WD Black vs Red most power-on hours?

[DmC10]

I was wondering, between the WD4003FZEX and WD40EFRX which one guarantees me the most power-on hours, i know the red's is 1000000 hours but how about the black?

 

[James Mason]

What are you planning to use the drive for?

The red is for 24/7 Network Attached Storage, so it's better for that, but kinda worse in terms of performance speeds compared to the black, which is for a higher performance desktop use.

Power on Hours also don't really mean anything. 1 million power on hours like you listed is 114 years. subtract a 0 and it's still 11 years.

If you're still using the same HDD after 11 years you've got a problem.

 

[azaran]

WD doesn't seem to want to give any numbers for the Blacks MTBF, and as you said the RED's listed for 1 million hours. So really there's no way to tell from any official WD source.

Really its going to come down to what you want to use it for. The Red and the Red Pro drives are optimized for living in a NAS environment, the Black is intended to be a stand alone drive. Performance wise, the non Pro Red is a 5400rpm drive with less cache than either the Pro or the Black so will under perform when compared to either of them. The Red Pro and the Black are largely similar with the Red Pro beating out the Blacks speed when comparing equal products (1Tb vs 1TB, etc). For warranty, the non Pro Red has a 3 year, and the Red Pro and the Black have a 5year.

So go with the best one for your environment and needs.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there, @DmC10!

I'd agree with @James & @azaran, it really depends on what you are planning to use either the WD Red or the WD Black drive for. As @azaran mentioned - one is a desktop drive and the other is a RAID/NAS drive. They are different in specs, purposes and firmware. The NASware technology in the WD Red drives improves the NAS storage performance by reducing concerns for things like compatibility , integration and reliability in multiple drive environments. Moreover, this specific firmware protections your data in the event of power loss or disruption. The WD Red drives have lower operating temperatures which results in significant power savings. After all, they are designed for 24/7 NAS environments.
However, you can actually use WD Black HDDs in a desktop/consumer RAID environments (RAID 0 or RAID 1) but they are not recommended or warranted for use in RAID environment utilizing enterprise HBAs or expanders; and in multi-bay chassis as they are not designed for, nor tested in, these specific types of RAID applications.
I'd recommend going through the specs of both drives on our official website:
WD Red's official product page
WD Black's official product page

Regardless of which HDD you choose, always remember that backups are essential! Hardware can easily be replaced, but your data is priceless, so make sure you keep it safe and sound stored in multiple locations and storage devices.

Hope I was helpful. Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[DmC10]

I am planning to use is as a data disk(downloading stuff, storage for pictures etc.), i had a red 3TB but it burnt out in 3.5 years in a 16 hours per day usage, now i want my hdd to last at least 4.5-5 years with that usage thats what i am actually asking, which one of those two will last more from personal experience only. I have checked all red,red pro and blacks, purple and gold ones, but i am leaning towards red or blacks.

 

[azaran]

The Red you listed is the 5400 RPM model and won't have the performance of the Black. Go with the Black.