Western Digital WD5000KS 500GB SATA HDD Review @ HotHardware.Com

Iria · Jul 25, 2006, 05:23 AM

Review: HotHardware
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If we were to play a word association game with a PC enthusiast and said "Western Digital," it's likely his geek reflexes would immediately trigger and force him to reply "Raptor" before he even realized he had spoken. Western Digital makes many more storage products other than just the speed demons known as Raptors, though. While it is easy to be enamored with the Raptors, they are relatively expensive and offer only a fraction of the capacity of the 500GB and 750GB behemoths currently on the market.

Our labs were blessed with one such behemoth from Western Digital, the WD5000KS, which is a member of the Caviar SE16 family. This 500GB SATA 3Gb/s drive features a 16MB cache and a 7200 RPM spindle speed. The Raptors, with their 10k RPM spindle speed, have won the overall 3.5" desktop HDD performance crown, but they don't win any capacity battles. That's where the WD5000KS comes in. Most people choose capacity over speed, especially considering the price premium for higher performance. But can the 500GB Western Digital WD5000KS drive be a winner on both fronts? Read on to find out...

Jul 25, 2006, 05:23 AM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	Western Digital WD5000KS 500GB SATA HDD Review @ HotHardware.Com Review: HotHardware __________ If we were to play a word association game with a PC enthusiast and said "Western Digital," it's likely his geek reflexes would immediately trigger and force him to reply "Raptor" before he even realized he had spoken. Western Digital makes many more storage products other than just the speed demons known as Raptors, though. While it is easy to be enamored with the Raptors, they are relatively expensive and offer only a fraction of the capacity of the 500GB and 750GB behemoths currently on the market. Our labs were blessed with one such behemoth from Western Digital, the WD5000KS, which is a member of the Caviar SE16 family. This 500GB SATA 3Gb/s drive features a 16MB cache and a 7200 RPM spindle speed. The Raptors, with their 10k RPM spindle speed, have won the overall 3.5" desktop HDD performance crown, but they don't win any capacity battles. That's where the WD5000KS comes in. Most people choose capacity over speed, especially considering the price premium for higher performance. But can the 500GB Western Digital WD5000KS drive be a winner on both fronts? Read on to find out...