Western Digital's JB series at DVinfo.net

Andrew Petrie · September 14th, 2002, 05:00 PM

Found out today (hey, I'm out of the loop :D ), IBM is indeed pulling out of the HDD market. My two favorite companies (Quantum, IBM) have slipped away.

I was hunting around and found high praise for Western Digital's JB series of drives. They run at 7200rpm and use an 8mb buffer instead of the typical 2mb. Performance has been comparable to 10k rpm drives.... and reviewers have noted they scream when used in a RAID 0 config.

When I worked as a PC assembler, I got to know Western Digitals quite well - slow, noisy, and often came back for repair. but that was 4 years ago, maybe WD has finally produced something decent with these JB drives. They are also quieter (or so they say).

Does anyone here own one of these 8mb buffered drives? Your thoughts on them?

Bill Ravens · September 15th, 2002, 11:55 AM

I've had a WD1000BB for over a year and love it. I test out at an average 38Kb/s. VERY quiet, too.

Don Donatello · September 15th, 2002, 09:00 PM

i have 3 of the 120's w/8mg , and 1 120 w/2mg cache ...
both work ... the only time i can see any difference is when i TEST them - the 8mgs cache ( 48mgs read/writes), the 2mgs ( 44mgs read/writes) plenty fast enough for DV

keep your eye out on SALES .. the WD 120/w8mg cache has been selling for around 129 after rebates ...

Bill Ravens · September 15th, 2002, 09:05 PM

are those peak or average scores? they look like peaks

Rob Lohman · September 16th, 2002, 05:43 AM

I assume 38 Kb/s should be MB/s...

Bill Ravens · September 16th, 2002, 06:52 AM

Indeed, rob.

Eric Richmond · September 16th, 2002, 12:05 PM

With the 120 gig 8meg of cache WD caviar hd, I get 60mb/s sustained thruput.

-Eric

September 14th, 2002, 05:00 PM	#1
Andrew Petrie Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London, Ontario, Canada Posts: 484	Western Digital's JB series Found out today (hey, I'm out of the loop :D ), IBM is indeed pulling out of the HDD market. My two favorite companies (Quantum, IBM) have slipped away. I was hunting around and found high praise for Western Digital's JB series of drives. They run at 7200rpm and use an 8mb buffer instead of the typical 2mb. Performance has been comparable to 10k rpm drives.... and reviewers have noted they scream when used in a RAID 0 config. When I worked as a PC assembler, I got to know Western Digitals quite well - slow, noisy, and often came back for repair. but that was 4 years ago, maybe WD has finally produced something decent with these JB drives. They are also quieter (or so they say). Does anyone here own one of these 8mb buffered drives? Your thoughts on them? __________________ Andrew \| Canon XL1s, ME66, Vinten Vision 3, GlideCam V16 (for sale!)

September 16th, 2002, 05:43 AM	#5
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	I assume 38 Kb/s should be MB/s... __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

September 15th, 2002, 11:55 AM	#2
Bill Ravens Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: santa fe, nm Posts: 3,264 Images: 10	I've had a WD1000BB for over a year and love it. I test out at an average 38Kb/s. VERY quiet, too.

September 15th, 2002, 09:00 PM	#3
Don Donatello Hawaiian Shirt Mogul Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: northern cailfornia Posts: 1,261	i have 3 of the 120's w/8mg , and 1 120 w/2mg cache ... both work ... the only time i can see any difference is when i TEST them - the 8mgs cache ( 48mgs read/writes), the 2mgs ( 44mgs read/writes) plenty fast enough for DV keep your eye out on SALES .. the WD 120/w8mg cache has been selling for around 129 after rebates ...

September 15th, 2002, 09:05 PM	#4
Bill Ravens Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: santa fe, nm Posts: 3,264 Images: 10	are those peak or average scores? they look like peaks

September 16th, 2002, 06:52 AM	#6
Bill Ravens Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: santa fe, nm Posts: 3,264 Images: 10	Indeed, rob.

September 16th, 2002, 12:05 PM	#7
Eric Richmond Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Boston, Mass Posts: 42	With the 120 gig 8meg of cache WD caviar hd, I get 60mb/s sustained thruput. -Eric