, so that you can know if it is healthy. For information on our WinDLG utility, please view the information provided by the following link.
http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/940
Also displayed in the previous link, there are instructions on how to run diagnostic tests within a Mac Computer, namely First Aid or Disk Utility. We stand behind our warranty policy, so you can create a Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) within our customer portal website or you can contact us directly, as we would appreciate the opportunity to further assist you, and resolve any further concerns you may have with the device and/or your experience. You may contact us at 1 (800) 275-4932, or via our support website at: http://support.wdc.com/rs/
Please indicate within the online case creation or with the first support agent you speak with, that you are responding to a Newegg review, so we route you and your information to the correct team members.

Pros: Works as expected

Cons: I bought 4 of these drives together and put them in a light duty RAID 10 configuration. 1 drive failed in the first 6 months. Replaced the bad drive 4 months ago and have not had any more problems (yet).

Manufacturer Response:

We appreciate your feedback and apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced with the WD RE4 250GB, as this is not the typical experience with the product.
We are very sorry to hear that your drive did not function so soon after it was delivered.
Should you require any further assistance from us directly, we would appreciate the opportunity to further assist you, and resolve any further concerns you may have with the device and/or your experience. You may contact us at 1 (800) 275-4932, or via our support website at: http://support.wdc.com/rs/. Please indicate within the online case creation or with the first support agent you speak with, that you are responding to a Newegg review, so we route you and your information to the correct team members.

Pros: NONE

Cons: THESE DRIVES ARE NOT FOR HOUSE COMPUTERS. 2 DRIVES IN A ROW (IN SEVERAL MONTHS) SHOW BAD SECTORS AND WRITE ERRORS. I HAD TO SHIFT MY DATA TWO TIMES. I AM NOT BUYING A HD THAT CLAIMS TO BE "SUPER RELIABLE" AGAIN. GO WITH CAVIAR BLUE AND FORGET ABOUT GOING FOR "HIGH PERFORMANCE DRIVES". ALL THEY DO IS FAIL.

DO NOT TRUST YOUR DATA TO THIS DRIVE IN A HOUSE ENVIRONMENT. GET AN EXTERNAL CAVIAR GREEN BASED HARD DRIVE TO STORE YOUR FILES ON. DO NOT PLACE YOUR FILES WITH WINDOZA PARTITION.

Other Thoughts: I LOOKED AT THE PCB OF THIS HARD DRIVE, AND IT LOOKS EXACTLY THE SAME AS THAT OF A CAVIAR GREEN DRIVE. THAT "TWO PROCESSORS" BLAH BLAH BLAH IS B-S. THESE DRIVES USE ALMOST ALL OF THE SAME PARTS AS THE MUCH CHEAPER CAVIAR BLUE DRIVES. YOU ARE OVERPAYING FOR A DRIVE WHICH IS PUSHED BEYOND ITS RELIABILITY LIMITS.

IT IS JUST TOO BAD CAVIAR BLUE OR BLACK HDS FOR MY CAPACITY DO NOT COME WITH 64MB CACHE. THE CACHE, AND THE "SUPER RELIABLE" CLAIMS WERE THE ORIGINAL REASONS I BOUGHT THESE EXPENSIVE PIECES OF JUNK.

Pros: Good as it gets! see first post........

Cons: Price now........

Other Thoughts: Rebuilt my M4A785-M RAID 0+1 with a few new changes and WEI went from 6.3 to 6.5, Might try adding a SSD for Ready Boost and other little junk?....LOL

Pros: Works, no speed test done. Should last long time.

Cons: 1,000,000 hour bearing