Western Digital Red WD20EFRX 2TB IntelliPower 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

Pros: - Lots of space for the price.
- Decent warranty
- WD has a fast turn-around for RMAs

Cons: I just had ANOTHER drive fail the SMART test.

I have had 5 out of 6 of these drives FAIL. YES, you read that correctly. WD says this isn't normal. I'm pretty sure that the statistics of my situation would say otherwise.

BE VERY WARY of this drive. Be sure to consistently run SMART tests on it.

Other Thoughts: This is a continuation of my previous review. The only reason that I am not dropping to 1 egg is because of WD's excellent turn-around for RMAs.

Hopefully I just happened to get a bad batch.

Pros: This is a follow up to my previous review see in other section:

As I stated before these drives are cool and fast, they work great in my Synology DS413 and my Vantec Raid Enclosure. The two in my Vantec came from another retailer in California over a year ago and no issues at all.

The drives are great when they work!!!

Cons: High DOA rate!!! Physical Damage (Dents)

The batch I bought from Newegg was a different case. After getting 3 DOA drives out of 7 I finally decided to order the drive elsewhere.

I had issues with the RMA of the first DOA drive, got blamed for damage that I did not cause, however working with Google I was able to get a store credit for the price I paid for the drive instead of losing my $$$.

My 3rd DOA drive should be delivered to Newegg tomorrow, I made sure to document the damage the drive came with prior to RMA shipment.

Other Thoughts: I suggest that everyone sign up for the Google Trusted option it definitely works! Got the issue resolved in 1 day, especially after I sent them the photos of the damaged drive I got.

Take photos and make an unpacking video if you order this drive, to protect yourself. Make sure to include when you are actually opening the box and have something with current date and time in the picture or video.

I received a drive from another popular on-line retailer, did an unpacking video and scrutinized the drive for physical damage. The drive was is in superb condition and was packaged correctly utilizing the black plastic holders that ship with single drives. Its now in my NAS running like a charm!

In the end its just one of those days, so protect yourself use your camera and Google Trusted Stores!!

Previous Review:----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pros: The drives are excellent when you get one that actually works, they are silent fast and run very cool.

Cons: RMA rates on these drives are exceptionally high!!!

Bought 4 2 weeks ago, all were from the same batch, one was DOA!

Sent that back, and bought a replacement, that one arrived DOA! I shipped it out immediately. I ordered a 3rd drive and now I am in the process of RMAing the drive for the very same issue!

BAD SECTORS - upon closer examination, I have noticed that the drives have dents in them. It is clear to me that Newegg is not correctly handling the drives prior to shipment to the customer or during storage, and upon RMA makes it seem as if the end-user damaged the product.

Dents, on new hard drive, popped open my 3rd packed at 4am and noticed that the corners of the drive had dents.

Either Newegg is not handling the products with care or WDs quality has tanked seriously!

Other Thoughts: I suggest that anyone purchasing these drives upon arrival of you package grab you camera and make an unpacking video and analyze the drive for damage prior to even testing the drive for bad sectors etc!

From now on that is exactly what I shall be doing.

Pros: None that I can list....have not been able to use the product...returned under RMA. Getting shafted by newegg apparently. Normally, I would rate WD drives a 5. I've never had a DOA before, and I've owned over 20 WD drives. My low rating is based on the poor RMA process.

Cons: I received this product, and, rather promptly attempted to partition and format the drive. Drive exibited no apparent "physical damage", but, formatting in Ubuntu failed. I also tried Windows, but, Windows disc manager would not even see the drive. So, I promply submitted for an RMA. Newegg is telling me the drive is "physically damaged", and "not covered" under their "Standard Warranty Policy"... Well, what does "physically damaged" mean to you when talking about hard drives? To me, I shoudl be able to "see" "physical damage"...not have my OS tell me something is wrong. Apparently, the way newegg is translating this, it looks like "physical damage" is going to apply to ALL hard drive problems. I've been using, installing, formatting hard drives in excess of 20 years. This drive had no physical damage, it was defective, and newegg is calling it something else. I'm out the ~$13 for shipping the product back to newegg, going to be 2+ weeks of time, and now I have to pay another ~$15 (yet to be determined) to have the product replaced by Western Digital directly - if they will even do it.

Other Thoughts: Time to find a new online technology retailer. Previously, I've returned a motherboard, and a RAM module...over my years dealing with newegg, and both RMAs were resolved satisfactorily - either exchanged product, or refund...there process now is flawed...go somewhere else, or, pray you don't have to RMA.

Pros: Nice sequential data rate thanks to high density platters and decent rotation speed.
Low operating Temps.

Cons: First one I got was DOA, or near enough as it could barely initialize and failed shortly after quick format that took 30x longer than it should have. I'm seriously questioning the QA department of these manufacturers nowadays. Cost me extra for RMA.

Other Thoughts: I've done extensive tests with no negative signs so far. I'll update if anything changes.

Pros: Awesome size and awesome price!

Cons: Newegg won't let you buy 6! I could only buy 5 for my server build.

Other Thoughts: I couldn't buy 6 of these, but I bought 5 of them and have them configured in Raid5 which worked out great for my server.

Pros: The drives are excellent when you get one that actually works, they are silent fast and run very cool.

Cons: RMA rates on these drives are exceptionally high!!!

Bought 4 2 weeks ago, all were from the same batch, one was DOA!

Sent that back, and bought a replacement, that one arrived DOA! I shipped it out immediately. I ordered a 3rd drive and now I am in the process of RMAing the drive for the very same issue!

BAD SECTORS - upon closer examination, I have noticed that the drives have dents in them. It is clear to me that Newegg is not correctly handling the drives prior to shipment to the customer or during storage, and upon RMA makes it seem as if the end-user damaged the product.

Dents, on new hard drive, popped open my 3rd packed at 4am and noticed that the corners of the drive had dents.

Either Newegg is not handling the products with care or WDs quality has tanked seriously!

Other Thoughts: I suggest that anyone purchasing these drives upon arrival of you package grab you camera and make an unpacking video and analyze the drive for damage prior to even testing the drive for bad sectors etc!

From now on that is exactly what I shall be doing.

Pros: Excellent Specs, Zero problems after 6 months of use.; Exceptional customer service.

Cons: One arrived with a damaged SATA connector.

Other Thoughts: It's really hard to write a comprehensive review about hard drives from the perspective of a user -- they work or they don't. I purchased six of these over the course of about six months -- some went into network attached storage -- others went into a desk top. 5 of them spun up perfectly. One spun up but was not recognized by the OS. When I took that one out, I saw that there was significant damage to the plastic portion of the SATA connector -- certainly far more damage then could have been done by simply connecting the hard drive. I contacted WD -- red drives have their own support site -- and my customer service experience could not have been better. The rep was professional, efficient, and offered to cross ship with a credit card. My replacement drive arrived in short order and is now in place and fully operational. So while it may seem odd to give a 5-star rating to a 5/6 success rate, my defense is that WD customer service in support of these drives really did well by me.

Pros: Installed two drives, checked them out thoroughly w/ no bad sectors. Up and running in RAID 1 with no issues whatsoever. Delivered quickly in pristine shape, very well secured in bubble wrap etc.

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: Had a WD Green die on me just after the 2-year warranty...if I had bothered to fix the known 8 second head parking problem, likely it would still be working, but what a hassle. Fortunately, WD sorted this out for the Reds. We'll see over the long haul.

Pros: Hard to say when drives arrive DOA. 50% initialized and are undergoing extended drive tests as a precaution. Hopefully they will last. The benefits of the WD Reds are well documented . . . on undamaged ones.

Cons: It's Russian roulette when you open the box. One drive was dented and DOA, another had a tear through the antistat bag. Not WD's fault. Seems to have happened before they reached the box, as the packing was decent.

Other Thoughts: Newegg was understanding, courteous and excellent on the RMA once reached on the phone (but no phone # on their website, had to Google it). Return labels were sent in minutes. That was comforting.

But this is too chronic a problem based on the reviews. Way too many DOA reports here. My time is valuable, and I can't afford the hassle of dealing with bad drives. Have bought close to 100 HDDs from NE over 15+ years. But taking a break until the HDD handling improves.

Manufacturer Response:

We appreciate your feedback and apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced with the WD Red, as this is not the typical experience with the product.
Please note that there are many variables that could affect the drives integrity between leaving our warehouses prior to being installed in a computer. Our drives are rigorously tested to ensure they are in good working condition before they leave our warehouses, and for this reason it is unfortunate that you have received a dead on arrival (DOA) drive. We do stand behind our warranty and replacement policy and would appreciate the opportunity to replace your drive for you directly. You may contact us at 1 (855) 559-3733, or via our support website at: http://support.wdc.com/contact/contact.asp?lang=en&ct=wdred. 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: DOA

Other Thoughts: I am a big WD fan. Over the years I have had several WD drives and in all that time I have had only one drive fail. This one didnt even get past the starting line. I wish I had read more of the reviews before I purchased.

I had no problems with the NewEgg refund. They get a 5 star for that.

Manufacturer Response:

We appreciate your feedback and apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced with the WD Red, as this is not the typical experience with the product. Our drives are rigorously tested to ensure they are in good working condition before they leave our warehouses, and for this reason it is unfortunate that you have received a dead on arrival (DOA) drive. We do stand behind our warranty and replacement policy and would appreciate the opportunity to replace your drive for you.
How to get an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) or replace a defective product under warranty
http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8
You may contact us at 1 (855) 559-3733, or via our support website at: http://support.wdc.com/contact/contact.asp?lang=en&ct=wdred. 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.