Western Digital Corp. announced it is shipping in volume high-capacity 750 GB Serial ATA (SATA) WD Caviar® SE16 desktop-class hard drives. Ideal for data-intensive applications, high-performance computing and multimedia systems, the WD Caviar SE16 750 GB drives deliver high performance with 3 Gb/s transfer rate, 16 MB cache and Native Command Queuing (NCQ).

WD Caviar SE16 750 GB hard drives include WD's SecurePark technology, which parks the recording heads off the disk surface during spin up, spin down and when the drive is not operating. Unlike drives without SecurePark, the feature improves non-operational shock tolerance by ensuring that the recording heads never touch the disk surface, reducing head and surface wear and enhancing long-term reliability.

Used on WD high-capacity hard drives and to further ensure reliability, WD's StableTrac technology was incorporated. StableTrac's motor shaft is secured at both ends to reduce system-induced vibration and stabilize platters for accurate tracking during read and write operations. Most current hard drive designs feature motors that are only attached on the bottom of the hard drive, which can cause missed read revolutions. StableTrac allows end-user data to be retrieved fast without missing revolutions.

In addition to the reliability properties of WD's SecurePark and StableTrac technologies, the WD Caviar SE16 750 GB hard drives use a unique technology to reduce power consumption. WD's IntelliSeek technology proactively calculates an optimum seek speed to eliminate hasty movement of the actuator that produces noise and requires power, which is common in other drives. With IntelliSeek, the actuator's movement is controlled so the head reaches the next target sector just in time to read the next piece of information, rather than rapidly accelerating and waiting for the drive rotation to catch up. This smooth motion reduces power usage by more than 60 percent compared with standard drives, as well as quiets seek operation and lowers vibration. Lower power leads to a reduction in heat generation, resulting in greater long-term reliability.

Manufacturer's Suggest Retail Price (MSRP) for the WD Caviar SE16 750 GB is $249 (about €185).

Source: Western Digital.