This version (WD10EALS) of Western Digital's mid-range blue series drive is nearly four years old and as such not a good choice as a new purchase. This drive operates at 7200 RPM and has two 500GB platters which allow it to sustain reasonable sequential transfer rates of up to 180 MB/s read and 140 MB/s write. Average transfer rates are below this by nearly 50% and this version of the blue exhibits particularly weak throughputs of just 50 MB/s when faced with mixed IO (simultaneous reading and writing). Overall as a new purchase the newer single platter 1TB Blue 2012 Blue (WD10EZEX) is a far better choice and offers nearly 20% better average performance. [Dec '13HDrivePro]
If you are specifically looking for a 2TB Hard Drive, the Barracuda is both a solid performer and offers reasonable value for money. That said, It probably makes more sense to go for the 3TB version which, thanks to economies of scale, represents significantly better value for money. With the 3TB Barracuda you get 50% more storage and approximately the same performance for just 20% more money. [Sep '13HDrivePro]
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.