Western Digital 6TB WD_Black Performance Internal Hard Drive HDD - 7200 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, 256 MB Cache, 3.5" - WD6004FZBX

SO far 50% used. Running BTRFS file system on Linux with no issues at all. Speeds are pretty high for a hard drive. Plus, it's Western Digital, so it will last for some time!

I've been using this hard drive for several weeks now, and it has truly exceeded my expectations. If you work with large files like video projects, renders, or game libraries, this hard drive is an excellent investment.Loading and transfer times are fast for an HDD, and the 256MB cache makes a huge difference when moving large folders. It's a SATA drive, so don't expect the speed of an SSD, but within its category, it performs very well.I have it mounted in a tower for video editing and storing old projects, and so far, I've had zero annoying noises or overheating. It stays cool and stable.Something to keep in mind: this model is more expensive than a regular hard drive, but it's clearly built to last. If your workflow is demanding or you want a robust drive for your game or media library, the price is justifiable.

Fast delivery, easy installation, works as needed

If you are like me, you read the reviews, focusing on the negatives. If you are like me, you also realize the reviews are negatively biased because people that have bad drives/mobos/tech will be far more motivated to leave a negative review.If you are like me, you also seek out published hard drive failure rates, because it absolutely does happen. Blazeback publishes such a report, and while I know well that HGST is the best, WD is what I've been using since 500 MB Quantum drives around the turn of the century.Yup, drives fail, and I had a WD Blue laptop drive die suddenly, like I was doing an emergency clone via Ubuntu it and it was getting worse with every block. I lost a year's worth of files back in 2015 due to that.That said, I've been using the WD Black series exclusively for about 12 years now and all my drives are still running. I check the SMART data occasionally to what for signs of impending failure. The Black series has treated me well, no catastrophic failures.I also have been hesitant to get the larger size drives, but finally got a 10 TB this time. Currently, as I do not blindly trust it, I've got it externally mounted and am using it as a backup device, until it's been on for a couple months. What I can say is that no issues so far, but certainly will update if there are.In terms of noise, there is some head noise that randomly occurs. Sometimes, I've heard it ticking away while the computer is idle. I'm pretty sure this is the Windows indexing reading the drive, and the drive health system that automatically defrags the drive in idle periods. This head ticking is audible greater than my drives with less capacity. It almost sounds like a drive from 2000 in terms of volume. Disabling indexing on the drive should remedy some of this.The heat is warm to the touch (I have the drive laying out in the open with no fans on it, similar to the early 1 TB drives before they remade them with less platters. (My early 1 TB cooks, while later versions are cool to the touch.)

UPDATE #3: PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND NOT PURCHASE THIS DRIVE. It has been three months and I still don't have a working drive. See Update #2 below about "PRIME INVENTORY." On March 18th, they sent an email saying that they would notify me when my replacement drive was ready for delivery. Today, April 20, I still don't have it. This should be deemed a deceptive trade practice. Seriously . . . STAY AWAY FROM WESTERN DIGITAL. They are not the same company we grew up with. At this point, I feel like they are doing everything in their power to make me go away, effectively stealing (by neglect) my $250. I feel like posting all the emails, just to prove this is not the rant of some lunatic. They are that bad. (UPDATE #3A: Literally on chat with WD Customer Service right now and here's a quote: "Now , as a token of apology WD team have created another Advance RMA - XXXXXXXX on 04/19/2025 under which we will be shipping our Prime drive first to you." Notice the term "Prime drive." What a horrible disregard for their customers.ORIGINAL REVIEW:I purchased this in November 2024, but did not install it until January, 2025. When I did, it did not work. Recognized as 0MB and would not initialize. Tried three different computers and three operating systems (W11, W10, and Linux). Too late to return to Amazon, so I dealt with WD's awful customer service and it took almost two weeks to get a replacement. When I got it, it, too, didn't work--tried again on three different computers and operating systems--my brand new Dell would not allow me to initialize the drive. Still haven't heard back from WD customer service--it's been five days. In the meantime, I purchased two Toshiba drives, and both of them are working flawlessly and were initialized immediately. I'm done with WD. I can accept a defective product, but I cannot accept their horribly broken customer service channel. I will never buy from WD again.UPDATE 1: Wrote them on Feb 28, 2025. As of 5 p.m. on March 6, still have not heard from them. Wrote again, today.UPDATE 2: WD says I have to return the first defective drive before they can send me the THIRD drive (at which time I will have to return the second defective drive). Oddly enough, WD said "Now, to resolve this issue, I will help you with an another replacement drive but this time I'll make sure that the drive will be provided to you via the prime inventory." Prime inventory? That sounds like a rather poor trade practice if they have different classes of inventory for ostensibly the same product. Have they been shipping "non-prime" inventory? What a joke. So far, this has consumed two months of my life. I wonder if they are thinking that if they make it just hard enough to deal with them, then I'll just say to heck with it and eat the $200+ I spent on this stupid drive. Really: shame on Western Digital.