This all reminds me of Corsair RAM modules using different chip manufacturers, and different physical and logical configuration of the chips, all while using the same part number (SKU) and product code (EAN/UPC).
For example, I have five kits of Corsair DDR4 Vengeance LPX memory. I have one 16 GB kit with Samsung DRAM in single rank configuration, and another 16 GB kit with SK Hynix DRAM in dual rank configuration. I had both of these in the same system, without knowing that they were different. One of the modules has failed, which I think happened at least a year ago, but I only discovered it recently. Error count approaches 5000 in Memtest86+ after less than 2 full passes (about 2 hours for 32 GB) of default tests.
I have isolated the faulty module, and started a warranty claim with Corsair. They approved Advanced RMA and a new kit from the factory in Taipei landed at my door step yesterday. The new kit uses Samsung chips, and I have learned how to read that without even opening the retail packaging. I have also purchased one new kit with the same part number days before, that I have not opened up yet. It was on sale until 25 October (at the same favorite store I was looking at buying a new HDD from). Technically, I had to purchase the new kit from Corsair too, because they refused to rather reimburse me for the new kit, so I will be looking for a refund from them once I send them the bad kit back. So I have two brand new Corsair 16 GB kits now, both using Samsung chips. But the dual rank SK Hynix based kit has been causing me all sorts of issues.
I hate SK Hynix! I take it very personal when I encounter SK Hynix chips. Why? Because they stink! I just didn’t know I had them in my system. Had I known what I know now, I would have thrown them out. I hold SK Hynix responsible for the death of my Galaxy S7 phone! It used the lesser quality UFS chip, which is a very common single point of failure of all the Galaxy S7 phones (and some others that use these UFS chips).
I know Samsung is not too far off from the garbage can, but SK Hynix is worse than them. For one, Samsung is a garbage company for allowing the use of inferior SK Hynix UFS chips in their own flagship products, such as the Galaxy S series phones. Every Galaxy S7 phone (2016/2017 model) that’s still in use today, can with almost absolute certainty thank its Samsung UFS chip for its longevity. See, the thing is… it’s a lottery! Some users received a Galaxy S7 with SK Hynix UFS and some received an otherwise identical phone model (SM-G930F, the global version) but with Samsung UFS. The ones with SK Hynix UFS chips are dying like flies! If there are any still left in use. The survivors are using Samsung UFS chips. They too can die any time now, but for other reasons. Maybe because of SK Hynix DRAM chips? It’s less common on these phones that the SOC/CPU or the DRAM chip fails for no reason other than age/wear, when there is no water damage or other kinds of misuse or abuse. A sudden death is most commonly caused by bad UFS chip.
These phones are otherwise OK. But there is nothing you can do if the UFS chip fails. And since it’s a monolith with a built in controller, there is no possibility of micro wiring. And all Androids since Android 5 use either full disk encryption or encrypting file system, and hardware based encryption even, without decryption key known to you as its owner (i.e. you don’t technically own it then!). There is no data you can rescue. It’s Game Over! That’s what happened to me, and many other Galaxy S7 owners I encountered online, who told the same exact story.
SK Hynix chips are of lesser quality than Samsung, be it UFS or DRAM chips. I’m not here to bash them for no reason. I have reasons to say what I say! Very good reasons too, with evidence (for the curious). You better test your backup plan and your rescue strategy if you see SK Hynix anywhere in your computer or in your phone (which you can’t look inside without voiding the warranty of course, they made sure of that).
Corsair supposedly uses both Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron chips in their RAM products. But I have seen many Corsair RAM kits over the years, and I have yet to encounter Corsair modules with Micron chips. Maybe those are only reserved for USA market? Since Micron is a US company. I would love to do some testing on those. I believe they make good quality components. Unlike this SK Hynix garbage.
What’s worse… I ran Memtest86+ on another computer, which also uses the same Corsair RAM kit, a single kit of 16 GB. After one pass (about 30 minutes for 16 GB), it found 1 error, and after another half pass (15 minutes), it found 1 more error. So the error seems to be somewhere along the 8 - 16 GB range. I stopped the test at that point. I checked the manufacturer and sure enough it was SK Hynix. Again!! So I have one more kit I will be replacing on warranty with Corsair. (I just hope they don’t accuse me of being a fraudster.)
Note that these kits are no more than 3 to 4 years old, and they were not overclocked, running at native 3200 MHz or just about there, and they were not abused in any way. Just used for normal computer use. I don’t do “gaming”. I stopped playing video games and computer games when I turned 17 or 18, and took up other interests like music. So there is zero chance that these RAM modules with “lifetime warranty” were hammered to death by my usage patterns. They are just bad quality products! That’s it. And it’s a lottery! A silicon lottery! Samsung doesn’t care what they put inside, but they have no shame in asking for full premium price, no matter if you’re getting a rotten egg while your friend is getting a pretty Easter egg. I may not game anymore, but I didn’t know I was a gambler until I discovered that I was part of this big silicon lottery.
So this is what the discussion of WD hard drives and their WWN numbers and labels is reminding me of. You don’t necessarily get what you pay for… you get… something. Something unknown to you. Unless you open it up and look inside, and learn to read between the lines, the fine print, and extract information to gain insight about it. And that’s a shame.
The only problem is… the drive that has this doesn’t need it… and the drive that does need it… it doesn’t have it!? What the hell? 
