Discussion Forums > Technology
WD Blue vs Black: Reliability?
xShadow:
Just from what I remember seeing in the reviews last time I bothered checking, their Black line... even as lauded as it is... isn't actually that amazing. Don't get me wrong: they're obviously better than their Blue line. However, what I noticed is that they weren't worth even close to their price premium. It's like what... twice as much for the same capacity? Better off researching other manufacturers, imo.
Clannad_92:
hey all, dont want to start another thread, so gonna post here...how long Blue going to last? let say in a non stop PC with a constant 40+°C? because my Blue died last week (bought it last year)...
datora:
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--- Quote from: xShadow on June 15, 2012, 12:30:42 PM ---Better off researching other manufacturers, imo.
--- End quote ---
Well, there's Seagate and then ... uh ... oh. Right. Nobody else. Been paying attention much?
The "other manufacturers" are models manufactured under WD & Seagate and marketed under their old names for brand name recognition. There's been no competition with the Caviar Black line in desktop systems for about the last four years, and nothing emerging currently.
And, as far as "researching," you might consider that the posts in this thread already summarize the current state of the industry. Some of have "bothered to check," both regularly and recently. In some cases on a weekly basis for the past several years.
For a reliability in an OS drive, there's the WD Black sitting in a class by itself.
Maybe you don't place much value on your data, but that's your personal choice. The price premium is (and has been) about 50% for at least three years. Quite often it is far under 50%, sometimes only about 20% if you shop carefully. I can't remember beyond that, and it's an irrelevant comparison outside of that timeframe anyway due to manufacturing & technology changes sine 2009.
For example, a 1 TB Blue drive generally goes for about $100 currently, while a Black edition goes for about $120, outside of unusual deals. Before the flooding in Thailand last year, it was about $80 & $100 respectively. I bought a pair of 750 GB SATA III Blacks last August, one for $59 and the other for $49, and was considering the 2 TB version at about $130 even missed a special deal for $120 once. Just a couple weeks ago I could have had a 2 TB Black for $150, although the standard price is usually about $170-$180 these days.
There is no 2 TB Blue edition for comparison, 2 TB green drives go for ~$130, I've seen special deals as low as ~$115. The VelociRaptor drives aren't part of this discussion due to their extreme performance and price. The Green editions & other "Eco" drives really aren't, either, since it's pure stupid to use them as OS drives.
There's no other brand/model that has a 5 year warranty and is designed as a main OS drive. Period. No other brand/model has reviews even close to the reliability of a WD Black in these price ranges. Period.
Feel free to name something specific, though, instead of general hearsay & assertion. I'm certainly in the market and would love to see another option.
[ EDIT:
--- Quote from: Clannad_92 on June 15, 2012, 01:50:16 PM ---how long Blue going to last? let say in a non stop PC with a constant 40+°C? because my Blue died last week (bought it last year)...
--- End quote ---
You get what you pay for. I've avoided Blue drives because the reviews on them gave me no confidence. They used to have a 3 year warranty; you need to check your purchase agreement. After only one year, it's probably still under warranty, unless WD changed it. ]
Clannad_92:
--- Quote from: datora on June 15, 2012, 02:01:55 PM ---
--- Quote from: Clannad_92 on June 15, 2012, 01:50:16 PM ---how long Blue going to last? let say in a non stop PC with a constant 40+°C? because my Blue died last week (bought it last year)...
--- End quote ---
You get what you pay for. I've avoided Blue drives because the reviews on them gave me no confidence. They used to have a 3 year warranty; you need to check your purchase agreement. After only one year, it's probably still under warranty, unless WD changed it. ]
--- End quote ---
right...i dunno and idgaf, because its a drag when dealing with shop who really want to prove that the damage (or naturally broken HDD) done onto the drive is our fault...
meh, mah Seagate that comes with ACER desktop is still alive (though the desktop dead, that drive in new PC), almost 4 years now~
oh, and i just bought WD Caviar Green 1.5TB...question is, can i go 24 hours on that drive too?
xShadow:
--- Quote from: datora on June 15, 2012, 02:01:55 PM ---.
--- Quote from: xShadow on June 15, 2012, 12:30:42 PM ---Better off researching other manufacturers, imo.
--- End quote ---
Well, there's Seagate and then ... uh ... oh. Right. Nobody else. Been paying attention much?
--- End quote ---
Though they're owned by Seagate now, there is also Samsung; it's too early to tell whether Seagate will turn them into crap. There is also HGST, and a few other brands. If you're willing to look into the external drive category, there are even more. You can just automatically make some assumption that everything churned out by someone Seagate-owned or WD-owned will automatically bear have a similar failure rate, but I would like to contend that... mainly because I can't find any statistics showing such.
--- Quote ---The "other manufacturers" are models manufactured under WD & Seagate and marketed under their old names for brand name recognition. There's been no competition with the Caviar Black line in desktop systems for about the last four years, and nothing emerging currently.
And, as far as "researching," you might consider that the posts in this thread already summarize the current state of the industry. Some of have "bothered to check," both regularly and recently. In some cases on a weekly basis for the past several years.
--- End quote ---
Are you basing this off of some popularity contest?
Read my post. This is my criteria for judging hard drives. I don't care if they come from GOD DRIVES, THE DRIVE MANUFACTURER OF THE HEAVENS THAT IS LAUDED FOR ITS SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE! If my research doesn't show any noticeable trend, then I'm not going to care about what the popular opinion is. My studies show otherwise.
--- Quote ---For a reliability in an OS drive, there's the WD Black sitting in a class by itself.
--- End quote ---
EXCEPT IT ISN'T. I don't know where you got your "facts" from, but these drives don't actually have better a rating distribution (including attribution to proper failure factors) than the MUCH cheaper 2TB Samsung drive I bought years ago (which is still working just fine by the way).
--- Quote ---Maybe you don't place much value on your data, but that's your personal choice.
--- End quote ---
No, more like I believe that YOU don't give enough of a crap about your data to actually do first-hand review-based research. You're basing all of your statements here off of some sugar pill reputation that Caviar Black has.
--- Quote ---
There's no other brand/model that has a 5 year warranty and is designed as a main OS drive. Period. No other brand/model has reviews even close to the reliability of a WD Black in these price ranges. Period.
--- End quote ---
I want to see your sources. I will admit at some storage amount ranges the Caviar Black has superior reliability, but then again below the TB range (which is where most anime fans are going to be looking for their shit anyway), most other manufacturers (which are cheaper) have decent performance anyway. The TB range is where most anime viewers are going to be looking. If you can get me some hard review-based statistics, I'll agree with your Caviar Black lauding.
Edit: And to clarify when I was looking for a new 2TB storage drive a few years back, I considered all possibilities. Obviously I had heard a lot about the Caviar Black line. Then I did my own research and realized that the much cheaper Samsung line was actually showing better reliability results. My main point (which is what pissed me off about your post) is that you seem to be basing a lot off of superior reputation. Reputation means nothing to me. I want actual hard evidence.
Edit2: Toned down profanity.
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