---
product_id: 2241055
title: "Purple 3TB Surveillance Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM Class SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD30PURX [Old Version]"
brand: "western digital"
price: "A$251"
currency: AUD
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
category: "Western Digital"
url: https://www.desertcart.com.au/products/2241055-purple-3tb-surveillance-hard-disk-drive-5400-rpm-class-sata
store_origin: AU
region: Australia
---

# SATA 6 Gb/s interface 3TB storage capacity 5400 RPM optimized for 24/7 use Purple 3TB Surveillance Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM Class SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD30PURX [Old Version]

**Brand:** western digital
**Price:** A$251
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Summary

> 🎥 Keep your eyes everywhere, all the time — with storage that never blinks.

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Purple 3TB Surveillance Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM Class SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD30PURX [Old Version] by western digital
- **How much does it cost?** A$251 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.au](https://www.desertcart.com.au/products/2241055-purple-3tb-surveillance-hard-disk-drive-5400-rpm-class-sata)

## Best For

- western digital enthusiasts

## Why This Product

- Trusted western digital brand quality
- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Key Features

- • **Massive 3TB Storage Vault:** Store up to 32 HD camera feeds simultaneously with ample space for long-term footage.
- • **Plug & Play Compatibility:** Works flawlessly with PC, Mac, DVRs, and multi-bay surveillance systems.
- • **Cool & Reliable Performance:** Runs cooler than typical drives, reducing failure risk during heavy workloads.
- • **Seamless Multi-Camera Support:** Optimized for high stream-count applications, ensuring no dropped frames or lag.
- • **Unstoppable 24/7 Surveillance:** Engineered for continuous, round-the-clock video recording without a hitch.

## Overview

The Western Digital Purple 3TB Surveillance HDD is a 3.5-inch SATA 6 Gb/s hard drive spinning at 5400 RPM with a 64MB cache, purpose-built for 24/7 video surveillance. It supports up to 32 HD cameras and a 180TB/year workload, delivering reliable, write-intensive performance with AllFrame technology to minimize dropped frames. Designed for continuous operation, it runs cool and is compatible with PC, Mac, and multi-bay DVR systems, backed by a 3-year warranty.

## Description

Features : Built for 24/7 surveillance , AllFrame technology for better performance, Designed to support up to 32 HD cameras, Engineered specifically for surveillance security systems. Supports up to 180TB/year workload rate. Tuned for write-intensive, low bit-rate, high stream-count applications typical to most surveillance applications. Prioritized write-operations for maximized surveillance performance. TLER & ATA streaming support. Support for more than eight bays. 3-year limited warranty. Compatible with: PC; Mac

Review: Looking for a DVR Drive? Go Purple - I have used Surveillance drives in my DVRs for over 14 years. I bought this one to add storage to my new four tuner desertcart Fire TV Recast. It was immediately recognized and has worked flawlessly. So my Recast now has almost 4TB of storage. I can record on multiple tuners and watch previously recorded programs at the same time without issues. Previously I replaced my TIVO OTA DVR drive with a WD Purple drive and used that for 4 years until I got tired of paying the monthly fees. And before that I had a homebrew PC DVR running the old Snapstream software for several years. That PC system did have drives fail over the years, but the WD Purples just kept chugging. Surveillance drives are designed for continuous use, meaning 24x7x365 always on. They support recording multiple continuous video camera feeds around the clock. That sounds a little like recording multiple video streams from DVR tuners, right? These drives performance specs look weak compared to the speed demon drives out there, but DVRs don't need top speed, they need reliable, continuous, high volume data transfer. Also regular the drives have to do a sort of internal reset regularly. You never notice this using your PC, but it causes dropped frames when recording video. Based on my experience I would highly recommend the WD Purple drives for DVRs or Surveillance. They run cool, continuous and reliable.
Review: Also works as a desktop hard drive - I bought this to install in a USB 3.0 external case to use as an external backup for my RAID system, which has five of these 2TB drives. So far not a single burp in two years (kow). I like these because they run cooler, and are designed to run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These are designed for DVR type applications, but seem to work great in my desktop PC. What's the difference between DVR and desktop PC applications? Audio and video applications (like a DVR) are time sensitive, but PC data is not. A typical desktop hard drive will try up to ten times to write to a block, and if it fails, it will map to an alternate. This may take some time, but that doesn't impact the data as long as it gets written successfully. The information I have read suggests these drives will only try three times before mapping to an alternate block. If that's true then this type of drive will use up its spare block pool faster, but for all we know, these may have a larger spare block pool to start with. Both types of hard drives use the same error correction code (ECC) to protect the data. Some believe these will allow errors, thinking that video is not error sensitive (which is totally bogus). DVRs use a file system just like a desktop PC, so if that were true, then the file system could become corrupt causing a file or the entire drive to become unreadable. Or, a critical frame of video could end up on a bad block and render the recording useless. Neither scenario would bode well for DVR manufacturers.

## Features

- Brand WD, Series Purple, Model WD30PURX
- Capacity 3TB, Packaging Bare Drive, Interface SATA 6.0Gb/s,
- RPM 5400 RPM, Cache 64MB, Usage For Video Surveillance,
- Form Factor 3.5", Height (maximum) 26.10mm, Width (maximum) 101.60mm, Length (maximum) 147.00mm

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| ASIN | B00IMPO5N8 |
| Batteries | 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. |
| Best Sellers Rank | #404 in Internal Hard Drives |
| Brand | Western Digital |
| Color | Purple |
| Computer Memory Type | DDR3 SDRAM |
| Customer Reviews | 4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars (665) |
| Date First Available | February 25, 2014 |
| Flash Memory Size | 3 TB |
| Hard Drive | 3 TB Mechanical Hard Disk |
| Hard Drive Interface | Serial ATA-600 |
| Hard Drive Rotational Speed | 5400 RPM |
| Hardware Platform | PC; Mac |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 5.8 x 4 x 1 inches |
| Item Weight | 1.7 ounces |
| Item model number | WD30PURX |
| Manufacturer | Western Digital |
| Operating System | Mac OS X 10.6 -10.12/ Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows10 |
| Product Dimensions | 5.8 x 4 x 1 inches |
| RAM | 3 GB |
| Series | Purple |
| Standing screen display size | 3.5 Inches |

## Product Details

- **Brand:** Western Digital
- **Color:** Purple
- **Compatible Devices:** Desktop
- **Connectivity Technology:** SATA
- **Digital Storage Capacity:** 3 TB
- **Hard Disk Description:** Mechanical Hard Disk
- **Hard Disk Form Factor:** 3.5 Inches
- **Hard Disk Interface:** Serial ATA-600
- **Installation Type:** Internal Hard Drive
- **Special Feature:** Portable

## Images

![Purple 3TB Surveillance Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM Class SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD30PURX [Old Version] - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/615lgTjpI8L.jpg)

## Questions & Answers

**Q: What is the RPM platter spin speed?5400?7200?Thanks for any input.**
A: Clearly its 5400 RPM. The 7200 RPM drives run too hot and would not be a good choice for this application.

**Q: why does it say it has no space?**
A: Your computer has to be set to recognize it as a drive.  Until this is done, it is not usable and thus will show “no space:”. The method to do this varies slightly from OS to OS, so I suggest looking up “how to add a hard drive” for your specific OS.

**Q: I want to replace the hard drive on my Lorex security system, do I need to format this drive after purchasing it?**
A: Yes you will but I advise getting another brand. My 2 TB went bad in just a few weeks and was not covered under warranty due to the 30 limit I believe.

**Q: Does the 8 tb model have a 128mb cache or 256mb cache? i found the product on another website, and there's is 256mb.**
A: Western Digital sells 128MB cache and 256mb cache versions of the 8TB purple drive: https://www.wd.com/products/internal-storage/wd-purple-surveillance-hard-drive.html#WD80PURZ.  Saving even several streams of high definition digital CCTV video is very low-demand from a performance perspective.  It doesn't matter which version you use.

Personally, though, I wouldn't buy another purple drive.  I bought 8 of them and not a single one lasted through the warranty period.  These drives are designed for 180TB total writing per year, or about 500GB per day, easily enough to handle an average of 10 cameras recording 3mp 24/7 but mine all failed with no more than 2 cameras storing to any single drive.  Luckily, I didn't lose any critical video (had no break-ins or burglaries)  between failure and replacement of these purple drives but I need better reliability than these gave me.  I will have to give WD credit for replacing all of the drives that I got sent to them on time.  A couple failed in a remote location a couple months before warranty ended and I couldn't get to them on time to send in so those two are on me.

I've switched to all enterprise grade drives that are designed for 550 TB per year hoping to get more reliability.  Search for this ASIN on Amazon for the suitable WD drive: B074WH5NPT

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Looking for a DVR Drive? Go Purple
*by R***Y on March 20, 2020*

I have used Surveillance drives in my DVRs for over 14 years. I bought this one to add storage to my new four tuner Amazon Fire TV Recast. It was immediately recognized and has worked flawlessly. So my Recast now has almost 4TB of storage. I can record on multiple tuners and watch previously recorded programs at the same time without issues. Previously I replaced my TIVO OTA DVR drive with a WD Purple drive and used that for 4 years until I got tired of paying the monthly fees. And before that I had a homebrew PC DVR running the old Snapstream software for several years. That PC system did have drives fail over the years, but the WD Purples just kept chugging. Surveillance drives are designed for continuous use, meaning 24x7x365 always on. They support recording multiple continuous video camera feeds around the clock. That sounds a little like recording multiple video streams from DVR tuners, right? These drives performance specs look weak compared to the speed demon drives out there, but DVRs don't need top speed, they need reliable, continuous, high volume data transfer. Also regular the drives have to do a sort of internal reset regularly. You never notice this using your PC, but it causes dropped frames when recording video. Based on my experience I would highly recommend the WD Purple drives for DVRs or Surveillance. They run cool, continuous and reliable.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Also works as a desktop hard drive
*by G***Z on February 6, 2015*

I bought this to install in a USB 3.0 external case to use as an external backup for my RAID system, which has five of these 2TB drives. So far not a single burp in two years (kow). I like these because they run cooler, and are designed to run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These are designed for DVR type applications, but seem to work great in my desktop PC. What's the difference between DVR and desktop PC applications? Audio and video applications (like a DVR) are time sensitive, but PC data is not. A typical desktop hard drive will try up to ten times to write to a block, and if it fails, it will map to an alternate. This may take some time, but that doesn't impact the data as long as it gets written successfully. The information I have read suggests these drives will only try three times before mapping to an alternate block. If that's true then this type of drive will use up its spare block pool faster, but for all we know, these may have a larger spare block pool to start with. Both types of hard drives use the same error correction code (ECC) to protect the data. Some believe these will allow errors, thinking that video is not error sensitive (which is totally bogus). DVRs use a file system just like a desktop PC, so if that were true, then the file system could become corrupt causing a file or the entire drive to become unreadable. Or, a critical frame of video could end up on a bad block and render the recording useless. Neither scenario would bode well for DVR manufacturers.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Easy upgrade is you just want a new bigger Tivo Roamio, Series 5 drive.
*by W***N on August 8, 2016*

Upgraded a 2014 500 gig Tivo Roamio, Series 5, to 3Tb in about 30 minutes. No problems. Did the easy upgrade, simply removed the old drive and saved it - in case there are problems down the road - then put the "rails" on the new drive, installed it, put the cover back on and plugged it in. Wait a bit. The Series 5 absolutely formats a new blank 3Tb disk for you (when it sees a blank disc) and if you're connected to the Internet it looks up your on-file MAC number and registers the machine again. It might, after recent upgrades, do an even larger disk, but I just went for "easy" - because of past reviews I know 3Tb definitely works. After the setup runs for a bit, you'll have to scan again for TV channels, and some other set-up chores like you did when you first bought it, but it's not big deal if you have your different logins handy - which you should. Make a list of shows you want recorded, you'll have to sign them all up again if you take this route. If you don't have the simple tools for the job, go to a Amazon, Best Buy, Micro Center, Fry's, etc. and buy a simple small bit torex tool kit for less than $10.00. You only need two of the most common sizes - but get the set because, who knows, you may have an odd ball screw... This is a very easy upgrade. If you get tangled up, or, forgot something, just put the old drive back in and check your old setting and shows until you're happy. I did not care to do the harder upgrade where you copy the old drive to the new drive and then use Windows disk software to "expand" the drive so the Tivo sees the entire new drive instead of the "old" drive's size. Didn't have a Windows machine and didn't have that many shows I still cared about. Next time, maybe. This is a quality drive, compared to many just a few dollars cheaper. I'm not expecting any problems, but I'll update the review if any pop up.

## Frequently Bought Together

- Western Digital Purple 3TB Surveillance Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM Class SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD30PURX [Old Version]
- Western Digital 4TB WD Purple Surveillance Internal Hard Drive HDD - SATA 6 Gb/s, 256 MB Cache, 3.5" - WD43PURZ
- Western Digital 10TB WD Purple Surveillance Internal Hard Drive HDD - SATA 6 Gb/s, 256 MB Cache, 3.5" - WD102PURZ

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*Product available on Desertcart Australia*
*Store origin: AU*
*Last updated: 2026-01-29*