Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black RETAIL-BOX $109.00 shipped

[Ghaleon]

I posted this once elsewhere, but either this sub-forum was just created or I just noticed it since it was updated.

Anyway, if you need 1TB of relatively fast, reliable storage and don't want to risk getting a DOA bulk/OEM bare drive, this is a good deal that's still going on. I bought my first one at Best Buy and paid about $30 more than this after tax, but this is the same retail package, tax-free, shipped for only $109--I ordered one, and it's in transit now. Plus I've ordered other items from B&H and they have great service and shipping practices.

item: Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black internal HDD (1001FALS), SATA 3.0 Gb/s interface, 32MB cache, 7200 RPM, 3.5" size.
more info: from what I've read, these work great as single drives due to having the 32MB cache and dual internal processors, but don't work as well as expected in RAID-0 arrays, so please keep that in mind.
price: $109.00
shipping: free
site: B&H Photo Video
great deal because: full retail package @ near-OEM price, free shipping, outstanding customer service.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/568397-REG/Western_Digital_WD10000LSRTL_1TB_Caviar_Black_3_5_ .html

[Ghaleon]

Received product from B&H one day earlier than what UPS was originally estimating, which is nice, but then again they left it on my porch though there was a huge note on my door asking them not to do that. Product was in a shrink-wrap sealed, full retail box which was packed inside an outer box and protected on all sides by packing peanuts--try getting NewEgg to do that. ;)

The item received is indeed a retail-boxed WD 1TB Caviar Black drive, model # WD10000LSRTL for the retail package itself. The drive is indeed the model WD1001FALS.

The item is still being sold at the same price, with free shipping, so the deal is still good, and Google Shopping gives this as the lowest total price, (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=WD10000LSRTL&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=9732020980620773979&ei=zmJKSpi8O4KitwfO4ZmTBg&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=4#scoring=tp) for the full retail package. It comes with the drive in a static-resistant bag and suspended by plastic braces to minimize shock; included items are manual, CD w/ apps, mounting screws, and a custom SATA cable with a locking mechanism that fits only WD drives.

FYI: NewEgg does have this model available in a retail box, but it's $129.99 and shipping is not free. They list it as a Caviar GP, not Caviar Black, though the box I received exactly matches the pictures on NewEgg's site, both of which clearly read "WD Caviar Black."

Didn't have time to install/format/scan it last night, here's hoping for doing it tonight.

UPDATE: install went well, full format (single-partition) to NTFS default cluster size was 3 hours 10 minutes. Did a scan with the worthless WD software, it reported "PASS" after yet another 3 hours 10 minutes and gave otherwise ZERO information about how many, if any bad sectors were actually reported, so running a 3rd party app that reports more info now.....

Zero bad sectors: a perfectly-functioning drive.

The product is still available as given above, though Google Shopping now shows that Buy.com has B&H beat on the total price for the full retail package by $1.01--but their service sucks in my experience.

UPDATE July 9th '09: B&H still have it for $109.00 shipped, and although Google Shopping shows that Buy.com has the price beat by $1.01, the actual price on Buy.com's site is higher than B&H's price.

[Ghaleon]

...but now only $99.95 shipped. :)

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/568397-REG/Western_Digital_WD10000LSRTL_1TB_Caviar_Black_3_5_ .html