WD Shipping Next-Gen SATA II Hard Drives with 300 MB/s Data Transfer Rate

Western Digital announced it is now shipping in volume hard drives offering Serial ATA (SATA) interface with 300 MB/s burst data transfer rate. The new WD Caviar SE16 hard drives feature 16 MB cache — 2 to 8 times the cache size of standard desktop-class hard drives — which, combined with its 300 MB/s transfer rate, deliver a one-two performance punch for customers.

The new desktop-class hard drives are available now from WD-authorized distributors and in OEM PCs. State-of-the-art SATA with 300 MB/s performance that is up to 3 times faster than EIDE make WD Caviar SE16 drives one of the fastest desktop-class hard drives on the market, perfectly suited for use in high-performance computers, multimedia and gaming systems.

WD Caviar SE16 drives feature technologically advanced acoustics and quiet operation to reduce noise and significantly extend long-term reliability in the variety of applications using these drives today. Rotating at 7,200 RPM, the new drives are available with 250 GB capacity and are covered under a 3-year warranty.

Suggested retail pricing is $199 USD for WD Caviar SE16 with 250 GB capacity (model WD2500KS). Customers who order WD Caviar SE16 hard drives from WD’s online store (www.westerndigital.com/e3) before May 31, 2005, will receive one free WD SecureConnect SATA cable (one cable per drive ordered) and free standard shipping. The industry-leading SecureConnect cable strengthens the drive-to-cable connection by more than 500 percent, helping to overcome connector breakage problems common to first-generation SATA cables.

"WD’s ongoing product innovation allows us to better serve our customers by improving upon the features that matter most — advanced Serial ATA with 300 MB/s technology, fast performance, and cool running quiet drives with high reliability," said Richard E. Rutledge, vice president and general manager of WD’s PC Components Group. "The new WD Caviar SE16 desktop-class hard drives bring end users more options for the growing number of applications using rotating magnetic storage."