Targeting a wave of data-intensive desktop applications and the proliferation of notebook devices with one broad stroke, Western Digital Corp. announced this week that it is shipping its new high-capacity WD Caviar SE 16 500 GB serial-ATA desktop hard drives and is also adding to its 2.5 notebook PC line with its new 120GB WD Scorpio mobile hard drives.
Currently available, the WD Caviar SE 16 provides a half-terabyte of desktop hard drive capacity and is constructed to improve upon power consumption, delivering 7,200 RPM performance with buffer to host data transfer rates of 300MB per second, 16MB cache and features Native Command Queuing.
The device is geared toward the utilization of larger-sized applications such as graphic design, digital video editing, and SMB (small to midsize business) needs.
For the mobile audience, WDs latest 2.5-inch WD Scorpio model doubles existing had drive storage capacity on the model from 60GB to 120GB and can be fitted with either EIDE or SATA interfaces, said Darrin Bulick, senior manager, Product Marketing for Lake Forest, Calif.-based Western Digital.
The new PC notebook hard drive improves upon performance with 5,400 RPM spin speed and features up to 8 MB cache. Better acoustics in the WD Scorpio line are intended to cut down on operation noise as well, Bulick said.
“Were starting to see more and more people adopt notebook PCs for their home use and for their commercial use as well. They may not have to be tethered to a desktop in the office or home anymore, so you can put things on there that consume quite a bit of storage,” said Bulick. “The new [WD Scorpio] has allowed us to be able to offer a higher breadth of capacity points.”
The WD Scorpio family of mobile hard drive products offers capacities in the ranges of 40GB, 60GB, 80GB, 100GB, and 120GB with its latest addition.
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