Slideshow

WD Black2 dual drive unboxing

WD's new drive comes in a retail kit that's extravagant as far as hard drive packaging is concerned

  • WD has just released its latest internal storage device: a fusion drive that incorporates both a 120GB solid state drive and a 1TB hard drive. It's called the [[artnid:532834|WD Black2 dual drive]], and we're doing an unboxing of this drive because we can't recall the last time a humble internal storage device came in such a comprehensive package.

  • The cover slides off to expose the main box.

  • The main box then flips up to expose the content.

  • This is the first thing you see. It's a huge cardboard key attached to a USB end, which, when you plug it in, takes you to WD's site so you can download the software you need to install the drive. (The key issues a Run command on your system that opens up your default browser at the specific WD Web page for the dual drive). For a new operating system install, you'll need to install the dual drive driver; if you want to clone an existing drive, you'll have to download Acronis True Image WD Edition.

  • Here's the handy guide that tells you how to install the drive and what to do with the key on the previous slide.

  • You get the support info, of course, and this drive comes with a warranty that lasts for five years (both for the SSD and the hard drive portions). As you do with all your drives, you should ensure that this one is fully backed up just in case the hard drive itself or the SSD become faulty.

  • And, finally, underneath all that is the drive.

  • Oh, and just one more thing: a SATA-to-USB 3.0 cable is supplied so that you can connect the drive to your computer if you plan on cloning it.

  • Here's the drive itself. You can see that it's fairly stylish as far as internal hard drives are concerned. The etchings you can see on the end are an indicator that there are flash memory modules underneath.

  • The interface is a standard SATA connector, and the drive supports speeds up to 6Gbps (SATA III).

  • From this angle it looks like just another hard drive.

  • It's only from the sides that you can see it's not just a regular hard drive (the raised top cover is the giveaway). It's a drive that only works for Windows at the moment, (if you want to upgrade a Mac or Linux machine with an SSD+HDD combo in one drive, you'll have to opt for an SSHD instead). It's 9.5mm thick, so it will fit in most 15in and 17in notebooks, but, as usual, it pays to double check the thickness of the drive bay in your particular notebook.

Show Comments

Don’t have an account? Sign up here

Don't have an account? Sign up now

Forgot password?