WD Gold 4TB Enterprise Class Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM Class SATA 6 Gb/s 128MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD4002FYYZ

I bought three of the 4TB WD Gold drives and the performance is outstanding. In addition to the speed, I needed the best reliability I can get for my money and this is the model to which I have committed my IT project's success. I have been a server engineer for many years and can say that these babies do not disappoint when it comes to performance.How did they arrive?I don't normally mention packing when talking about a product in the review but it has to be mentioned. These are sensitive devices. What's the point in buying a nice drive if it gets shipped in such a way that it becomes compromised?The packaging for these drives is top-notch. No nail-biting necessary when you order from Platinum Micro. These WD gold units are cushioned with end-brackets and each drive also arrives in it's own box. The drives are hermetically sealed and labelled individually--on the drive and on the Mylar vacuum bag. SMART Diags indicate that all drives are brand-new and the manufacturing date on the label verified it also.How am I using them?I use them in an AMD FX 8 core file and backup server running Windows 2012 R2. I need reliable storage that was based on the SATAIII interface for this particular build. I have a 1TB Samsung Pro SSD for the primary disk with these being used for network file storage and backups.Why did I go with these?*I compared datasheets, RAID configs, performance and reliability reports and online comparisons and then chatted with a WD engineer about my findings and concerns over reliability. I also chatted with storage support from Seagate and IBM.I was given this model number to look up online by WD and was told that it or the 6TB unit would not let me down. I spent weeks researching competitor's drives and their performance. I looked at many characteristics over the long run for various configs, setups and chipsets. I felt good about this decision after doing my homework. When I checked to see who sold them, Amazon had them in stock. So I bought 3 of them.Is the duty rate high?They are tested for 24x7x365 reliability at workloads up to 550TB per year. I tested two of these with very large data transfers, large photoshop saves and multiple simultaneous copy streams. They didn't skip a beat or lag and the copies didn't slow down over time. All the while, the network share to these drives remained available with instant response to other systems.So there is a steady transfer rate and very good I/O handling.As a side note, the trick to keeping server-class drives in optimum condition over the long haul is to keep them as cool as you can and at a consistent operating temperature.

The media could not be loaded. Let me preface with this review is based off the THIRD one of these I've bought. The first one had a terrible grinding noise and shook my desk. Data Lifeguard said it had bad sectors. Had it returned, no replacement. The second one cost $30 more because the first one I had bought on sale. It was also very loud, some grinding, but didn't shake my desk. Checked with Data Lifeguard and it said all was clear, I returned that as well. This one I had to pay $10 more than the last one because, though having a lower listed priced, all of a sudden this one was taxed. Each one's packaging was abysmal. Wouldn't be surprised if each one was damaged in transit. Amazon doesn't really get how to transport expensive fragile electronics.I'm just going to assume all of these are irredeemably bad. It is VERY LOUD, constantly making clicking noises as if it's doing something when you aren't even using the drive. I'm definitely not using it and Task Manager says 0% usage so the drive should be asleep, BUT NOPE. Never-ending KRZZZCRAZZZKURRRRR 24/7 no matter what. I was just gonna keep this last one regardless, tired of the back and forthing with returns and waiting for refunds, but I can feel the walls of my mind being torn down hearing it go on and on. I'm feeling more and more tempted to chuck this thing against a concrete slab as every second passes, but I'd prefer my money back and a better drive instead. I've attached a video with it making the noise, take in mind that this isn't the worst it's sounded.

Boy I sure do wish I had never bought a Seagate drive, and had sooner learned how reliable Western Digital drives are. I'm sure this drive is no exception to that rule, and I do not see myself ever buying a HDD from a different company. That being said, I still cannot explain how excited I am to use this drive until it is no longer adequate due to the inevitable technology advances that will eventually make it obsolete.Straight out of the box, the drive performs at over 200 MB/s sequential Q32 read AND write. Of course, as to be expected from any drive, the more you fill it the slower it will become, so I have attached a screenshot for a read/write test using CDM at 0% capacity and 75% capacity.To address the people that say the drive is loud, I'm not sure what they were expecting from an enterprise DATA CENTER drive. These drives are meant to operate 24/7/365 and are not constructed to be quiet, like one would expect from a drive most people would use on a personal home computer, like the WD Blue series. I've actually found that this drive is even more quiet than my WD Black drive, AND it out performs it (and I'm sure it is even more reliable). Others may even point out how hot the drive can get, as if it is a defect. This, again, is not the case as these drives are made to safely operate at up to 60°C.TL:DR - If you are looking for the most reliable drives that also out perform any other drives in its class, and you don't need it to be ultra quiet, you've come to the right place.

First I would like to start out by explaining that if, like me, you bought one of these refurbished and it already has around 30,000 power on hours, you should know that these are rated for over 2 million power on hours, unlike most drives.These drives are meant for servers that are always on and Gold is the highest possible rating WD offers that I know of. The lifespan of one of these drives is likely to be over half a century.I bought one of these refurbished for only $48 and it only had 32,000 power on hours. For a lower rated drive that would be a lot of power on hours but for these that is nothing. This price was a steal so I bought 3 more and two of them only had around 8000 power on hours.WD Gold drives nearly never fail and the time between errors is over 2.5 million hours so for $48 you definitely want one of these. Even refurbished they are more reliable than any red or green rated drive on the market.