Western Digital's single-platter 320GB Caviar SE16 WD3200AAK

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~El~Jefe~
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Post by ~El~Jefe~ » Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:38 pm

I have been reading these articles and forums for years now.

I always wonder about the degree of drive to drive variance. it is disheartening to me to hear this info.

I have a spinpoint 160gb drive that idles quiet in rubber but seeks are harsher than supposedly tested. i have all of the samsung drives from the first spinpoint 80 recommended up to now the 320gb recommended. i will be getting a f1 if favorably reviewed.

i guess. :(

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Post by colm » Wed Apr 23, 2008 3:53 pm

the info about the wd800 (80 gb) is way off. In fact, I just bought another brand new because they are the most silent drives in my history of computing..cool fast, eide, and extremely durable, loves to hang onto a twin in a bad case very well.and further more...80gb is doing much less work. Anybody else hang onto reality ?
the 320 ,which is a nice evolution, I may get one sometime, is not for the exact reasons pursued in the article ...
My last fast drive was a maxtor in 2004, ATA133 still blowing the speeds away of these so called record breaking drives coming out lately. I was on ide and sdram of all things... Don't fall for the hype. The perpendicular magnetic recording and intelliseek seems to be the great new stuff. The density is frightening with the platters, but hey, time will let my cautious self know.The speed is great, but chips are still chips, and the chance for losing integrity still exists.

Keep the facts straight please. The wd800jb is always a champion.cool quiet, light, resourceful, durable in all situations... when new drives with thier density and speed exceed it, and not just meet it, there will be another winner. The 320 just may be it....

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Post by NX3 » Thu Apr 24, 2008 10:47 am

Anyone know where to get this drive in the UK ? I want the single platter edition and most websites you can't get the full model number e.g WD3200AAKS-00B3A0

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Post by dhanson865 » Mon Aug 11, 2008 9:57 am

fwiw, don't assume that a drive bought in 2008 or 2009 will be new. I just bought a WD3200AAKS last week that got here today and it is a two platter model.

WD3200AAKS-00YGA0 manufactured Dec 28 2007

Looking around at the links for WD3200AAKS-00YGA0 I found that many others are still receiving this model in July and August 2008 so this is far from working its way out of the supply chain.

In my case I bought it for work so it doesn't matter as much for the workload it'll see.

Had it been the WD3200AAKS-00B3A0 and I could expect it to be WD3200AAKS-00B3A0 every time I ordered it I might have gotten a couple for home use. As is I'll probably just pay the extra for a WD6400AAKS instead to be sure I get a faster drive.

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Post by mattthemuppet » Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:22 pm

same here dhanson - the 640GB model in Oz is only ~30% more than the 320GB, is supposed to be a bit faster and you don't have the whole lottery deal with the smaller model. I'll be getting the 640GB for a comprehensive upgrade this weekend or next.

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Post by mr_plow_king » Tue Feb 24, 2009 9:46 am

I sent one of my AAKS-00B3A drives to WD because I had bad clusters on it. Those idiots sent me the dual platter version : AAKS-00VYA0. Now I am stuck with a slower and noisier drive. Is there anything I can do ? Can I ask them to send me the same drive version I sent them originally ?
Last edited by mr_plow_king on Tue Feb 24, 2009 10:52 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by angelkiller » Tue Feb 24, 2009 9:55 am

mr_plow_king wrote:I sent one of my AAKS-00B3A drives to WD because I had bad clusters on it. Those idiots sent me back the dual platter version : AAKS-00VYA. Now I am stuck with a slower and noisier drive. Is there anything I can do ? Can I ask them to send me the same drive version I sent them originally ?
No way! I'm also expecting a RMA in the next couple of days because my drive also had some bad sectors on it. Coincidence :?: Hopefully WD won't send me the 2 platter version. :(

Do you have any info on your B3 drive? Manufacture date would be awesome. Mine has a manufacture date of Feb 12 2008.

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Post by mr_plow_king » Tue Feb 24, 2009 10:50 am

Here they are. On the left, the 00B3A0, Identical to the one I sent them and on the right the 00VYA0 they sent me :(


Image

Image

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Post by QuietOC » Tue Feb 24, 2009 1:01 pm

mr_plow_king wrote:Now I am stuck with a slower and noisier drive. Is there anything I can do ?
Is the dual platter actually noisier? My old one was pretty quiet. It is basically physically indentical to the new WD6400AAKS (same case at least) and that drive seems to be quieter than the single platter WD3200AAKS.

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Post by mattthemuppet » Tue Feb 24, 2009 3:03 pm

mr_plow_king wrote:I sent one of my AAKS-00B3A drives to WD because I had bad clusters on it. Those idiots sent me the dual platter version : AAKS-00VYA0. Now I am stuck with a slower and noisier drive. Is there anything I can do ? Can I ask them to send me the same drive version I sent them originally ?
I'd be pretty pissed if I bought a particular model and the company replaced with an older slower one. I'd get on to them and explain the situation.

Funnily enough, even though I decided to get a WD6400 instead of a WD3200 to avoid this whole issue, I ended up getting something different again - a WD6400AACs, not the WD6400AAKS I wanted :x Turns out the C version is the 5400rpm GP drive. In the end I kept it, figuring it would be fast enough for my needs, but quieter and use less power. WD really needs to get on top of their naming scheme, it's not exactly user friendly.

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Post by mr_plow_king » Wed Feb 25, 2009 8:54 am

Thier explanation is :

We apologize for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, We replace the drive with a similar model, if we do not have the model in stock or the costumer will have to wait until we have the model available. If you do not feel comfortable with the drive you received. Please call phone support for resolution.


I tried to call them. It tells me they cannot take my call at the moment. it's 11am it should be open. Great service WD !!! :evil:

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Post by angelkiller » Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:32 pm

Lookie what came in the mail.... :x

Image

Sadly, I wonder which is faster. The 00VYA WD sent me or a 2.5in 7200rpm drive. It might be close.... Not happy here. I just traded my fast, reasonably quiet drive for this crap. I'll be in contact with WD.... Seagate's 500GB single platter drive looks really nice....

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Post by mattthemuppet » Wed Feb 25, 2009 2:53 pm

that's shonky, sounds like they're palming off old stock for RMAs and hoping people won't notice. WD really does have some issues with honestly - first the whole "GP spins between 5400 and 7200rpm crap", then sneaky model changes with out model no. changes and now this.

It would certainly make me reconsider WD for my next drive. Who knows what other issues are going to come out?

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Post by mr_plow_king » Wed Feb 25, 2009 3:07 pm

angelkiller wrote: I'll be in contact with WD.... Seagate's 500GB single platter drive looks really nice....
Same thing happened to me so I'll try to call them tomorrow. If they cannot send me a good drive like the one I sent them, I'm going to buy 2x Seagate 7200.12 500GB then it's goodbye WD ! I'll never buy one of thier products ever again !

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Post by angelkiller » Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:57 pm

I finally got a half decent response from a WD rep.
WD Rep wrote:I have double checked with our engineers and although your tests are showing a performance delta on the replacement drive that was sent to you the Performance specifications are the same. All WD3200AAKS drives are designed and built the same. The sub number after the dash is a reference number that is the first part of an extended number within the drive, that is used for internal purposes only, indicating what components and firmware is used on a particular drive.

If you feel the drive is having problems, the warranty from your original drive is carried forward to the replacement drive and Western Digital will honor the warranty on the drive and replace it.
Now, I'm not sure who to believe. If both drives are the same, why is the B3 revision faster and quieter? Why are the drives' casings different if the same number of platters remains the same? On one hand I have info from WD and in the other, I have lots of solid data that directly and conclusively contradicts WD.

I responded asking if I RMA my replacement drive (the 00VYA0) can they guarantee they'll send me a B3.

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Post by dhanson865 » Thu Jun 11, 2009 12:37 pm

angelkiller wrote:I finally got a half decent response from a WD rep.
WD Rep wrote:I have double checked with our engineers and although your tests are showing a performance delta on the replacement drive that was sent to you the Performance specifications are the same. All WD3200AAKS drives are designed and built the same. The sub number after the dash is a reference number that is the first part of an extended number within the drive, that is used for internal purposes only, indicating what components and firmware is used on a particular drive
Now, I'm not sure who to believe. If both drives are the same, why is the B3 revision faster and quieter? Why are the drives' casings different if the same number of platters remains the same? On one hand I have info from WD and in the other, I have lots of solid data that directly and conclusively contradicts WD.

I responded asking if I RMA my replacement drive (the 00VYA0) can they guarantee they'll send me a B3.
That is a plain straight out lie.

00VYA0 = 2 platters
00B3A0 = 1 platter

There is no way that differing number of platters satisfies the All WD3200AAKS drives are designed and built the same claim.

Now it may be that some rep in a call center just turned to the guy/gal next to them and asked what to say and you got a bogus answer without intent to lie but no matter the intent the answer was wrong.

If they didn't replace your RMA drive with a single platter version after you sent them a single platter version. I'd suggest you take all your documentation of the incident and send it to [email protected] with a plea for help at the bottom. Once it gets posted there hopefully someone will respond from higher up the food chain at WDC. The consumerist crowd might help you get contact info for someone higher up to get the issue resolved to your satisfaction and it might take another email or call but you deserve better than a crappy part swapped old hard drive.

As it is WDC has lost the purchases they would have gotten from me if the 320GB single platter drive had a part number that differed enough an online retailer would keep it separate from the 2 platter version. I don't know an exact number but it's at least 3 hard drives I would have bought for myself plus any I might have bought for work.

I have no interest in replacing 160GB single platter drives at work with 320GB dual platter drives. I don't need the space, I do want the speed.

I still recommend the 640GB Blue and Black but I won't look back when I start buying SSDs. I won't have any remorse if WDC pulls a circuit city by giving their customers poor service/support.

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Post by angelkiller » Thu Jun 11, 2009 1:03 pm

dhanson865 wrote:That is a plain straight out lie.

00VYA0 = 2 platters
00B3A0 = 1 platter

There is no way that differing number of platters satisfies the All WD3200AAKS drives are designed and built the same claim.

Now it may be that some rep in a call center just turned to the guy/gal next to them and asked what to say and you got a bogus answer without intent to lie but no matter the intent the answer was wrong.

I'd suggest you take all your documentation of the incident and send it to [email protected] with a plea for help at the bottom. Once it gets posted there hopefully someone will respond from higher up the food chain at WDC. The consumerist crowd might help you get contact info for someone higher up to get the issue resolved to your satisfaction and it might take another email or call but you deserve better than a crappy part swapped old hard drive.

As it is WDC has lost the purchases they would have gotten from me if the 320GB single platter drive had a part number that differed enough an online retailer would keep it separate from the 2 platter version. I don't know an exact number but it's at least 3 hard drives I would have bought for myself plus any I might have bought for work.

I have no interest in replacing 160GB single platter drives at work with 320GB dual platter drives. I don't need the space, I do want the speed and quieter drive.
Yeah, I don't think that rep actually talked to anybody. But I got sick of messing with those guys. I just let it go. The dual platter drive went into a PC that I re-purposed as a mini music server. I went ahead and got another rev B3 drive from someone else to replace my original one. But I'll definitely check out Consumerist. I haven't heard of them before.

But I really hate how WD does their naming schemes. I think a change in platters is a worthy enough change to warrant a new model number. Like the WD10EACS and WD10EADS. Just a simple letter change to denote a platter change. (The cache was also doubled, which is the real reason WD changed the model number. Cache size is more 'visible' to consumers than the number of platters, even though platter count has greater effect on performance) Another option would be make the drive's 'suffix' a part of the model number, so Retailers would advertise that too. I just think its not a good idea to have products with significant differences being sold under the same product line.

Just FYI, the same thing is going on with the 500GB Caviar Black. The WD5001AALS-00L3B has 2 320GB patters and the WD5001AALS-00L3B2 has a single 500GB platter. 2 distinctive drives, same model number. :x At least WD is migrating 500GB platters into its lineup....

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