WD Gold drives are oriented toward data center use - and so feature high speeds paired with increased reliability features. For performance they use the SATA 6Gbps interconnect, spin at 7200rpm, and have 128 MB cache. Reliability is ensured with dual actuator head positioning, RAFF for vibration protection, and TLER to help avoid drives dropping out of arrays (RAID). Even though they are aimed at data centers and other enterprise applications, the features these drives have make them excellent options for users who need high capacity, reliability, and performance.
Ruben Romero (Tier 3 Integration Lead) Says:
I would recommend using a Gold drive if it is important to have high capacity with good throughput that can actually be taken advantage of. These drives are noisy and have noticeable chatter when they're not in use. If storage is what's required get a Red drive, better acoustics and respectable performance.
I would recommend using a Gold drive if it is important to have high capacity with good throughput that can actually be taken advantage of. These drives are noisy and have noticeable chatter when they're not in use. If storage is what's required get a Red drive, better acoustics and respectable performance.
Model: Western Digital WD4002FYYZ
Specifications
Capacity | 4000 GB |
Rotation Speed | 7200 RPM |
Interface | SATA 6 Gb/s |
Cache Size | 128 MB |
Form Factor | 3.5 Inch |
Idle Noise | 29 dB |
Seek Noise | 36 dB |
Command Queueing | NCQ |
Peak Power Draw | 9.0 Watts |
Performance | |
Sequential Read (Peak) | 201 MB/s |
Sequential Write (Peak) | 201 MB/s |