Raspberry PI 3!!!

[akafox]

is this real?!!! I WANT ONE!  *drools*

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/03/western-digital-makes-a-46-314gb-hard-drive-just-for-the-raspberry-pi/

[xbs]

WOW! 

[omegaman]

I'm so getting this.

[verion]

I have two test units (with 1TB drive) - since I'm working with WD on this project. If you want some first hand info - let me know.

[nitrogen_widget]

Not to be THAT guy but....it's still usb interface.
yes it's a decent amount of storage for a great price but....

however my RPI3 came in the other day.
too bad my car needs new brakelines.

it'll be april it seems before I can even play with my pi's again.

[xbs]

Even if it's USB it should be pretty fast.

Testing OpenELEC 8 atm with an USB 3.0 install and it's pretty snappy.

Did a butch of testing mSD vs. USB back in the RPi 1 days and USB got the better of it.

[verion]

I've had pre-production WD PI DRIVE for testing and development for a couple of months. So here's a few numbers.

speed:
=============
PI DRIVE = 30MB/s
SD CARD = 20MB/s or slower (depends of the card)
ETHERNET = 10MB/s

pros:
==========
1. GOOD DEAL
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
but only if you want to buy usb hdd anyway, because the HDD itself is not that different than regular USB hdd that you may have in a drawer

2. SPECIAL POWER CABLE
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
This one is brilliant, one cable that powers raspberrypi AND the drive itself, this way you are not powering HDD from rpi usb port that is not reliable even if you enable high current in settings.
I've done A B test with that cable and without - and with THE SAME POWER ADAPTER (2A):  with the cable - everything is rock stable, and when powering from usb it's not (the diode on rpi flashes indicating that there is not enough current for rpi).

3. HDD lower power consumption
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
this is not something I can test - WD claims that this HDD is specially tuned to be less power hungry.


CONS:
=============
NOT FASTER THAN ANY OTHER USB DRIVE
this is still attached to weak USB 2.0 on rpi - so you don't have any speed bump when compared to off-the-shelve usb HDD

THE CASE IS FLIMSY
the base is ok - I'm using one to hang my rpi with HDD on the wall
but the outer shell is too thin for my taste and lacks top cover - so It's not really a solution for media player

[xbs]

Interesting.

What's the HDD current?

[verion]

55mA for WD DRIVE
and I've just checked SEAGATE MOMENTUS (2.5") that I've had lying around and it is 70mA.

[xbs]

Very low.

Wonder why is the LED blinking when the RPi is powering the HDD.

[verion]

in RPi2 (and 3 probably too) led blinking is the built-in indicator to show that rpi (internally) is not getting enough current (enough power).

But it's not only the case of too weak power adaptor - because you can have power fluctuation even with 3-4A power adapter - this is because RPi doesn't have voltage (current) regulator/stabiliser built in. And If you plug something power hungry into a USB port on the Pi, the sudden current draw will cause a brownout on the 5.0V line, resetting all the other USB devices (and most probably the Pi itself). This is the biggest flow in RPi design for me - if you are going to attach any devices to RPi, especially HDD.

And that WD cable solves this problem by powering HDD via additional cable straight from power adapter.

[omegaman]

Interesting, this is why I use a powered USB hub to offset some of the load from my PI 3. It's great this drive is more power efficient, but I'll still use a powered hub, anyway.

[verion]

Powered USB hub is the best solution and the most versatile one.
Are you backpowering your pi via the hub (without using micro usb port)?

---

Like I've said - WD Pi DRIVE make sense only if you have to buy HDD anyway or if you want a case that can host RPi and HDD.
If not - using a powered hub makes all your power-related problems goes away.

[omegaman]

No, just using the hubs micro USB port to connect with the PI USB. But, I went ahead and ordered the pi-drive because it's a great price. 

[verion]

ahhh... I have 2 unused units for sale with substantial discount - since I have the other two for myself.
But if you are from US, the shipping cost is outrageous ($50 from Europe) so it's better to buy from the store.