Western Digital has incorporated some additional bleeding edge tech (into both models) that I have not seen offered or even hinted at by any other manufacturer. Here are the new bonus features (translated by yours truly):
Dual Stage Actuator: This is an actuator *within* the actuator. This additional piezo-electric actuator enables the drive to zero in on a given track faster, and without shifting the actuator arm / entire head pack. This allows a given head to shift within a 5 track range, meaning very short seeks can take place almost instantly. This should increase overall throughput and seek times considerably, and in the case of the RE4 will assist in maintaining throughput while the drive is in a vibration-prone environment.
I shall call it “mini-actuator!”
Closer detail of this engineering marvel.
Anti-disks: These are thin plates mounted between all disks, covering ~210 degrees of their rotation. Their purpose is to help keep air flow streamlined (laminar) across the spinning platter. This ultimately reduces turbulence and keeps the head flying at a more constant height.
The topmost anti-disk can be seen in this pic. There is one between each platter.
Both drives ship with a 5-year warranty. We have a pair of them on the way to our lab and will look at their performance as soon as they arrive. Stay tuned for the goods…
