Western Digital 1TB WD Blue Mobile Hard Drive HDD - 5400 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, 128 MB Cache, 2.5" - WD10SPZX

I gave this drive to someone as a gift, and they've been using it for backups for 10 months without issue. My review is based on another unit of this drive which I bought for myself some months later. I've been using it as my primary desktop OS/programs drive since 5/29/2014, so it's about 5 months now. There have been no problems thus far. It's really quite a bargain for desktop use if 1TB is all you need. The actual capacity of this drive is 931.5GB. That's an old marketing trick which can be blamed for the pointless redefinition of all our real, long established data measurements with those silly "i" characters. I won't dwell on it any further, but 931GB is the true capacity when measured in base 2, as all data is correctly measured. This 1TB Blue drive uses a single 1TB platter spinning at 7200rpm. There are 2 heads (each side is 500GB). A single platter design is usually better for reliability than having multiple smaller platters, because there are fewer points of failure, the assembly is lighter, the motor doesn't have to work as hard, and less heat is generated. Single platter drives will also tend to be quieter, but due to my configuration I can't judge the noise level. There has been much discussion and testing among users in online forums, including WD's forum, which repeatedly show that the 1TB Blue and 1TB Black perform the same. It appears the only benefit of the 1TB Black is a longer warranty. Some Blacks are faster than this drive, but the 1TB model is not. Compared to a Green, the Blue is faster owing to it's faster rotation speed. The Green drives also have an "intellipark" feature which causes them to keep parking the heads after a few seconds of inactivity. This can cause laggy response and extra wear. I dislike that design - I believe power management functions should be left under the control of the operating system, which can account for user preferences and what is happening in the rest of the system. Hardcoding this behavior into the drive is ridiculous, in my opinion. The Blue behaves the way I prefer - it does not use "intellipark", it stays ready to roll until directed otherwise through power management commands from the OS. I wish they were making the Blue series in larger sizes - it seems this 1TB is the end of the line. I don't care for the Greens and the Blacks are more expensive. Partition/Sector Alignment -------------------------------- Please be aware that like most modern drives, this drive uses 4KB sectors (also known as "advanced format"). If you are using Windows 2003, Windows XP or older, as I am, don't let Windows handle the partitioning of this drive. This is even an issue on unpatched versions of Vista and Windows 7. These older versions of Windows will believe that the physical sectors are 512 bytes, when in reality they are 4KB. As a result, the partition(s) will not be aligned with the physical sectors. It will still work, but performance will be reduced. Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP and older do not have any update to fix this, but it's not a problem as long as you do the partitioning with a suitable 3rd party utility. I think Western Digital offers a tool for this, but I've never tried it. Once the partitions are set, it's fine to let Windows format them. For my Windows XP install, I used a recent version of GParted to partition the drive. GParted can be downloaded and burned to a bootable CD, or installed to a USB flash drive. Just use the option to align your partition(s) on 1MB boundaries. This is the easy way to ensure they are aligned correctly for the best performance. Then boot your WinXP install disc and let it format the partition that you already created. It sounds harder than it is, it's a minor hassle but it's simple. If you ever change the partitions, once again use GParted or a similar utility that handles alignment for modern hard disks. Don't use the built-in XP partitioning. But again, once the partitions are created, it's fine to let Windows format them. The built-in partitioning is fixed in Windows 8. According to Microsoft, it is fixed in Windows 7 after installing Service Pack 1 - you would need to have that service pack before partitioning the drive, not after. Again according to Microsoft, it is also fixed in Windows Vista *after* installing update MS KB 2553708 - I assume this is automatically installed for people who use automatic updates, but I don't know that for a fact. This won't do you any good if you're doing a fresh install and your install disc predates the required update. The partition alignment detail I've described above is an issue you will encounter with any recent hard drive, it's not unique to this model. If you ignore it, performance will be affected but it will still work. You may see Seagate drives implying that they are immune from this, but in reality, they are not. All modern "advanced format" drives, of any brand, will perform better if sectors are properly aligned. But it's not a big deal - just use a modern partitioning utility and then you're set. ---------------------- I just tested this drive using "Roadkil's Disk Speed" on Windows XP 32-bit. I'll cut out all the variables and just give the linear transfer results with large block sizes. My drive has a few partitions and there are lots of files on it, so this might affect results. First partition (first 20GB): 170-178MB/sec linear read 3rd partition (physical location range is from 28-628GB): 153-177MB/sec linear read Last 300GB is unpartitioned so I can't test that range. I don't think the random access test is useful, because my partitioning greatly influences the result. There's a test mode for the whole physical disk, but it's results are too inconsistent. This drive is a great bargain if you just need a simple, inexpensive, well performing 7200rpm hard disk. I was tempted to try a Seagate SSHD, but I couldn't justify the cost compared to this. If I was shopping today, I'd look carefully at the HGST and Toshiba offerings as well, but from the WD side this is my pick for a general purpose 1TB desktop drive. Update: It is now 11/2015. This drive is in my desktop PC, used daily, and still works fine. Some months ago I ran a benchmark on this drive using the linux utility "gnome-disks". The random access performance measured out to a 15.7ms average. This is mediocre, but expected from a quiet drive. Screenshot is attached. It also shows the transfer rate across the disk (read test only, I didn't test writes).

Great drive does what it should do and does it very well no complaints

Another quality WD drive. I have almost always purchased only WD drives over the years. I think they are the best HDD's, SSD's, and M.2 NVMe drives money can buy. They're cheaper than Samsung, the quality is just as good (if not better), and WD offers the best warranties. Speeds of HDD's have gotten better over the years. This WD Blue can top out at around 250 MB/s read and write times, and it has 256 MB of cache which is fantastic for an HDD. I have it installed in a Sabrent USB enclosure and I am currently using it as an OS backup drive and I've not had any issues using it so far. I plan to buy another one for backing up other important files that I cannot afford to lose.

I like Western Digital. I have used their drives for years and have had no issues. This one is for my new desktop and installed quickly.

I have utilized Western Digital HDDs exclusively for decades. I have only owned another brand (Seagate) when that drive came with my PC; it failed within a year. While it appears the brand is no longer as reliable as it once was (i.e., more reviews with issues than I have ever seen), it is the company I still go with. When I saw a 1TB WD internal drive for the lowest price ever, I did not hesitate to hit the order button. After purchase, I noticed reviews claiming that Amazon does not allow returns on problem drives that arrived with issues and were not the buyer's fault. I confirmed that Amazon does not allow returns on the 1TB WD internal drives (this does not apply to larger capacities yet). It is my first time encountering this, and it is troublesome/worrisome. Why would a company (Amazon) and a brand (Western Digital) suddenly remove the ability to return NEW HDDs shipped and sold by Amazon? It is highly concerning. I am glad the price was so low that if anything goes wrong, I will not have to learn an expensive lesson (I am also happy I did not buy more than one). It is a reminder to check return eligibility before clicking to purchase. Additionally, the drive came in a box unlike any other. It had no bracket devices on each end (which suspends the drive to avoid impact). Although the drive was in a reasonably hard clamshell case and sealed anti-static sleeve, the coverage was a single layer of bubble wrap. I always film the opening of my hard drives, and you can hear the drive sliding around while I pick it up and open the box. It blows my mind that whoever packed it believes having a hard drive with moving parts sliding around is acceptable. Although having HDDs shipped to your front door is convenient (and honestly, there are not many brick-and-mortar stores that sell HDDs left), I am going to have to start buying my HDDs (both internal and external) from another online retailer with better packing methods or from a physical retailer. Data storage devices are too necessary (and costly) to risk buying with no return ability (primarily if it is delivered DOA or with problems that render it unusable) and problematic/little protection shipping boxes. The last external Western Digital drive I received was so banged up that I did not even open it; I immediately initiated a return and replacement (the box was crushed, and you could hear floating pieces inside). And those are still shipped in retail packaging. I will not make the same mistake. I hope Amazon changes its return policy and protects drives better. The convenience and price of delicate products are not enough for me to risk it (especially when the product comes from the official store). I will go elsewhere and spend more if things remain the same. While I ran scans, and the drive works (and there are no sounds of clicks or loudness), I can say I was merely fortunate in that regard. So, I am only deducting one star for the packing method. It is far too risky, and I believe removing one star (for that alone) is fair and more than necessary. I got lucky (so far). After two and a half decades of WD-only drives, it is time to research and take a shot with another, more caring (and, I suppose, reliable) brand. Packing and return policies matter regarding computer components, especially HDDs.

This Western Digital hard drive truly stands out as an excellent product, providing outstanding value that perfectly matches its price point. The ease of installation was remarkable; it was a truly fantastic purchase, as the entire process was incredibly straightforward and user-friendly. Furthermore, the price is exceptionally competitive and hard to beat, solidifying its position as an outstanding choice for anyone seeking a dependable and affordable storage solution to meet their computer's needs. I wholeheartedly recommend this hard drive; it's an excellent option.

Works exactly as advertised. It is fast, quite and cheap.

A brand to trust. Works well but other brands just as good or better. Cost and speed always a factor.

Excelente transferencia de datos, rápido, silencioso, ligero, hasta pensé que era un SSD, lamentablemente lo compré a un precio caro, después lo pusieron casi 1000 pesos más barato, así que verifica bien el precio antes de comprar, fuera de eso, gran producto

DHL bezorging in de dozen pers geweest Uw eigen bezorgdienst is wel begaan met uw spullen en netjes

Arrivato velocemente e bel protetto, formattato con due partizioni da 1T, sta funzionando perfettamente su un DELL Inspirion i7, ottimo prodotto.

Die Lieferung der Platte erfolgte in einem verschweißten antistatischen Beutel und auf der Platte war nicht mal eine Partitionstabelle angelegt. Ich würde daher vermuten dass ich Neuware erhalten habe. Ich habe die Festplatte als Ersatz für die 1TB Festplatte meines Laptops gekauft, da der Speicher langsam knapp wird. Ehrlich gesagt bin ich doch immer wieder erstaunt darüber wie viele Daten in ein kleines Volumen passen. XD Die Festplatte kommt einem wirklich winzig vor wenn man sie in der Hand hält was auch mit der geringen Dicke von gerade einmal 7mm zu tun hat. Beim Beschreiben erreiche ich eine Geschwindigkeit von circa 120 MB/s über einen USB 3 zu SATA Adapter. Ich schätze die Lesegeschwindigkeit leigt deutlich darüber konnte das aber noch nicht testen. Von der Geräuschentwicklung her ist die Platte auch super. Ehrlich gesagt kann ich die Platte neben dem Lüfter meines Laptops gar nicht wahrnehmen obwohl der Lüfter nur im Normalbetrieb läuft, also muss die Platte ziemlich leise sein. XD Für genauere Geräuschmessungen fehlt mir allerdings das Equipment. Langzeit Erfahrungen kommmen dann natürlich auch erst später, aber bisher hatte ich keinerlei Probleme mit dem Platten von WD obwohl sämtliche meiner Geräte mit solchen ausgestattet sind. Die älteste Platte die ich habe hat schon über 10 Jahre hinter sich und tut noch immer genau das was sie soll, also schätze ich dass ich von WD auch weiterhin gute Qualität erwarten kann. Alles in allem daher ein Top-Produkt!

I have have been using WD external storage drive which easily swayed me to choose it for internal storage as well. The performance is good and optimal read/write operation speed