The Western Digital Blue (1TB) SSD Review: WD Returns to SSDs

Random Read Performance

The random read test requests 4kB blocks and tests queue depths ranging from 1 to 32. The queue depth is doubled every three minutes, for a total test duration of 18 minutes. The test spans the entire drive, which is filled before the test starts. The primary score we report is an average of performances at queue depths 1, 2 and 4, as client usage typically consists mostly of low queue depth operations.

The WD Blue's random read speed is a bit slower than the X400 but the difference is not big enough to change the rankings and it is still above average.

The WD Blue draws slightly less power than the SanDisk X400, which is enough for it to retain efficiency that is good by the standards of planar TLC SSDs.

WD Blue 1TBCrucial BX100 1TBCrucial BX200 960GBCrucial MX200 1TBCrucial MX300 1050GBOCZ Trion 150 960GBOCZ VX500 1TBOCZ Vector 180 960GBSamsung 850 EVO 1TBSamsung 850 Pro 1TBSanDisk Extreme Pro 960GBSanDisk X400 1TB

The WD Blue's random read performance scales well with increasing queue depth, eventually reaching a maximum that is almost as high as the top SATA drives. The performance at QD16 is also notably better than most budget SSDs.

Random Write Performance

The random write test writes 4kB blocks and tests queue depths ranging from 1 to 32. The queue depth is doubled every three minutes, for a total test duration of 18 minutes. The test is limited to a 16GB portion of the drive, and the drive is empty save for the 16GB test file. The primary score we report is an average of performances at queue depths 1, 2 and 4, as client usage typically consists mostly of low queue depth operations.

The SanDisk X400 went a long way toward closing the gap in random write performance between TLC and MLC drives, but a substantial gap still remained. The WD Blue comes in just shy of the X400 but is much faster than the OCZ Trion 150.

The WD Blue doesn't set any overall record for power efficiency, but it does slightly improve on the X400's efficiency and raises the bar for planar TLC.

WD Blue 1TBCrucial BX100 1TBCrucial BX200 960GBCrucial MX200 1TBCrucial MX300 1050GBOCZ Trion 150 960GBOCZ VX500 1TBOCZ Vector 180 960GBSamsung 850 EVO 1TBSamsung 850 Pro 1TBSanDisk Extreme Pro 960GBSanDisk X400 1TB

The WD Blue shows minimal random write performance scaling with queue depth, increasing from QD1 to QD2 but remaining constant thereafter.