WD adds 750GB and 1TB drives to its RE3 HDD series

Western Digital today announced the extension of its enterprise offering through the introduction of two new models in its RE3 drive family.

Intended for server and storage application environments, WD's RE3 750 GB and 1 TB high-capacity enterprise SATA hard drives combine 32 MB cache, enhanced vibration and shock tolerance, and deploy new electronics to increase performance by approximately 20% and by as much as 60% in high-vibration environments. WD RE3 enterprise hard drives also include improved reliability features that help protect the drive and the data stored on it, and run cooler and quieter than previous generation enterprise drives.

WD RE3 drives feature 1.2 million hours mean time between failures (MTBF), native command queuing (NCQ), time limited error recovery (TLER), and an extensive and enhanced testing process to ensure long-term reliability for demanding enterprise applications.

WD RE3 features:

• StableTrac - The motor shaft is secured at both ends to reduce system-induced vibration and stabilize platters for accurate tracking during read and write operations.
• Dual processor - Twice the processing power that results in a 20 percent performance improvement over the previous generation.
• RAFF technology - Resulting in up to 60 percent performance improvement over previous generation drives, WD's fourth-generation RAFF technology includes sophisticated electronics to monitor the drive and correct both linear and rotational vibration simultaneously in real time for maximum performance in high vibration environments.
• IntelliSeek technology - Calculates optimum seek speeds to lower power consumption, noise, and vibration in active seek modes without degrading performance.
• Multi-axis shock sensor - An additional third sensor has been added to RE3 models to detect automatically the subtlest shock events and to compensate to protect the data.
• RAID-specific, Time-Limited Error Recovery (TLER) - Prevents drive fallout caused by the extended hard drive error-recovery processes common to desktop drives.
• Third-generation dynamic fly height - With this next generation dynamic fly height technology, each read-write head's fly height is adjusted in real time for optimum reliability.
• Thermal extended burn-in test - Extended burn-in testing with thermal cycling added to ensure only the most robust drives are produced as RAID Edition.
• NoTouch ramp load technology - The recording head never touches the disk media ensuring significantly less wear to the recording head and media as well as better drive protection in transit.

WD RE3 1 TB (model WD1002FBYS) and the 750 GB (model WD57502ABYS) hard drives are available now through select distributors and resellers. Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for the WD RE3 1 TB is $249 USD and the 750 GB is $199 USD. WD RE3 drives are covered by a five-year limited warranty.

Bring em on I say.