by 780 reviews.
Western Digital RE 3 TB Enterprise Hard Drive Review: A Reliable Powerhouse for Enterprise Storage
When it comes to enterprise-grade storage, the Western Digital RE 3 TB Enterprise Hard Drive (WD3000FYYZ) stands out as a robust and dependable solution. Designed for high-intensity workloads, this 3.5-inch hard drive offers a 3 TB capacity, 7200 RPM speed, and SATA III interface, making it ideal for datacenter storage, NAS/SAN systems, and video surveillance. With features like a 64 MB cache, dual processors, and advanced vibration protection, this drive is built to deliver consistent performance in demanding environments. But does it live up to the hype? Let’s dive into the details based on real customer experiences.
Pros and Cons: What Customers Are Saying
1. Performance and Speed
The Western Digital RE 3 TB Enterprise Hard Drive is praised for its exceptional performance. Customers have noted that the drive’s 7200 RPM speed and 64 MB cache ensure rapid data access, making it perfect for write-intensive tasks like video surveillance and cloud storage. One user mentioned that when used in a RAID 5 configuration, the drives are "very, very quick," providing both speed and data redundancy.
Pros:
- Sustained sequential data rates of 171 MB/s.
- Ideal for RAID setups, offering both speed and fault tolerance.
- Dual processors handle heavy workloads efficiently.
Cons:
- Some users reported compatibility issues with Linux systems, particularly when partitioning drives over 2 TB. This is due to the need for GPT partition style, which isn’t natively supported in older Linux distributions.
2. Reliability and Durability
Reliability is a key selling point for this drive. With a 1.2 million-hour MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) and a 5-year warranty, the WD RE series is designed for 24x7 operation in high-duty cycle environments. Customers have shared positive experiences, with one former Senior Systems Engineer stating, "Enterprise Class – when only the best is good enough." They also highlighted the importance of using enterprise-grade drives for critical data, as consumer-grade drives like WD Green are prone to failures.
Pros:
- Built for 24x7 operation, making it ideal for enterprise use.
- RAFF technology minimizes vibrations, ensuring stable performance.
- Long-term reliability backed by a 5-year warranty.
Cons:
- Higher price point compared to consumer-grade drives, but justified by its durability and performance.
3. Build Quality and Packaging
Customers have consistently praised the build quality and packaging of the WD RE series. The drives are securely packaged to prevent damage during shipping, and the build quality reflects their enterprise-grade status. One user noted that the drive was "new and unused," despite being manufactured in 2015, highlighting its durability even when stored for extended periods.
Pros:
- Secure packaging ensures the drive arrives in perfect condition.
- High-quality construction designed for long-term use.
- StableTrac technology reduces vibration and improves reliability.
Cons:
- Some users received drives with older manufacturing dates, which may concern those looking for the latest models.
4. Compatibility and Setup
While the drive performs exceptionally well in Windows environments, some users faced challenges when setting it up on Linux systems. One customer shared their experience with Linux Mint 19 Cinnamon, where the drive’s 3 TB capacity exceeded the 2 TB limit supported by MBR partitions. After switching to GPT partition style in Windows, the drive worked flawlessly.
Pros:
- Easy setup in Windows with GPT partition support.
- Ideal for enterprise servers and high-end NAS/SAN systems.
Cons:
- Limited compatibility with older Linux distributions that lack GPT support.
Conclusion: Is the Western Digital RE 3 TB Worth It?
The Western Digital RE 3 TB Enterprise Hard Drive is a top-tier choice for anyone needing reliable, high-performance storage for enterprise applications. Its advanced features, such as dual processors, RAFF technology, and a 5-year warranty, make it a standout option for datacenters, video surveillance, and RAID setups. While the higher price point may deter some, the drive’s durability and performance justify the investment, especially for mission-critical data.
However, potential buyers should be aware of its limited compatibility with older Linux systems and the possibility of receiving drives with older manufacturing dates. For those using Windows or modern Linux distributions, these issues are easily mitigated.
Final Verdict: If you’re looking for a dependable, high-capacity hard drive for enterprise use, the Western Digital RE 3 TB is an excellent choice. Its combination of speed, reliability, and advanced features makes it a worthy investment for professionals who demand the best.
Specification Western digital RE 3 TB Enterprise Hard Drive: 3.5 Inch, 7200 RPM, SATA III, 64 MB Cache - WD3000FYYZ (Old Model) Bullet - 5 years warranty from seller:
Comments from Amazon:
I must say that I love the packaging this HDD came in that's very securely protected from damage. This drive is new as it was never used that is evident by the packaging. However, it is not recently manufactured though because the manufactured date shows 2015 on the label. Nevertheless, it is still new as it has not been used before. In using it, on the other hand, at first I didn't know or understood loading it in Linux that HDDs over 2TB is not supported in Linux where partitioning is concerned. I am using Linux Mint 19 Cinnamon and it apparently doesn't seem to have support for using drives greater in storage size than 2TB so no GPT partition style support except MBR partition style. So when I saw that the drive was somehow automatically divided into 4 preset partitions that could not be removed, resized or addition ones able to be created I thought that something was wrong with the drive itself. But when I decided to see what would happen when using it in Windows Disk Management Console a prompt came up asking what partition style that I would like to initialize the disk with either MBR or GPT. Not too familiar with the difference or benefits of one vs the other I decided to do a little research on the difference and benefits of using MBR vs GPT partition styles. As it turns out once you are using HDDs with a storage capacity greater than 2TB you must use GPT partition style to initialize the drive and great your partitions. MBR only supports less than 2TB and up to 4 partitions on the drive so that is why when I connected the drive in Linux and it showed only 4 preset partitions and prevented me from editing, deleting or creating additional partitions then I understood what was the problem. It wasn't the drive that was the problem but Linux OS doesn't support GPT except MBR. Whether or not this can be mitigated to switch to GPT to initialize a HDD with storage capacity greater than 2TB is not necessary for me right now. However, once I used Windows to setup the drive with GPT partition style I was able to create the partitions I wanted with no problems and everything now works great now.
Excelente disco duro para servidor o pcs
Très satisfait de mon achat
I love Western Digital's products, and this harddisk dont push the quality down, really an fantastic product, and I aint finished with using products from Western Digital, I use the harddiscs mostely for my NAS (Netgear Readynas RN516) fast stabil unit and with Western Digital things get done fast, thanks!
Ich kaufte eine Western Digita WD2000FYYZ RE 2TB interne Festplatte als die zu dem Preis von etwa 26 € verkauft wurde. Das Geräusch ist hinnehmbar oder besser, weil die Platte als Dateienlager funktioniert. Die Kapazität von zwei GB ist nicht groß. Solch ein Preis aber rechtfertigt ja mit allen Fürs und Widern den Kauf.
Alles gut
I had enough scares with consumer grade drives... Had failures of green drives... in testing... complete junk... only put on a green drive stuff your ok losing !!! I opted for this drive WD4000FYYZ actually quite a few of them... in a RAID they are very very quick... if you use raid 5 (minimum 3 drives) You will lose only one drives capacity to parity (3 X 4Tb drive will ONLY = 8Tb of RAID 5 storage actually less after formatting) BUT the loss of capacity is in exchange for the safety and security of SINGLE DRIVE FAILURE fault tolerance... meaning one drive can fail and the integrity of your information is maintained... at $300 per drive that is a hefty price to pay... but so is the price of data recovery service... and its expensive to have a hospital to restart your heart when you think all your data is lost... forever... with that in mind these drives look more and more attractive... also if you RAID "consider" if you have a controller card failure or power supply failure that's also an issue... for maximum safety... you need redundancy of those items as well to limit your overall exposure from potential data loss emanating from failures of these sources as well... Can your data ever be 100% safe... NO... but you can limit the possibility of loss to a very low acceptable level... burn your most critical information to optical disk or buy another HDD and put in a safety deposit box just in case your house burns down or floods... also a great enclosure like the QNAP Pro Series or equivalent since that is just as important as the quality of the drives... themselves Green Drives - are junk, take my word... spin the wheel and take your chances Red Drives - I have no experience with so I offer no opinion Black Caviar Drives - I have had many and can not recall a failure... EVER... better Price per MB of storage than Enterprise Class with excellent reliability... it would be far safer IMO to Mirror 2 of these drives then have 1 Enterprise Class Drive that's something to consider in your pockets are not bottomless !!! Enterprise Class - when only the best is good enough Background former Senior Systems Engineer with EMC Corporation so I am probably dispensing reasonable information... I hope I helped someone from losing information that's not easy to replace... Good Luck...