WD Blue 1TB vs WD Red 1TB (for OS, not NAS)

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Marsigne

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I've searched some time but haven't got satisfied. I will use just 1 drive for OS drive. I have seen that the WD blue is solid performance for everyday computing, so it's good for it, but the WD Red is 24x7, silent, less temperatures and 1 more year warranty, among other things, which is very good. It says it is specified for NAS environment, but people says it can be put as OS drive too. WD Red is more expensive, and WD blue is more faster then WD red drive because of it's rpm and it's made for desktop normal use, but WD red is more good operation for cool temperatures and low power consumption and that stuff. It's slower than the WD blue, but as I prefer security over speed, so I like WD Red. The max hours using computers is around 12 hours, but it varies, sometimes 4 hours, sometimes 6, some days even it's 0 hours (I don't use it lol), in weekdays are the ones that goes past 8 hours.

Here are the questions: Will the WD red get to OS fine for a year for example, no errors because it's made for NAS? Will the WD red have noticeable impact in stability over WD blue for OS drive? Is the WD red worth it for non-nas, OS drive? Is the WD red worth it over the WD blue for OS drive? Opinions?

Remember: I don't care about speed, or price, my focus is on security, stability, noise (not that much but still concern), cool temperatures.
 
Solution
nukemaster
For an OS, I fully recommend the blue. You will honestly notice the access time difference because each time the drive has to get data from another point it adds more delay.

It kind of adds up as the drive has to get data from all over.

Most systems use data in a random fashion so each jump adds more delay.
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nukemaster

nukemaster

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The blues are not THAT loud.

Honestly a RED will run just fine for a system drive(they do not fall apart of anything from different types of use they just do not perform as well), but as you mention because they are optimized for nas use, they have very high access times compared to a blue or back drive(blacks can be loud, but they make up for it with access times).

I would go with the blue to be honest.

I have a red in my media center for ALL my files(Media center recordings is on a blue[2.5inch. it spins down when not recording. this is a hardware design that makes it not a great drive to use in a nas system. the RED spins all the time. no need to wake it up] and OS on an SSD). It works great for file storage, but the access times would hurt for an OS drive. The design can make it slower than a green for some things too.

As for quiet. the RED I have is quite quiet, but does have a deep humming sound as opposed to the normal high pitches sound of a normal drive. Seek sounds are near silent.

The WDC blue's I have used have not run that hot.

For security, maybe 2 blues in RAID1 would be an option. If one drive fails, you do not loose data.

RAID1 should NOT be used in place of a regular backup plan as a virus would effect BOTH drives.
 
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anti-painkilla

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I love the reds and currently have 2 2TB reds. I would personally not use it for the OS because of the slower spin speed.

That being said there is no reason that you cannot use a Red for the OS. As for reliability, ask me in 2 years.

The blues we have are quite reliable, have had a few DOA causing issues issues in the first few months (out of a couple hundred) but all HDDs have problems. From that point on they seem quite good with only the occasional replacement.
 
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M

Marsigne

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How do I test access times on this computer right now? I mean, what program? Can someone please benchmark a WD red drive or have benchmark of it? Maybe blue too? I want to compare this computer to red then blue

UPDATE: I'm benchmarking this hard drive with CrystalDiskMark, need access times though.
 
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nukemaster

nukemaster

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HD Tune will give you access times.

Will bench in a second for you.

Problem. I only have a 3TB red to compare to....

WDC RED 3TB 3.5. Note some drops. the drive is part of my file storage so that is normal. HD tune pro is NOT needed for accurate tests on drive 1TB and under.
ypdl.png


WDC Blue 1TB 3.5
pvey.png


WDC Blue 1TB 2.5(laptop drive)
xy6u.png
 
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M

Marsigne

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Well, at least it's red xD it wont be 100 accurate but oh well lol just do it ;) we will see if other guy have 1tb red. Meanwhile I'll benchmark in HD Tune :) celcius is 42.

Update: Here it is, can you comment about it: (btw why did it says CPU usage -1.0 for blue 1tb?)
HardDrive1testbetter_zpse2a40df4.png

 
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M

Marsigne

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Can you comment about my hard drive, Btw, did you made benchmark with pages open or with nothing opened? I've made test with 12 google chrome pages open and calculator, VLC, DS3, mark, notepad and explorer. If not, then I have to do another test without work at all. (And maybe I'm going to sleep very soon)

 
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nukemaster

nukemaster

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I made tests with everything running, but It was not the OS drive for anything but the WDC Blue 1tb 3.5(a drive that is not in storage).

Having things open should not be an issue, but when they access the drive you may see a drop in the benchmark like the WDC RED 3tb image.

The cpu usage -1 was a bug in the old version of HDtune when used with Intel controllers.

Your drive looks right about how it should. some of the dots for access time that look high can happen for many reasons, but should not cause issues.
 
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M

Marsigne

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Does the access time increase with more TB or it decreases? If it increases with more space, then still 1tb red could be good. If it decreases, then it will be like 22 or more with 1 tb, lol.

UPDATE: O.O, it increases with less space lol, look at this, this is true?: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/red-wd20efrx-wd30efrx-nas,3248-5.html

 
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nukemaster

nukemaster

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The access times are related to 2 things, the drives spindle speed(RPM) and the drives firmware. The red's shower access times are because the drive is programmed to move the read heads in a more quiet way.

For a while most drives used to have adjustable AAM(Automatic acoustic management). AAM allowed the drives to adjust from fast access times to quiet operations.

Now the read/write speeds depend on platter density.

older(not real old, like 20-60 gigabyte drives) hard drives use to have much larger data bits and more space between them(kind of like CD to DVD to Bluray) on the drive meaning they only managed lets say 30 megabytes at the top end.

when drives started getting bigger, they needed a way to get more data into a smaller space and came up with a technique called PMR(Perpendicular Magnetic Recording) that allows the bits to stand up taking less space.

This is how today's drives can actually get over 200 megabytes/second, but access times stay about the same(Seagate has some of these drives, but the 1 year warranty on many tuns me off of them a bit.).

Another trick for faster access times is to partition a drive much smaller(buy a 3tb and partition it as 1TB or less) and then the drive head does not have as far to move. This is called short stroking.
 
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M

Marsigne

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So, with the information you provided and with my benchmark test, is 3 more milliseconds (this hard drive for red) that big? Do you recommend me blue or red? (after the other question)

UPDATE: WD blue is same price as WD red now, so price can't be compared now.

 
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nukemaster

nukemaster

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For an OS, I fully recommend the blue. You will honestly notice the access time difference because each time the drive has to get data from another point it adds more delay.

It kind of adds up as the drive has to get data from all over.

Most systems use data in a random fashion so each jump adds more delay.
 
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M

Marsigne

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Thanks for the responses, recommendation and benchmarks, appreciated :)

Thanks also Laviniu Campean and anti-painkilla for your responses :)
 
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