The new 4TB WD Red Pro is an upgraded version of WD's popular Red NAS (Network Attached Storage). The Pro Reds have a rotation speed of 7200 RPM unlike their regular Red counterparts which are marketed as "IntelliPower" but actually spin at fixed speeds of 5400 or 5700 RPM depending on the exact model. Comparing the regular 3TB Red and the 4TB Pro shows that the pro version is significantly faster across the board. The biggest performance gains are seen in the small file 4K area and are a direct consequence of lower access times due to the higher rotation speed of the Pro Red. As well as offering better performance the Pro Reds have 5 year warranties vs 3 years on the regular Reds. Unfortunately it's not all good news as the Pro Red is priced around 50% higher than its regular Red sibling and thus currently represents average value for money at best. [Oct '14HDrivePro]
The 2TB version of WD's Red NAS range of hard drives has a performance profile that is similar to that of its larger 3TB sibling. Both drives lag behind the group average significantly in terms of overall performance. With an average read speed of 108 MB/s the 2TB Red is 36% slower than the group leaders which manage an average of 147 MB/s. There is a huge amount of hype around the "NAS" aspects of these drives but there is very little substance in terms of specific characteristics that make this drive better suited to a NAS than any other. The obvious factors such as energy efficiency and operating temperature are only marginally improved on these drives. I would personally prefer one of the far better performing Seagate Barracudas as when looking at a direct comparison of the Barracuda vs the Red it's clear that the performance of the Barracuda is better across the board. [Feb '14HDrivePro]
We calculate effective speed which measures performance for typical consumers. Effective speed is adjusted by current cost per GB to yield value for money. Our calculated values are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top HDDs. [HDrivePro]
Welcome to our PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best value for money upgrades.