WD, a Western Digital company and leader in hard drives, has announced the expansion of its award-winning WD Black line of performance hard drives up to 6 TB capacity. The 3.5-inch, 7200 RPM drive is the perfect solution for gamers and professionals in need of high-performance desktop systems and workstations.

WD Black hard drives combine 7200 Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) spin speed, 128 MB cache, dual stage actuator technology, SATA 6 Gigabits per second (Gb/s) interface, and an integrated dual processor to deliver ultimate performance in a maximum-capacity drive. The WD Black 6 TB is up to 29% faster than the previous WD Black 4 TB version in maximum data rate throughput and 10% faster in PCMark Vantage.

“Combining maximum system performance with generous capacity, the expansion of WD Black to 6 TB allows gamers, enthusiasts and creatives to push the boundaries of personalisation without compromise,” says Cindi Grace, senior vice president of WD storage technology group. “In choosing WD Black hard drives, WD desktop customers get the best possible mix of capacity, performance and reliability to handle intense desktop computing with ease.”

WD Black 6 TB hard drives feature the following:

• Increased Reliability –StableTrac Technology (2 TB and larger models) secures the motor shaft inside of the hard drive to increase reliability and help reduce impact due to system-induced vibrations from other components. By stabilising the platters inside, the WD Black drive results in more accurate tracking in a particular sector during read and write operations, optimising performance and reliability.

• Increased DRAM cache – The Dynamic Cache Technology improves caching algorithms in real time to allocate and optimise cache between reads and writes. This movement of cache for read data helps to reduce congestion and increase overall performance.

• Efficient dual processing – A dual-core processor offers twice the processing capability as a single-core processor to maximise drive performance for faster read and write speeds.

• Industry-leading five year limited warranty – Compared to standard hard drives, the WD Black drive endures more strenuous and aggressive internal testing over a longer period of time, resulting in it being backed by an industry leading five year limited warranty.

“Featuring extreme performance and a rock solid mechanical architecture, the WD Black 6 TB 3.5” hard drive is perfect for increasingly demanding environments where only the best will do. WD Black delivers the perfect combination of high performance, reliability and cutting edge technology, ideal for high performance workstations, database mining, photo and video editing, gaming and more,” says Kalvin Subbadu, WD Storage Technology Sales Manager for South Africa.

Price and availability

Available now through distributors and resellers, WD Black drive is covered by a five year limited warranty. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for the WD Black 5 TB drive (model # WD5001FZWX) is R3999.00 and the WD Black 6 TB drive (model # WD6001FZWX) is R4699.00. This may vary depending on the Rate of Exchange (RoE). More information about WD Black desktop hard drives, including terms of the limited warranty, may be found on the company website at http://www.wd.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=760.