Just wondering if this the real deal. And since it’s a bare drive I would have to go to WD site for downloads and support so I don’t want to get trapped with some knock-off or counterfeit unit (could this be a 2 TB with one QA failed surface?)
One other thought. I am looking to migrate away from Seagate. So far I have 4 Barracudas (the imfamous 7200.11 - 1.5TB drives) and have been very lucky compared to a lot of users: No problems so far. But I don’t want to push my luck.
I use these drives, and will use the WD’s, as single partition eSATA / USB 2.0 backups for my laptops and for storing very large video libraries. I run WInXP (SP3) and have been reading a bit about WD’s larger capacity drives having potential issues with the older Windows OS. The Barracudas seem fine in that regard – plugged them in and they worked. Any thoughts on comparable WD sized drives for XP?
I too am curious about this drive. It has a 64Mb cache which is consistent with the 2TB WD2001FASS. The thing that is “bugging” me is that it is not listed on the WD website in any fasion. I really want to buy a couple of these but aren’t really interested in buying a relabeled “faulty” 2TB drive or a relabled “troubled” 1.5TB model.
Can you connect with any of the buyers of the 1.5TB and 2TB drives? If so, ask them to weigh their drives. That should tell you whether there is one less platter in the 1.5TB model.
I am going to buy a new drive as well and I was thinking about the 2 TB but then I got the chance to view this at newegg as well. It seems it is really a newegg exclusive offer but how come it is not in WD official site?
No answers. Nothing on newegg site either. Two people there bought them – great reviews. But the 72 hr or whatever it was super-deal expired so now they are back up to $110. Still probably a really good bargain – 64MB cache, 7200 rpm and 5 year warranty – can’t find that combo anywhere else. Given my WInXP usage for now and so far good luck with my Barracudas I will hold off. Maybe when I move to Win7 will check again but by then I’ll probably want the 2TB SATA 6 units (or maybe 4 TB by then!).
I am surprised nobody from WD has commented here. I don’t post much to forums — Is there an escalation bell to ring for teacher’s attention?
I think the price was $94.99 US, or possibly $99.99.
You might want to post to the two people on newegg who reviewed this drive to get their futher experience and the price they paid. Last time I checked no-one who bought the drives at this price had posted anything. I’ll see if I can find a copy of the special that I printed last week. It probably also has RAID disabled per WD’s “product line differentiation” business model (‘you want server like capable drives, then buy server drive models…’). As noted, I am not that interested right now, given my WinXP base; perhaps if the super-deal came back I’d get ONE just to try it out.
I’m a moderator, so I don’t usually weigh in on threads unless I have to. In this case, you rung my bell. We do make specific oem drives for various manufacturers. Sometimes, there’s extra drives left over that get sold to resellers like NewEgg. If that’s the case, then they won’t necessarily match exactly our line as displayed on the website, but they could be our drives. Always make sure who’s honoring the warranty, though. We don’t usually warranty oem drives. You can check a serial number on our website to make sure we honor it. If it shows up with a warranty period, then we will honor the warranty.
Well this is only somewhat helpful. If I haven’t bought the drive then I don’t have a serial number to check. If it’s an OEM drive, as claimed, and we know it is not shown on your website, then can I safely assume that your software & drivers (e.g., Data Lifeguard), etc will still work on this drive? For example, downloading for the 2TB WD2001FASS which is your model on the site versus this one, under discussion, which does not appear.
Personally I am most concerned about it being a relabelled “bad” 2TB unit or even a counterfeit. If it really is your drive – as in, you built it and designed it as a 1.5 TB model – then I am certain it is as good as any of your other models.
In general when the ad says: “OEM drive” and “5 year warranty” what am I to make of those statements: by implication is newegg the outfit on the hook if it fails within 5 years? This area seems a bit murky.
I bought one of these drives and checked its serial number against the WD database. It is warrantied until June 18, 2015. A valid drive accoring to WD.
I agree with AussiePaul. NewEgg isn’t going to waste its time trying to rip you off. I think you should be okay, since prm117 already bought one and it shows on our website.
I’m a moderator, so I don’t usually weigh in on threads unless I have to. In this case, you rung my bell. We do make specific oem drives for various manufacturers. Sometimes, there’s extra drives left over that get sold to resellers like NewEgg. If that’s the case, then they won’t necessarily match exactly our line as displayed on the website, but they could be our drives. Always make sure who’s honoring the warranty, though. We don’t usually warranty oem drives. You can check a serial number on our website to make sure we honor it. If it shows up with a warranty period, then we will honor the warranty.
Bit concerned on your comment “We don’t usually warranty oem drives.”
That is absolutely NOT TRUE!
Yes OEM drives distributed via large oems (dell, hp, etc) have no WD warr and only through large oem.
But Bare drives/oem drives are almost always warranties.
And until recently had a better warranty than retail box (WD got wise).
Yes when you buy OEM bare drives you have to watch (esp. when price is to good) that the reseller did not get a deal on drives with shorter than normal warr.
But as I said rule of thumb ALL OEM drives from reputable reseller are warrantied by WD.
The other thing to watch for is old new stock. If the drive has sat on the shelf at NewEgg for 6 mos, WD will not honor the full warranty unless you keep the receipt to prove the date of purchase.
So this was the last gorrllla? Wish now I’d bought it., but yes this whole unknown drive thing is confusing. Manually editting model numbers it appears there might even be black 1tb 3.0 with 64 cache…
I’m a moderator, so I don’t usually weigh in on threads unless I have to. In this case, you rung my bell. We do make specific oem drives for various manufacturers. Sometimes, there’s extra drives left over that get sold to resellers like NewEgg. If that’s the case, then they won’t necessarily match exactly our line as displayed on the website, but they could be our drives. Always make sure who’s honoring the warranty, though. We don’t usually warranty oem drives. You can check a serial number on our website to make sure we honor it. If it shows up with a warranty period, then we will honor the warranty.
Bit concerned on your comment “We don’t usually warranty oem drives.”
That is absolutely NOT TRUE!
Yes OEM drives distributed via large oems (dell, hp, etc) have no WD warr and only through large oem.
But Bare drives/oem drives are almost always warranties.
And until recently had a better warranty than retail box (WD got wise).
Yes when you buy OEM bare drives you have to watch (esp. when price is to good) that the reseller did not get a deal on drives with shorter than normal warr.
But as I said rule of thumb ALL OEM drives from reputable reseller are warrantied by WD.
The other thing to watch for is old new stock. If the drive has sat on the shelf at NewEgg for 6 mos, WD will not honor the full warranty unless you keep the receipt to prove the date of purchase.
So this was the last gorrllla? Wish now I’d bought it., but yes this whole unknown drive thing is confusing. Manually editting model numbers it appears there might even be black 1tb 3.0 with 64 cache…
I’m sorry if you misunderstood me. When I say OEM, I’m referring to our drives that are being sold in products like computers and external drives manufactured by other companies. They will carry the warranty for our drives. We don’t. However, if “bare” drives are being sold by one of our Resellers, it should come with a warranty that we’ll honor. But, like you said, make sure to keep the receipt in case the warranty needs to be updated.
Thought this thread was about oem/bulk drives from resellers not the ones installed in large oem computers. Could not resist and had to buy a 1.5tb FASS drive. Of course days after I did they had free shipping ;-(
This 1.5TB drive is back on special at NewEgg until 2010/08/06, including free shipping. If you use the coupon code EMCYWPZ26, the total cost of the drive is only US$100. That’s less than 7 cents per GB, which makes it cheaper than either of the 1TB or 2TB versions (both of which are about 9 cents per GB).
Found another non-existent drive. green 808.8 Google finds a product page, but no nav direct on wds site. Thought for sure it had to be a typo. Someone said it is probably because wd finally gave in on size misrep…
I must say that I find this practice WD creating one-off model numbers for NewEgg completely wacky. It is completely confusing. I am left wondering why WD has done this, and whether there is some issue with the drives. Any putative benefits that WD derives from such an arrangement are vastly out-weighed by diluting the value of the WD brand. Despite the warranty I am loathe to trust these drives.
It would be swell if someone from WD could explain this policy (of selling drives having one-off model numbers, for a single on-line vendor), and provide an exact description of how these drives differ from the canonical models listed on the WD product page.
I think this is just pure marketing chic. It’s similar to mattress manufacturers making a unique model (of the same thing) for each retail outlet. Part of it impedes comparison shopping and the other part lends an aura of uniqueness and exclusivity, if in name only. Confusing, YES, certainly. Unscrupulous, PROBABLY NOT. I usually only pay attention to things like this when it is a really critical piece of gear — like a hard-drive with 10 years of videos on them! Highly doubtful that WD goes out of its production line to make these drives truly “unique” for newegg (or any reseller) – that would just add to everybody’s cost. But it never hurts to check and investigate thoroughly. Always: Buyer be informed!
