The Western Digital Green (EARX) was released approximately three years ago and proved to be an extremely popular hard drive. This drive has been benchmarked by our users far more than most, currently 118 samples, so we have a relatively large set of performance data from which we can infer robust performance characteristics. With sequential read/write Lab speeds hitting the 150 MB/s mark, and more importantly, average read/write UserBenchMark (UBM) figures of 125/117 MB/s the 2011 WD Green is no longer able to compete with the newer and in many cases larger platter (1TB) drives of today. Looking at a direct comparison between the EARX and, its direct successor, the EZRX shows that the newer 2012 EZRX outperforms by around 37% in real world tests and 18% in peak Lab tests. This additional performance comes at no extra cost and makes the newer EZRX a far better choice. [Jan '14HDrivePro]
This is the most recent version (2013 FZEX) of Western Digital's best performing consumer storage drive, its predecessor was the WD1002FAEX which is now four years old. With average sequential read/write speeds of 150 MB/s this version outperforms its predecessor by a whopping 50%. Small file random 4K speeds have remained broadly unchanged with average read/write rates of 0.9/2.19 MB/s. Overall the 2013 WD Black has a very good performance profile and it also represents reasonable value for money, at least in the 1TB category. There are some good alternatives to the 2013 Black including the 2012 Blue. Looking at the 2013 Black vs 2012 Blue shows that both drives have similar performance. Power consumption (6.8/6.1 Watts active/idle) and noise levels (29.5 dBA) are also identical making it a tough call between the two. There is however, as always, better value amongst the larger capacities. [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.