What’s wrong with “Made in Thailand?” It’s funny that we sometimes pass judgement on the quality of a product based on its country of manufacture. However, to see a “Made in Thailand” label that seems to spell an ominous warning, as if there is some danger that you need to be aware of, takes things to a new level.
I bought a Seagate hard disk today. It is not unusual to find a label stating the country of manufacture affixed somewhere on the product, or perhaps printed directly on the product somewhere. There was something more to the Seagate packaging though. A label pasted across the opening of the anti-static bag declared “The content is made in Thailand.”
The fact that this hard disk is made in Thailand is so important that they made sure you’ll see it before you open the anti-static bag. It’s almost as if the “Made in Thailand” label has become a danger sign. Like saying: “Danger – Hazardous material within.”
I do feel that they’re dangerous. Two of the Western Digital WD5000AAKS drives I bought recently, about 20 days apart in manufacture date, are both made in Thailand.
Both drives also seem to have signs of poor manufacture quality, like little patches of rough areas on the smooth black metal structures, and very slightly misaligned top covers.
Also, one of them vibrates much more than the other, and both have slightly different printing defects on their labels.
I find that my made in China, Singapore and Malaysia drives (mostly Seagate, IBM (quite an old drive) and old old Maxtors) are really flawless in terms of build quality, and have perfectly balanced platters.
A few friends who also bought this model of WD5000AAKS drives also report more vibration than other drives.
Maybe it’s Thailand, maybe it’s WD? But I’m definitely staying away from made in Thailand drives for my next server 🙂
Thus, I’m still skeptical a
My experience with HDDs “Made in Thailand” have been excellent. I own two 2.5″ WD Scorpio Black WD7500BPKT, 750GB, 7200RPM, SATA II (3 GB/s) since Oct. 2011 and they are working like a champ. Nowadays WD, Seagate, etc. are manufacturing in China, Malaysia and Singapore simply because the manufacture process is cheaper than in Thailand. However, the quality control is imposed by those prestigious Brands, so that I think the quality in any of these countries is more or less the same.