Windows 7 WD's PWL & Silkstream technologies

[seekermeister]

The prices have come down to the point that I'm thinking of buying another 3TB hard drive for video archiving. I was thinking of the regular 5400 RPM green label drive, which is what I already have several of, but looking at the description of the WD30EURS, something caught my eye...Silkstream Technology.

They say:

Product Description
The Western Digital WD30EURS is a high performance 3.5-inch SATA hard drive from the AV-GP series that is optimized for AV streaming operations. This Western Digital hard drive has a huge capacity for saving all your data. Reduced power consumption and PWL technology combined with the patented IntelliPark technology makes this Western Digital 3 TB hard drive highly reliable. The Western Digital WD30EURS is optimized with the Silkstream technology that allows you to capture as many as 12 HD video streams simultaneously. This Western Digital hard drive comes pre-tested for compatibility with a wide range of AV products. The performance of this Western Digital 3 TB hard drive is further optimized by the IntelliSeek and IntelliPower technologies. The Western Digital WD30EURS also allows fast read, write and data transfer processes

While the extra speed would be nice, I really don't need it for my purpose. I don't know what to make of their PWL tech or if it would be worth paying extra for. However their claim regarding Silkstream makes me wonder if it would be worthwhile for archiving, since most of the files on the drive remain static, except when I play one. I rarely ever capture video, I usually download or encode it, and when I either of these things, the target is a volume that I use for interim parking and organization, before archiving the videos.

Under the circumstances, would Silkstream be of any value to me? If not, would the PWL tech be something worth paying much more for?

 

[Joe S]

If you buy a WD external drive get one that does not come with Smartware. The drives with Smartware are hardware encrypted by a bridge board. If there is a problem like the USB port snapping off you can not hook up the drive as an internal to recover data because it is encrypted.
Joe

 

[seekermeister]

Thanks, but even though I will use it externally, the drive will be an internal one installed in an external case. I never buy truly external drives, and I have no interest in Smartware, because I use True Image for making all backup.