# WD BLACK 1TB WD1003FZEX



## Saidrex (May 28, 2015)

Hello. I'm reading on various sources that WD BLACK 1TB WD1003FZEX drive is actually WD BLUE with a black sticker slapped on it and has poor performance and has different stats from those advertised. Have anyone heard about this? Maybe someone owns one and can confirm or deny these rumors?

Ordered one online, now awaiting arrival but reading these "horror stories" about this drive only now, dunno if they are true, but still concerning.


----------



## SuperSoph_WD (May 28, 2015)

Hello there, @Saidrex

This is highly unlikely to happen to a WD drive, unless it is wrongly sold as a Western Digital HDD. I'd recommend you to check the warranty of the WD Black on our website here, once it arrives: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=nzk6Ms
The 1 TB version of both the WD Black and the WD Blue overlap in specs, as they both have 64 MB cache and 7200 RPM. However, if you put those drives together side-by-side in your system, the WD Black should out-perform the WD Blue because it is, after all, tuned for performance. The WD Black also has a dual-core processor and is F.I.T.-tested just like our datacenter HDDs (Enterprise series), and this extensive test ensures that the hard drive is ready to meet the high-perforamnce standards. Besides, The WD Black has a 5-year limited warranty, whereas the WD Blue has only 2. 
I'd also suggest you to take a look at our warranty policy and services: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=lLeQA1
Still, if you find anything suspicious about your drive, feel free to notify our tech support: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=bxxclo

Hope I was helpful. 
SuperSoph_WD


----------



## 95Viper (May 28, 2015)

Saidrex said:


> Hello. I'm reading on various sources that WD BLACK 1TB WD1003FZEX drive is actually WD BLUE with a black sticker slapped on it and has poor performance and has different stats from those advertised. Have anyone heard about this? Maybe someone owns one and can confirm or deny these rumors?
> 
> Ordered one online, now awaiting arrival but reading these "horror stories" about this drive only now, dunno if they are true, but still concerning.



if you order from certain shady/unscrupulous places or people... anything is possible.


----------



## rtwjunkie (May 28, 2015)

Saidrex said:


> Hello. I'm reading on various sources that WD BLACK 1TB WD1003FZEX drive is actually WD BLUE with a black sticker slapped on it and has poor performance and has different stats from those advertised. Have anyone heard about this? Maybe someone owns one and can confirm or deny these rumors?
> 
> Ordered one online, now awaiting arrival but reading these "horror stories" about this drive only now, dunno if they are true, but still concerning.


 
I own four of these drives, and all are performing stellar!  One is a data drive on my server, 2 are game drives on my main rig, and my fiance has one as a game drive.  They are lighter than they used to be, but that is because of a new design.  They are fast, cool, and quiet for me. 

EDIT: just to add, two of these drives are 6 months old, and two are 3 months old.


----------



## Saidrex (May 28, 2015)

Thx everyone. Glad to hear that, now i feel much better.


----------



## suraswami (May 29, 2015)

I bought the retail drives few days ago.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/..."_Desktop_Internal_Hard_Drive_WDBSLA0010HNC-N

Haven't opened it yet, but if I open I believe I should see the WD1003FZEX on the drive.

WD1003FZEX - for OEM
*WDBSLA0010HNC* - Retail.

Correct me if I am wrong.


----------



## SuperSoph_WD (May 29, 2015)

suraswami said:


> I bought the retail drives few days ago.
> 
> http://www.microcenter.com/product/431539/Performance_1TB_7200_RPM_SATA_III_6Gb-s_35"_Desktop_Internal_Hard_Drive_WDBSLA0010HNC-N
> 
> ...


Hi again, @suraswami 

You are not wrong!  You can identify the difference by the way the HDD was packaged during the purchase and/or by the associated model number. Basically there is *no physical difference* between our Retail and OEM hard drives. It's just that retail HDDs are sold in a retail package and might include accessories like an installation guide or an installation software, whereas the OEM HDDs are sold without any of those.
However, *from a warranty standpoint there are 2 types of OEM drives.
A true OEM drive is not provided with warranty by WD* because those are sold as parts of an OEM system, so you'd need to seek the computer/system manufacturer's customer/tech support for assistance. 
BUT *a bare drive is also referred to as an OEM HDD*_ ( mostly available from resellers like Newegg, Amazon, etc. )_, though their warranty is still covered by us.

You can take a look at our warranty policy & services here: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=lLeQA1

SuperSoph_WD


----------



## rtwjunkie (May 29, 2015)

@SuperSoph_WD does WD encourage sellers like Newegg to call drive types by their proper name?  Since this came up a couple months ago regarding bare or OEM, it would be helpful to immediately know when buying if it is a warranty drive or not.


----------



## sttubs (May 29, 2015)

Newegg has them on sale for $70 with promo code ESCASNX23 & free Dead Rising 3 game with promo code FREEBLGAME
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...5-Index-_-AllDesktopHardDrives-_-22236625-S0D
Just don't forget to enter your promo codes during checkout.


----------



## RoutedScripter (May 30, 2015)

HOLY CRAP

I think I uncovered just today that what I thought I bought a WD 1TB Black 64mb cache is actually a BLUE called WD10EZEX and despite seeing the model number on the sites selling it, it's very local so it's not any of the US-based big ones.

I think I have been totally fooled, I didn't seem to check the official WD product list http://www.wdc.com/en/products/catalog/

This is some weird stuff, im opening up the PC right now, finding the papers where I bought it .. screenshots incoming ...


----------



## SuperSoph_WD (Jun 1, 2015)

rtwjunkie said:


> @SuperSoph_WD does WD encourage sellers like Newegg to call drive types by their proper name?  Since this came up a couple months ago regarding bare or OEM, it would be helpful to immediately know when buying if it is a warranty drive or not.



Hey, @rtwjunkie

Unfortunately, it is NewEgg's website so we cannot force them to say anything, we can only suggest them to do something about it. However, I haven't encountered an actual OEM drive as part of a OEM system without NewEgg specifying it. Either way, our account team is notified so they will check and see what info they can get from NewEgg. 


RuskiSnajper said:


> HOLY CRAP
> 
> I think I uncovered just today that what I thought I bought a WD 1TB Black 64mb cache is actually a BLUE called WD10EZEX and despite seeing the model number on the sites selling it, it's very local so it's not any of the US-based big ones.
> 
> ...



@RuskiSnajper... annoyingly, it seems like you've been deceived by your local reseller! :/ Whether you've purchased the drive recently or not, I'd still suggest you to get in touch with them and ask for a replacement.

SuperSoph_WD


----------



## RoutedScripter (Jun 3, 2015)

Ahh darn sorry guys it's a false alarm, i thought I had black because I forgot I changed my mind the last minute after reviews shown black is nothing more than 3 years more warranty and I forgot this completely again this week, the sticker is fine it's blue as it should be I was just so confused with all the numbers.

I've hear they say that 1TB black was skewed and that 2TB and above models are real blacks.

So I ordered another WD10EZEX blue since it worked really good.


----------



## rtwjunkie (Jun 3, 2015)

Not sure what you mean by "real blacks."  They simply improved the design.  I've got nothing but great things to say about my 1TB models!


----------



## RoutedScripter (Jun 3, 2015)

Well what about this 







 - skip to 1:50

I haven't honestly looked that deeply this time, but exactly a year ago I think I did and I still choosed the blue one at the time - still it was more of a money issue at the time.


----------



## Saidrex (Jun 4, 2015)

My HDD arrived today, did some testing and it's aboslutely awesome, better than i expected. Here's some results:



Spoiler: Results


----------



## SuperSoph_WD (Jun 4, 2015)

Saidrex said:


> My HDD arrived today, did some testing and it's aboslutely awesome, better than i expected. Here's some results:



That's awesome, @Saidrex !  
Glad to see you so happy! 
Enjoy your new WD Black & happy computing! 

SuperSoph_WD


----------

