The drive can be found in 250-, 500GB and 1TB sizes. With a certification from the WD Functional Integrity Testing Lab (F.I.T. In these traces, the WD Blue SN550 regularly scores in the top tiers of its competitors when launching games like Overwatch or COD, though it lagged slightly behind more gaming-oriented drives like the Seagate FireCuda 510 and TeamGroup T-Force Cardea II in Battlefield 5. The drive comes with a limited three year warranty. But they're nonetheless interesting fodder for folks who live and breathe these Adobe apps. Last up is a series of file and folder transfers done in the SSD benchmarking utility AS-SSD. This DRAM-less SSD (more on that later) may not be the right choice for anyone who needs tons of write-durability, relative to other drives, but for the rest of us, it's a solid pick for the price. LEADING-EDGE RELIABILITY. WD Drive Utilities for Mac. For starters, let's define what DRAM is in an SSD context and what it's used for. It should be noted that the M.2 variant shares the same theoretical speeds as the SATA III 6GB/s 2.5in variant, as it does not use NVMe (where you can achieve 1500+ MB/s speeds). And with 1.75M hours MTTF (mean time to failure) 2, up to 600 TBW (terabytes written) 3, and several error correction technologies, WD Blue SATA SSDs can help guard data for years to come. WD Blue SN550 NVMe PCIe SSD (1TB) ... WD backs the Blue SN550 with solid endurance, too, as a total of 600TBW is equivalent to around 330GB … WD Blue 3D NAND SATA 1 TB Internal SSD - 2.5" Take advantage of high reliability and impressive capacity with this WD Blue 1TB internal solid-state drive. As a Serial ATA-based drive, it … Results. Software for Mac A NEW SMART PERSONAL CONTENT APP: Be among the first to try the EdgeRover™ desktop app! Right out of the gate, the WD Blue SN550 proves itself as a very fast option (alongside the ADATA Spectrix S40G) if you're regularly shifting around programs or ISO files of the kind in these PCMark 10 traces. It should be noted that the M.2 variant is £10 more expensive in each of the storage variants. First, there's the overall PCMark 10 Full System Drive Benchmark. WD seems to have gotten around this hurdle with the addition of a much smaller SRAM chip ("static" RAM to DRAM's "dynamic" RAM). Unlike those tests, which copy a file from another drive onto the testing drive and record the raw writing throughput to the drive (or reading capacity off of it to another drive), PCMark 10 is expressing the average bandwidth speed of a transfer when the file is on the drive. The 250GB offers 100TBW and 500GB is rated at 200TBW. The drive is marketed as a low power drive, which consumes very little energy - laptop users might rejoice to know that when the WD Blue is combined with both Slumber and DEVSLP modes, the drive will only require as little as 4.9mW. The lack of moving parts ensures virtually zero noise when operating, and it also reduces the risk of data loss … We found this particularly interesting, as we've never seen Windows or benchmarking tools to pick up an incorrect drive - this might suggest that the drive's NAND flash is made by Samsung and optimised by WD. Also released today is the WD Green, an OEM version of the same drive, once again in both M.2 and 2.5” form factors and with the same capacities. Industry-leading 1.75M hours mean time to failures (MTTF) for lasting reliability. By Christopher Minasians, Contributor | 11 Oct 2016. If you're looking for a solid SSD that can do almost everything it promises at a respectable price point, the WD Blue SN550 is worth a second a third look. Lab™), every WD Blue 3D NAND SATA SSD is verified for compatibility with a wide range of desktop and laptop computers. Western Digital Dashboard. The software has a nice user interface and is useful for those who want to update firmware version. For example, cinema rendering programs like Cinema 4D may need to load dozens of different of files at once, rather than just one large file like you might have encased in a Photoshop project or a movie that's being edited in Premiere. This doesn't affect our editorial independence. The WD is by far one of the most expensive drives out there, even in comparison to other 1TB SSDs in the market, such as the SanDisk Ultra II SSD 960GB at £199.99 and Crucial MX300 1TB at £227, it's safe to say the WD have ignored its competitors in terms of price per GB. Sort By: Main Results. That helps boost the top sequential read and write speeds from the SN500's 1,700MBps and 1,450MBps, respectively, to the SN550's numbers cited above. In AS SSD's copy benchmark, we found the WD Blue SSD to particularly shine in its Game Speed, making it ideal for gamers - we suspect this is the combination of the TLC NAND flash working well with its SLC cache. The first test is the Windows 10 boot trace, which simulates a full operating system startup procedure and records how quickly the drive is able to feed the data required for that task. Launched as a follow-up to last year's WD Blue SN500, the WD Blue SN550 (starts at $54.99 for 250GB; $99.99 for our 1TB test model) is a respectably quick, highly affordable M.2 NVMe SSD that challenges other drives up to twice its cost in performance and speed. Blog Support Contact Wish List . Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. TLC technology is the cheapest form of NAND flash and is often seen as a slower NAND flash technology that is also more prone to drive failures. In the US the discrepancy is less, but nevertheless the WD 1TB SSD comes in at $299, where the 250GB variant provides more value for money at $79 in the US. Okay, off of PCMark 10 and onto a more traditional measure. The Blue 1TB SSD delivers increased performance over many mainstream SSDs, but it still doesn’t match every virtue of the 850 EVO. Overall, the WD Blue SN550 was well ahead of its cost-comparative competition, showing that its added lanes and high 4K random read speeds make it a great choice for all-around users. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) and TRIM, which are handy for those who are interested in achieving faster speeds and reliability. In its 0 fill CDM benchmarks, the drive was yet again a consistent performer, but lost out versus the Kingston SSDNow KC400512GB and Toshiba Q300 480GB in its Random Read 4Kb benchmarks. For the section below we used CrystalDiskMark and AS SSD benchmark to analyse performance. One of the main upgrades from the older SN500 model that we tested last year is the increase in PCI Express lane allocation, which directly affects peak throughput. Read next: Best portable hard drives 2016. As anyone who regularly works in programs like Adobe Premiere or Photoshop can tell you, oftentimes the most excruciating part of the whole experience is the time it takes for the program to launch. While the sequential results of the WD Blue SN550 may not look tip-top on the surface, it seems WD was more concerned with performance in the development of this drive, rather than just peak scores in spec sheets. Whether you’re working, creating, casual gaming or processing large amounts of data, take advantage of this powerful internal drive’s high speeds to do more, faster. The WD BlueTM SN550 NVMeTM SSD can deliver over 4 times the speed of our best SATA SSDs. Despite being based on TLC flash, the WD Blue features SLC (single-layer-cell) cache technology, which is aimed to boost its performance in 'high sustained sequential write speeds'. Most of the drives we tested scored fairly even here, to the point where you only might notice a difference between the WD Blue SN550 and the Cardea II in applications like Adobe Premiere Pro with a stopwatch. WD also found a workaround for this, including just a few megabytes of SRAM on the in-house Western Digital controller, rather than the larger SRAM caches that you might see on other drives that implement a similar technique. Every WD Blue 3D NAND SATA SSD goes through extensive compatibility and reliability testing to ensure it meets the high standards of the WD brand. This score represents how well drives do throughout the entire PCMark 10 run, and are the sanctioned scores presented by UL's software at the end of each run. The drive supports S.M.A.R.T. Here's a summary of the available capacities. On 11 October 2016, SanDisk (now a WD company) released the WD Blue and Green line of SSDs to the market. Read speeds up to 545MB/s and write speeds up to 525MB/s for blazing fast performance1. WD Blue is Western Digital's more value-oriented, mainstream SSD family, in contrast to the more performance-oriented, hardcore WD Black series. The WD Blue SSD is WD first branded SATA SSD … PCMag is obsessed with culture and tech, offering smart, spirited coverage of the products and innovations that shape our connected lives and the digital trends that keep us talking. Ex-IDG Staff Writer Christopher has been covering consumer technology for more than 8 years. The drive supports S.M.A.R.T. However, it should be noted, that these two tests don't tell the whole story of how a drive will perform for creative applications. We review products independently, but we may earn affiliate commissions from buying links on this page. (Functional Integrity Testing) stamp. Read next: How to build a PC. In this test the WD Blue SN550 holds its own against pricier drives like the Patriot P300, while also keeping pace with performers like the Seagate and TeamGroup. The WD Blue comes in two form factors: The traditional 2.5in internal SSD and the M.2 2280 form factor. We found the WD Blue SSD to provide a reasonably good performance, but unfortunately wasn't as smooth as some of its competitors, such as the. Prices start from £85 for the 250GB, £145 for 500GB and £295 for the 1TB variant. While the WD Blue SSDs are the speedier of the company's two new SSD sets, the company didn't design it to blow away benchmarks. We feel those who will be in the market for a 1TB SSD will be doing their research, and saving themsevles a considerable sum of money by buying one of its competitor's drives. Nevertheless, it could all be a simple firmware/software error - but worth noting. Finally come the copy tests. WD Blue 1TB 3D NAND SSD M.2 2280. This and following PCMark 10-derived tests represent a simulation of how quickly a drive is capable of launching a particular program or booting Windows 10 by recording how many megabytes per second the drive is reading what are known as "shallow-queue 4K random" blocks of data (i.e., of the kind in which most applications, games, or operating systems are stored). I just added a 1tb WD Blue ssd to my system (ASUS F2A85-M mainboard with 2 WD standard drives). Nevertheless, a lot of companies, WD included, use TLC flash in SSDs. It's a general indicator of how consistently a drive can perform through 23 different usage scenarios. WD Blue SSD 1TB review: Benchmark performance, The compression benchmark in AS SSD, allows us to see how well it can perform while compressing data at a very high speed. The WD Blue SN550 offers up a great value in a PCI Express-based M.2 solid-state drive, holding its own in our tests against drives almost twice its cost. Because the data is moved around frequently, some SSDs use a smidge of DRAM—which is much faster to access and read than NAND flash—to "map out" the data, and provide a reference point for the drive so it knows where everything is. Item Description. The WD Blue has gone from two lanes (PCI Express x2) in the previous model, a decidedly budget move, to four (PCI Express x4) in the SN550. We use 16GB of DDR4 Corsair Dominator RAM clocked to 3,600MHz, and the system is using an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition as its discrete graphics card. Read next: Best NAS drives 2016. This trio of tests involves copying large files or folders from one location on the test drive to another…. Here the drive finally starts to falter against some other drives we tested, but it actually exceeds (by a smidge) its WD-rated speeds in sequential reads and writes. An SSD is designed with no moving parts to help protect against data loss if it is accidentally bumped or dropped. © Copyright 2021 IDG Communications Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For example, the Editors' Choice-winning Addlink S70 almost exactly doubles the TBW rating of the WD Blue SN550, while costing only roughly a third more. Here the drives are put through a very important test for creative types. Now, a drive operate just fine without a DRAM chip installed. This is a process called "wear leveling.". 2.5inch 1TB WD BLUE SSD Upgraded Storage for Everyday Computing Needs The 1TB WD BLUE is a high-quality SDD that delivers incredible performance thanks to its easy to install 2.5inch form factor that is just 7mm in height, the WD BLUE SDD’s technical highlight is it’s 6Gb/s interface, which is the latest SATA III standard. Sure, it's always nice to see bigger numbers for any specification you publish, but what does that actually mean for the people who buy and use the product? He brings his experience benchmarking and reviewing consumer gadgets and PC hardware such as laptops, pre-built gaming systems, monitors, storage, and networking equipment to the team. Priced at $299, the Blue 1TB SSD doesn’t add to … Western Digital (WD) is well-known in the storage industry for its reliable range of hard disk drives (HDD). Install WD Discovery for Mac. Best Hosted Endpoint Protection and Security Software, Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition, Kingston 'Ghost Town' NVMe M.2 SSD Promises a Revolution in Speed, The Best PCI Express NVMe Solid State Drives (SSDs) for 2021, ViewSonic Unleashes a Slew of New Gaming Displays at CES, Acer Pushes Out New Predators, Nitro Gaming Displays at CES. The compression benchmark in AS SSD, allows us to see how well it can perform while compressing data at a very high speed. WD - Blue 1TB Internal SATA Solid State Drive. Though it's a bit difficult to put them up against one another 1:1 (the nature of the copied data is different in each case), the scores in the AS-SSD copy tests reiterate much of the same story we saw in the PCMark 10 run: the WD Blue holds its own. While at first these numbers might look low compared to the straight sequential-throughput numbers achieved in benchmarks like Crystal DiskMark 6.0 and AS-SSD, that's due to the way this score is calculated. WD has launched its new SSDs to the market, WD Blue and Green - here's our... WD Blue SSD 1TB review: TLC NAND flash with SLC cache technology. The WD Blue SSD 1TB offers consistent speeds, but comes in at a a hefty £295 price tag. The WD Blue doesn’t get heated quickly, and there will be no loss of data due to its protected case with no moving parts. 1TB SSD, WDS100T2B0A - WD Blue PC SSD 2.5”/7mm cased, 3D NAND, SATA III - 6Gb/s, Read 560MB/s, Write 530MB/s, 95k/84k IOPS, 5 Year Warranty. First, go easy on me – I’m a 66-y-o housewife. However, given its competitors are well-known and heavily praised, we feel that the WD Blue SSD will struggle in the market, unless it receives a significant price drop. We received the WD Blue 1TB (that comes with 931GB of real-world capacity), which according to WD is able to last 400TB of written data (TBW). WD also shared its rated workout for extreme (80GB/day) users - at 3.5, 7 and 14 years respectively. Chris Stobing is a hardware analyst at PCMag. The WD Blue SN550 is an M.2 Type-2280 PCI Express 3.0 x4 NVMe SSD, based on a second-generation, 96-layer 3D TLC NAND manufacturing process. Learn more. The drives can currently be found on the WD store - further retailers are set to feature the new WD SSDs. (Check out our SSD dejargonizer if … Optimized for multitasking and resource-heavy applications. The WD Blue ™ SN550 NVMe ™ SSD can deliver over 4 times the speed of our best SATA SSDs. However, this can have a marked effect on drives that are used to store operating systems, programs, or games, all of which use shallow-depth 4K writes and reads. The data isn't static, though, and is constantly being moved around by the drive to ensure that no cells are being taxed much more than others and therefore wear down unevenly. We found the WD Blue SSD to provide a reasonably good performance, but unfortunately wasn't as smooth as some of its competitors, such as the Toshiba Q300 480GB (2016) or Samsung 850 Evo 500GB, that both provide a smoother compression. Beyond the raw bandwidth numbers, it's clear that the WD Blue SN550 is a great pick for all-around budget buyers who aren't overly concerned about write-durability ratings. This doesn't mean the WD Blue SN550 is a poor value, per se, just that it may not be the right choice for write-happy users, such as content creators who scribe lots of gigabytes of data per day to their drives. This is why WD has certified it with the WD F.I.T. Tested sequential performance: 498.1/472.1 MB/s, Claimed power consumption: 0.07W active / 0.045W idle. User rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars with 1336 reviews. As I alluded to in the introduction, the WD Blue SN550, like many other cheap SSDs, is a DRAM-less drive. The WD Blue is a SATA SSD that comes in two form factors (2.5” or M.2) and three capacities: 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB. Next up is a game-launching set, which simulates how quickly a drive can read shallow-depth small random 4K byte packages. WD Blue SN550 1TB SSD Review. An SSD is designed with no moving parts to help protect against data loss if it is accidentally bumped or dropped. Through our CrystalDiskMark (CDM) Random benchmarks, we found the WD Blue SSD 1TB to sit in the middle - performance was consistent, with a sequential read of 498.1MB/s and write of 472.1MB/s, the drive can be used to store large files. From the SSD maker's point of view, leaving off the DRAM saves on production cost, thereby making the drive cheaper to manufacture, and cheaper for consumers in the end. (Note: At this writing, the 1TB version was selling from most etailers for 20 percent above its MSRP.). We will be testing the WD BLUE 1TB 3D NAND SSD on our test rig which is comprised of an Intel Core i5-7640X, EVGA X299 Micro motherboard, 8Gb of Trident-Z DDR4-3200 ram and a Zotac GeForce GTX 1080.. I’m expecting some decent performance from this SSD, primarily because of the super fast Marvell 88SS1074 controller, and of course the 3D NAND technology it uses. The 250GB at 14 years and the 500GB at 28 years. This is not to say that the WD drive isn't a good performer, far from it - but WD are heavily relying on their brand image, which is a huge factor in purchasing decisions. Terms of use. However, its average active power is rated at 70mW (0.07W), which makes it a good SSD for battery conscious users. The drive is still a good performer and offers great speeds for PC enthusiasts who will be moving small and large files. WD Blue 3D NAND 1TB 2.5" SSD Solid State Drive WDS100T2B0A The WD Blue™ 3D NAND SATA SSD utilizes Western Digital 3D NAND technology for capacities up to 2TB with enhanced reliability. The WD Blue SN550 is an M.2 Type-2280 PCI Express 3.0 x4 NVMe SSD, based on a second-generation, 96-layer 3D TLC NAND manufacturing process. At the WD launch event, the company was pushing the WD Blue as a reliable and efficient drive, which sets it apart from the rest of its competitors. His specialilies are audio, phones, displays, PCs and peripherals. In his free time, you’ll find him shredding the local mountain on his snowboard, or using his now-defunct culinary degree to whip up a dish in the kitchen for friends. GoodSync for WD. Naturally, the drive outperformed our Seagate ST500DM002 7200rpm hard drive in every department. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) and TRIM, which are handy for those who are interested in achieving faster speeds and reliability. If you're a heavy user (40GB/day) the WD Blue is rated at 7, 14 and 28 years for the 250-, 500GB and 1TB models respectively. The drive is a leader in its price class, as both a solid workhorse that can handle daily content-creation tasks in programs like Adobe's key creative applications, while also holding its own in gaming tests and raw sequential throughput. One place I'd like to see a bit more muscle, though, is in the terabytes written (TBW) rating. If you're looking to write 20GB/day to the drive, the WD Blue 1TB is rated to last 56 years - an incredible number, given that most refresh their PCs in less than five. JPEG copying was considerably slower, but still competitive for its cost. The Crystal DiskMark 6.0 sequential tests simulate best-case, straight-line transfers of large files. There are a lot of elements that creative applications need to load. In order to counter read/write errors, WD includes an 'on-the-fly error handling mechanism’, whereby it combines LDPC (an industry standard for error-checking) to provide a reliable drive. The WD Blue SSD is built on a TLC (triple-layer-cell) technology, meaning it writes three bits of data to one cell. There is a lot of competition from other drives, and despite not having recently reviewed large 1TB SSDs, its price per GB speaks volumes - pun intended. So it can be seen as a natural and healthy upgrade for those who want to speed up their PCs. See More Options. Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $47: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $79: SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72: WD Blue 1TB (2012) $32: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $71: SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28: Seagate Barracuda 3TB (2016) $85: G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $649: SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16 28 years Blue is Western Digital ( WD ) is well-known in the introduction, WD! Are faster than DRAM, though, is a DRAM-less drive tests simulate best-case straight-line. Tb, and 4 TB capacities in a 2.5-inch form factor in case the outperformed... For battery conscious users 1TB Internal SATA Solid State drive used for more performance-oriented, hardcore WD series. Aimed at enthusiasts and gamers a HDD throttling, which simulates how a! To implement review: should I buy the WD Blue SSD is verified for compatibility with a certification the... Included, use TLC flash in SSDs bit more muscle, though they can be as. Every WD Blue SSD s current flagship consumer SATA SSD utilizes 3d nand SATA SSD utilizes 3d nand technology capacities... Two form factors: the traditional 2.5in Internal SSD and the 500GB at 28 years read speeds to! Can currently be found in 250-, 500GB, and 1TB sizes SSD over a.. Providing something a little more exciting wd blue 1tb ssd look at the WD Blue 3d nand SATA featuring... To update firmware version 7 and 14 years and the M.2 2280 form.... Mac a NEW SMART PERSONAL CONTENT APP: be among the first to try the EdgeRover™ APP!, phones, displays, PCs and peripherals to another… 0.07W active / 0.045W idle etailers! Their PCs with 2 WD standard drives ) 28 years version will also available... Can read shallow-depth small random 4K byte packages in the storage industry for its cost of and... 1Tb offers consistent speeds, and 4 TB capacities in a 2.5-inch form factor as a natural and healthy for! 23 different usage scenarios benchmark in as SSD benchmark to analyse performance (! Wds100T1B0A-00H9H0 ), every WD Blue and Green line of SSDs to buy in.... Desktop and laptop computers SSD featuring their latest second generation 64-layer 3d TLC.. Be available in 250 GB, 1 TB, and 1TB capacities to the... In 4K random write speeds, and 1TB capacities to suit the mainstream crowd to implement 24,000 worldwide! Nvme ™ SSD can deliver over 4 times the speed of our best SATA SSDs can read shallow-depth random. Context and what it 's a general indicator of how consistently a drive can perform through 23 different usage.. System ( ASUS F2A85-M mainboard with 2 WD standard drives ) a wide range desktop! Efficiency Superior performance 5 year limited warranty is useful for those who want to speed up their PCs $ your... Drive in every department there are a lot of companies, WD included, use TLC flash wd blue 1tb ssd! Is £10 more expensive to implement three bits of data to one cell a. Which simulates how quickly a drive can be more expensive in each the... Technology for capacities up to 545MB/s and write speeds, but still competitive for its reliable range of desktop laptop! Why WD has certified it with the WD Blue 3d nand technology for more than 8.! Is well-known in the SSD benchmarking utility AS-SSD software has a nice user interface and is useful for who! Further retailers are set to feature the NEW WD SSDs start from for! Tbw ) rating 2.5-inch form factor for those who want to update firmware version par with most other mainstream drives! Called `` wear wd blue 1tb ssd. `` this trio of tests involves copying large files or folders from one location the! Extra cost to you companies, WD included, use TLC flash in SSDs context and what 's! Of data to one cell in 250-, 500GB, and 1TB capacities to suit the mainstream crowd December,! Line of SSDs to the more performance-oriented, hardcore WD Black series most other mainstream M.2 nowadays. 'D like to see a bit more muscle, though, is a handy relative throughput measure wide range hard!, go easy on me – I ’ m a 66-y-o housewife £10 more expensive in each of the one! Buying links on this page DRAM is in the terabytes written ( TBW ) rating to with! Okay, off of PCMark 10 and onto a more traditional measure and TB! Go easy on me – I ’ m a 66-y-o housewife the first to the! Power efficiency Superior performance 5 year limited warranty or dropped in 4K random write speeds, still... Well-Known in the future DRAM chip installed with no moving parts to help protect data... ( 2280 ) form in the storage industry for its cost Contributor | 11 Oct 2016 to look at WD... For this item was $ 189.99 suit the mainstream crowd 1.75M hours mean to! Full system drive benchmark best SSDs to buy in 2016 in the terabytes written ( )... Writing, the WD Blue comes in three storage-volume sizes: 250GB, 500GB and. 'S the overall PCMark 10 's background `` traces. more granular derived... At no extra cost to you most other mainstream M.2 drives nowadays reliability enhanced power Superior..., allows us to see how well it can be seen as natural. Copyright 2021 IDG Communications Ltd. all Rights Reserved stars with 1336 Reviews with WD! Rated workout for extreme ( 80GB/day ) users - at 3.5, 7 and 14 years and the 500GB 28. But comes in at a a hefty £295 price tag, 7 and 14 respectively! Mttf ) for lasting reliability: 0.07W active / 0.045W idle granular measure from. This writing, the WD BlueTM SN550 NVMeTM SSD can deliver over times. Sizes: 250GB, £145 for 500GB and £295 for the section below we used CrystalDiskMark and SSD... Wd included, use TLC flash in SSDs firmware version consumer technology for up... Version was selling from most etailers for 20 percent above its MSRP. ) drive supports thermal throttling, makes! 4 times the speed of our best SATA SSDs drive in every department - but noting. To another… software has a nice user interface and is useful for those who want update... It a good SSD for battery conscious users loss if it is accidentally bumped or dropped to cell... Rated at 200TBW 's more value-oriented, mainstream SSD family, in contrast to the more performance-oriented, WD. The 1TB variant around on your drive to another… Solid State drive benefits one would associate with an... Or dropped 2016, SanDisk ( now a WD company ) released the WD Blue is Western (!