WDC1001FALS vs WDC1002FAEX

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  1. Posts : 6,618
    W7x64 Pro, SuSe 12.1/** W7 x64 Pro, XP MCE
    Thread Starter
       #11

    I found another difference between the original pair of drives...the FAEX is SATA 6 and the FALS is SATA 3. According to the thread that I mentioned previously:

    WD Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB SATA 6.0Gb/s $119.00 w/ FS - Page 2 - [H]ard|Forum

    it sounded as though SATA 6 doesn't offer much improvement, which inspired me to run HD Tune on both. Of course, the FAEX is slightly better, but not as much as one might imagine. That may be due to the older hardware that I'm using...not sure. I wonder if the RE drive would run about the same on HD Tune?
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails WDC1001FALS vs WDC1002FAEX-faex.png   WDC1001FALS vs WDC1002FAEX-fals.png  
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  2. Posts : 2,686
    Windows 8.1 Pro w/Media Center 64bit, Windows 7 HP 64bit
       #12

    They make two versions of the RE drives.
    RE3 - 32MB cache
    RE4 - 64MB cache.

    Both use SATA 3gb interface.

    Don't know of any hard drives that need the SATA 6gb bus yet and probably not for a long time, so should not be a factor. The cache size would be more important.

    I would think these would run about the same as the other two matching the cache size. The RE drives are designed for server environments and high usage and that is why they cost more.
    If you got the money they are probably a better drive especially for RAID but are they worth the price.

    Jim
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  3. Posts : 6,618
    W7x64 Pro, SuSe 12.1/** W7 x64 Pro, XP MCE
    Thread Starter
       #13

    My previous remark about the RE 3 drive only costing slightly more was wrong...they cost an additional $50 or more than the drives that I have, so that rules out the idea of using it. That is not the case for the drives that I originally listed, so I'm back to them. If I understand, whether or not the SATA 6 would offer any advantage would depend on the controller on the motherboard, and I don't know whether any of the current models support it or not, nor how much of an performance advantage would be evident if there were? I know that SATA 3 really isn't any advantage over Sata 1 or 2, so I suspect that the same would be true here. It seems that the FAEX would be the best bet in my case, simply for the larger cache.
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  4. Posts : 2,686
    Windows 8.1 Pro w/Media Center 64bit, Windows 7 HP 64bit
       #14

    The FAEX would be my choice also. It is a newer design and has more cache. The mother board being 3gb or 6gb won't matter because the drive cant run that fast anyway. I thing they just went with the 6gb since they were redesigning the controller on the drive anyway to include more cache and its better marketing.

    Check the price at Newegg. Addition $10 off until 9/1. $79.99 and free shipping.
    Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

    Jim
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 6,618
    W7x64 Pro, SuSe 12.1/** W7 x64 Pro, XP MCE
    Thread Starter
       #15

    I never deal with Newegg, but that has nothing to do with my choice. I just reread the ad for the FAEX that I already bought, and found that I had missed the fact that the 3 year warranty is provided by the vender, not WDC. It implied that was due to the fact that it is OEM, but I have bought OEMs previously which carried full WDC warranty coverage, so I emailed a question to the vender about it...I will have to await a reply.
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  6. Posts : 6,618
    W7x64 Pro, SuSe 12.1/** W7 x64 Pro, XP MCE
    Thread Starter
       #16

    I got a reply from the vendor, which confirmed what I found on the WDC website. It depends on where the hard drive is purchased, as to whether WDC will provide a warranty at all. Thus, since the vendor is not one of their authorized dealers, they provide their own warranty. To get a full 5 years warranty, I will have to buy it elsewhere...probably at a higher price. Back to searching.
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  7. Posts : 6,618
    W7x64 Pro, SuSe 12.1/** W7 x64 Pro, XP MCE
    Thread Starter
       #17

    My drive arrived today, and I noticed a note on it that if pins 5 & 6 are jumpered, it enables 1.5GB PHY. I found this article which seems to touch on it"

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHY_(chip)

    But it isn't clear to me whether this would be a good thing to do or not?

    Also, there is another article about Advanced Format Technology that somehow increases the capacity of the drive, but I not certain as to how much, or if there is some kind of downside to the proposition?

    Advanced Format Hard Drive Download Utility

    One thing that "endears" WDC to me is that they don't provide any jumpers, so I guess I'll have to go searching.
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  8. Posts : 7,878
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #18

    seekermeister said:
    it sounded as though SATA 6 doesn't offer much improvement, which inspired me to run HD Tune on both. Of course, the FAEX is slightly better, but not as much as one might imagine.
    The mistake is assuming that the SATA 6.0 Gbps interface was going to make a difference. Considering that current mechanical drives don't even come close to maxing out the SATA 3.0Gbps interface sort of says, we don't really need a 6.0Gbps interface for them yet. Unless you are looking at the "fastest" ssd's....SATA 6.0Gbps is about as necessary as putting a tarp over a lake to keep it dry.

    I'm certainly not trying to be rude, but it seems like the brainiacs like to invent all of this technology just to get people to repurchase things they don't really need or that really won't benefit them much. As you can see, based on your benchmark results, you wouldn't actually max out a SATA 150 interface, let alone a 300 or a 600.
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  9. Posts : 6,618
    W7x64 Pro, SuSe 12.1/** W7 x64 Pro, XP MCE
    Thread Starter
       #19

    I appreciate that input, but do you have any input about my last questions above?
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  10. Posts : 7,878
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #20

    seekermeister said:
    I appreciate that input, but do you have any input about my last questions above?
    No, unfotunately I do not. I haven't read up on the new partitioning thing at all. Gonna have to add that to my to do list.
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