Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" hard disk (7200rpm / SATA2 / 16MB cache)

To make drive selection simple, we've gathered all our popular WD Caviar SE16, WD Caviar SE, and WD Caviar drives under one umbrella we call WD Caviar Blue. Built to Western Digital's awarding winning quality standards, these drives are available in a full range of performance features.

Interface
EIDE - Enhanced integrated drive electronics (EIDE), also called Parallel ATA (PATA), hard drives have been the standard in the computer industry for more than 10 years.

SATA - Serial ATA (SATA) hard drives are quickly becoming the new standard. Motherboard manufacturers now include SATA inputs on their boards. Because of their considerably narrower cables, SATA hard drives provide increased airflow and less clutter and in the computer system compared to EIDE drives.

The performance difference - EIDE drives support data transfer rates up to 100MB/sec, and all WD Caviar Blue SATA drive support 3 Gb/s transfer rates.

Cache - WD Caviar Blue is available in 2 MB, 8 MB, 16Mb and 32MB cache sizes. Bigger cache memory yields faster performance.

Capacity - We offer drives ranging from 40 GB to 750 GB. Pick the biggest capacity your budget will allow. You can never have too much storage space.

Reliability - We understand the importance of your data, and we are committed to protecting that data with exceptionally reliable products, advanced data protection technology and superior customer support.

Cool - Keeping the drive cool enhances reliability. WD continues to develop new and innovative ways to keep drives cool while they are operating.

Quiet - The technology that Tom's Hardware Guide called "very fast and nearly silent" is used throughout this family of drives. Our WhisperDrive™ technology minimizes noise to levels near the threshold of human hearing. To cut seek noise, SoftSeek™ technology streamlines read/write seeking algorithms, resulting in more efficient operation.

NoTouch™ ramp load technology - The recording head never touches the disk media ensuring significantly less wear to the recording head and media as well as better drive protection in transit. (Available on 120 GB capacities and above)

IntelliSeek™ - Calculates optimum seek speeds to lower power consumption, noise and vibration. (Available on 120 GB capacities and above)

Compatible - We perform tests on hundreds of systems and a multitude of platforms in our FIT Lab™ and Mobile Compatibility Lab to give our customers confidence that our drives will work in their systems.

How this WD hard drive protects your data
* Data Lifeguard™ is an exclusive set of data protection features, including shock protection, an environmental protection system and real-time embedded error detection and repair. WD's Data Lifeguard technology automatically finds, isolates, and repairs problems that may develop over the life of a hard drive.
* Data Lifeguard Tools™ are software utilities designed for WD hard drives that work with the embedded Data Lifeguard features to make hard drive installation,diagnostics and repair both simple and worry-free.
* ShockGuard™ instantaneously protects the hard drive against damage from bumps and vibrations while it is running. This technology enables WD Caviar drives to achieve industry-leading shock specifications.

Ideal For
Family and business computing