Updated: Cheap Caviar
Update: WD informed us that the WD20EARS is in fact a 3Gb/s (SATA II) drive, but it seems a German distributor got the spec sheet a bit wrong. We apologize for any inconvenience this report may have caused you.
Western Digital has started shipping revamped 2TB Caviar Green drive
with SATA 6Gb/s support. Aside from SATA 6Gb/s, the WD20EARS features
32MB of cache and spins at 5400 to 7200rpm thanks to IntelliPower.
Mind you, it's not the first SATA 6Gb/s drive on the market. Seagate
has been selling its Barracuda XT 7200.12 SATA 6Gb/s for weeks now, but
it's quite a bit pricier than the WD. Whereas the Seagate will set you
back a saucy €240, Western Digital's Caviar has been listed for a much
more sensible €170.
However, there is a catch. The new 6Gb/s Caviar isn't available yet,
and if retailers are to be trusted, it should start shipping in mid
January.