Wdc.com
Overview
Western Digital Corporation (WDC) is a computer hardware manufacturer headquartered in Lake Forest, California. They produce a large portion of the world's computer hard drives, both internal and external, for desktop computers, notebook computers, and other platforms, such as entertainment consoles and video recorders.
History
WDC was originally founded on April 23rd, 1970 (then known as General Digital) selling processors for calculators, an industry which at the time was flourishing and allowed them to grow to be one of the largest producers of calculator chips in the world. Several events, most notably the bankruptcy of its largest customer, Bowmar Instruments, had a severe negative impact on the company, eventually leading to WDC declaring bankruptcy in 1976.
Following its temporary downfall, WDC began manufacturing its first entry into the data storage market: a controller chip used in floppy disk drives. This led to the manufacturing of hard disk drive controllers, and, eventually, in 1988, WDC's first major hard drive line: the Centaur series.
WDC spent the next decade keeping up with the rapidly changing technology of the time – the evolution of hard drives from ST-506 to ESDI to SCSI to ATA. In 1991, WDC introduced its “Caviar” line of hard disk drives, a hardware line which is perhaps their most popular line of internal hard disk drives even today.
In 1998, WDC partnered with fellow computer hardware manufacturers IBM to create the “Expert” line of hard disk drives. This line launched WDC into instant success, contributing hugely to the favorable reputation that WDC currently has with its users.
WDC currently employs over 27,000 people worldwide, with manufacturing sites in California, Malaysia, and Thailand, and design facilities in California and Thailand. WDC's many lines of internal and external storage devices can currently be found at most major hardware retailers around the world.
Products
Western Digital currently manufactures several lines of both internal and external hard disk drives, including, but not limited to:
The Caviar – a line of SATA internal hard drives designed for the average home user, operating typically at 7,200 RPM and with storage ranging from 40GB all the way up to 750GB. Prices can range from as low as 40USD up to over 200USD, depending on the desired storage capacity.
The Raptor – a high performance line of SATA internal hard drives designed for use in high usage servers, operating typically at 10,000 RPM and with storage ranging from under 40GB to 200GB. Prices can range from as low as 100USD up to over 250USD.
My Book – a line of external hard drives operating over USB 2.0 designed for home and office use. These drives operate between 5400 and 7200 RPM and range in size from 20GB to 1000GB (1TB). Prices range from as low as 70USD to over 400USD.
Passport – a line of low performance external hard drives operating over USB 2.0. WDC Passports operate at 5400 RPM with sizes ranging from 60GB to 160GB and prices ranging from 60USD to over 100USD. Western Digital also manufactures pocket drives, hard drives for use in consumer electronics, and accessories, including cables, controller cards, power supplies, and carrying cases.
Competition
As large as the computer industry is and at the alarming rate that it continues to grow each year, Western Digital faces competition from many other high caliber hard disk drive manufacturers, including companies such as Seagate (which is currently both the largest and oldest hard disk drive manufacturer in the world), Samsung, and Hitachi.
Partnerships
Over the years, Western Digital has partnered with many companies, mainly pre-assembled computer retailers, in order to utilize mutual promotion and guarantee quality to the consumer. These companies include Alienware, Arena RAID Solutions, Aspect Computers, Bass Computers Inc., BOXX Technology, Colfax International, Dynamic Network Factory, EL Computer Engineering, Evesham Technology, Monarch Computer, Pogo Linux, RAID Inc., Rorke Data, StorCase Technology, Totally Awesome Computers, Velocity Micro, and RackMountPro.
Description
Western Digital is a data storage pioneer and a longtime leader in the hard drive industry. Buy a WD™ hard drive online.
Languages
English
Address
- 20511 Lake Forest Dr
- Lake Forest CA 92630 US
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Additional Information
Related Domains
External Links
- Alexa: Wdc.com
