Western Digital 500GB RE2

Rob Williams · 08-13-2006, 08:37 PM

Are you looking for huge storage that won't hurt the pocketbook? Easily done, since the 500GB RE2 drive we are looking at today retails for around $250. Does it have the performance you are looking for?

Read the review here and discuss it here!

Jakal · 08-13-2006, 09:45 PM

Impressive! I've never had a Seagate hard drive, no particular reason. I've always heard good things about them, I've just never bought one. When the price war comes along I've always found WD to be cheaper than Seagate. WD is no less of a product and I've been very happy with every one I've bought. I had to RMA the Maxtor I bought for my last pc. Ended up picking the WD Caviar 80Gb IDE in it's place.

Do you have to use their connector? If you do, then definitely a knock against it.

The charts you've posted. You might want to list what the numbers on the left mean. I know they mean milliseconds, and score (for the benchmarks), but someone who isn't as tech savvy and just looking at the review may not.

Rob Williams · 08-13-2006, 10:16 PM

Will add text underneath each graph. I didn't think to add it earlier. No, you are not obligated to use their connector... it's just much sturdier than the flimsy ones you get with motherboards. It also helps use up your spare Molex 4-Pins I guess, hehe.

Jakal · 08-14-2006, 12:22 AM

Ahh, nice.

08-14-2006, 04:12 AM

It would also make the comparison meaningful if you gave the specification of the Seagate you are comparing the WD with.
Is it a 7200.10/9/8/7 or ??. Is it an 8Mb or 16Mb cache model?
Thanks.

Rob Williams · 08-14-2006, 09:10 AM

Sorry, I meant to link to the review of the drive. There are only two 500GB Seagates... an IDE and S-ATA. Both have the same storage capacity, RPM and cache. Only real addition is NCQ. Will update the review to link to the review.

08-15-2006, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Williams

Sorry, I meant to link to the review of the drive. There are only two 500GB Seagates... an IDE and S-ATA. Both have the same storage capacity, RPM and cache. Only real addition is NCQ. Will update the review to link to the review.

Thanks for the update Rob.
It's as I thought from the results, the latest top of the line Enterprise Class WD is actually pitted against the last years spec Personal Storage Class Seagate, which was always going to be a WD win.
I look forward to a comparison with the new 7200.10 version of the Seagate which is still a Personal Storage Drive and priced accordingly (10-15% less than the RE2 and nearer to the SE16) or maybe with one of Seagates Enterprise drives (ES or NL35?).
Sorry, but it's a bit like comparing last years family saloon against the latest premium saloon.
I look forward to the re-match

Rob Williams · 08-15-2006, 09:53 AM

The only 7200.10 I have is in my main machine, which is why I didn't use it. If I had a 500GB 7200.10 on hand, it would have been used. Since I don't, it's not possible.

Sorry if you disagree, but both drives are still in the same pricerange, so I felt it was a fair comparison.

madmat · 08-15-2006, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thanks for the update Rob.
It's as I thought from the results, the latest top of the line Enterprise Class WD is actually pitted against the last years spec Personal Storage Class Seagate, which was always going to be a WD win.
I look forward to a comparison with the new 7200.10 version of the Seagate which is still a Personal Storage Drive and priced accordingly (10-15% less than the RE2 and nearer to the SE16) or maybe with one of Seagates Enterprise drives (ES or NL35?).
Sorry, but it's a bit like comparing last years family saloon against the latest premium saloon.
I look forward to the re-match

I hate to break it to you but the 7200.10 version is still priced $60 above the cost of the RE2 and $70 above the cost of the SE so it might be more competitive in terms of specs but not in price.

I must admit though that I'm interested in seeing how they'd fare against one another.

09-25-2006, 08:43 PM

Y'all have to realize that there aren't many other drives with the same technologies as this one.

I host a small talk radio tech show, and ended up with a couple to test. I really haven't seen anything better in it's class. And I tested this against newer drives and it held it's own. It's not ALWAYS the fastest, but this drive isn't MEANT to be the fastest, it's meant to be the best for RAID, and as far as SATA drives are concerned, it doesn't get any better...

Rob Williams · 09-25-2006, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TechTAK

and as far as SATA drives are concerned, it doesn't get any better...

Well said

08-13-2006, 08:37 PM	#1
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,231	Western Digital 500GB RE2 Are you looking for huge storage that won't hurt the pocketbook? Easily done, since the 500GB RE2 drive we are looking at today retails for around $250. Does it have the performance you are looking for? Read the review here and discuss it here! __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

08-13-2006, 09:45 PM	#2
Jakal Tech Monkey Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Missiskippy Posts: 634	Impressive! I've never had a Seagate hard drive, no particular reason. I've always heard good things about them, I've just never bought one. When the price war comes along I've always found WD to be cheaper than Seagate. WD is no less of a product and I've been very happy with every one I've bought. I had to RMA the Maxtor I bought for my last pc. Ended up picking the WD Caviar 80Gb IDE in it's place. Do you have to use their connector? If you do, then definitely a knock against it. The charts you've posted. You might want to list what the numbers on the left mean. I know they mean milliseconds, and score (for the benchmarks), but someone who isn't as tech savvy and just looking at the review may not. __________________ Intel C2Quad Q9400 @3.6Ghz \| Asus PM5Q Deluxe \| OCZ Reaper HPC PC2-8500 8GB \| XFX Black Edition 260/216\| knobs are great for twisting, turning, squeezing and pulling... especially your own..... that's how doors open \| Chaos Havok: grrrr im lagging me \| <@Deathspawner> I wish I was in Windows :-/

08-13-2006, 10:16 PM	#3
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,231	Will add text underneath each graph. I didn't think to add it earlier. No, you are not obligated to use their connector... it's just much sturdier than the flimsy ones you get with motherboards. It also helps use up your spare Molex 4-Pins I guess, hehe. __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

08-14-2006, 12:22 AM	#4
Jakal Tech Monkey Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Missiskippy Posts: 634	Ahh, nice. __________________ Intel C2Quad Q9400 @3.6Ghz \| Asus PM5Q Deluxe \| OCZ Reaper HPC PC2-8500 8GB \| XFX Black Edition 260/216\| knobs are great for twisting, turning, squeezing and pulling... especially your own..... that's how doors open \| Chaos Havok: grrrr im lagging me \| <@Deathspawner> I wish I was in Windows :-/

08-14-2006, 04:12 AM	#5
Unregistered Guest Poster Posts: n/a	Comparison? It would also make the comparison meaningful if you gave the specification of the Seagate you are comparing the WD with. Is it a 7200.10/9/8/7 or ??. Is it an 8Mb or 16Mb cache model? Thanks.

08-14-2006, 09:10 AM	#6
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,231	Sorry, I meant to link to the review of the drive. There are only two 500GB Seagates... an IDE and S-ATA. Both have the same storage capacity, RPM and cache. Only real addition is NCQ. Will update the review to link to the review. __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

08-15-2006, 09:53 AM	#8
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,231	The only 7200.10 I have is in my main machine, which is why I didn't use it. If I had a 500GB 7200.10 on hand, it would have been used. Since I don't, it's not possible. Sorry if you disagree, but both drives are still in the same pricerange, so I felt it was a fair comparison. __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

09-25-2006, 08:43 PM	#10
TechTAK Guest Poster Posts: n/a	Best in it's class...ONLY in it's class! Y'all have to realize that there aren't many other drives with the same technologies as this one. I host a small talk radio tech show, and ended up with a couple to test. I really haven't seen anything better in it's class. And I tested this against newer drives and it held it's own. It's not ALWAYS the fastest, but this drive isn't MEANT to be the fastest, it's meant to be the best for RAID, and as far as SATA drives are concerned, it doesn't get any better...

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
The State Of Western Digital Overseas & Here At Home	Rob Williams	Storage Devices and Memory	13	11-02-2011 01:44 PM
Western Digital Scorpio Blue 1TB Review	Rob Williams	Reviews and Articles	1	08-17-2011 05:01 AM
trouble with Western Digital hard disk	Hawke	Storage Devices and Memory	9	06-16-2011 08:34 AM
Western Digital VelociRaptor 600GB	Rob Williams	Reviews and Articles	5	03-28-2011 11:05 AM
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB	Rob Williams	Reviews and Articles	8	12-24-2009 08:06 PM