Real World Speed
Performance profile from 15,453 user samples
11,340 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 99% 5.5TB free
Worst Bench: 49% 5GB free
Poor: 49% Great: 99%
SPEED RANK: 90th / 1015
4,113 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 93% 3TB free
Worst Bench: 49% 3.5TB free
Poor: 49% Great: 93%
SPEED RANK: 113th / 1015
Effective Speed
Effective HDD Speed
77.2 % +4% 74.1 %
Read
Avg. Sequential Read Speed
138 MB/s +5% 132 MB/s
Write
Avg. Sequential Write Speed
127 MB/s +2% 124 MB/s
4K Read
Avg. 4K Random Read Speed
0.83 MB/s Slightly faster random read.
+6%
0.78 MB/s
4K Write
Avg. 4K Random Write Speed
2.57 MB/s 3.16 MB/s Faster random write.
+23%
Mixed
Avg. Sequential Mixed IO Speed
84.4 MB/s 86.1 MB/s +2%
4K Mixed
Avg. 4K Random Mixed IO Speed
0.96 MB/s 0.96 MB/s
SusWrite
Avg. Sustained Write Speed
130 MB/s +4% 125 MB/s
Read
Peak Sequential Read Speed
179 MB/s Slightly faster peak read speed.
+6%
169 MB/s
Write
Peak Sequential Write Speed
163 MB/s Slightly faster peak write speed.
+5%
155 MB/s
4K Read
Peak 4K Random Read Speed
1 MB/s 1 MB/s
4K Write
Peak 4K Random Write Speed
3 MB/s 3.7 MB/s Faster peak random write.
+23%
Mixed
Peak Sequential Mixed IO Speed
109 MB/s +1% 108 MB/s
4K Mixed
Peak 4K Random Mixed IO Speed
1.1 MB/s 1.1 MB/s
SusWrite
Peak Sequential Sustained Write 60s Average
169 MB/s Slightly faster peak sustained write speed.
+6%
159 MB/s
Market Share
Based on 53,364,727 HDDs tested
Market Share
Market Share (trailing 30 days)
0.02 % Hugely higher market share.
+100%
0.01 %
Value
Value For Money
72 % Hugely better value.
+293%
18.3 %
User Rating
UBM User Rating
51 % 52 % +2%
Price
Price (score)
$129 Much cheaper.
+60%
$323
Age
Newest
118 Months More recent.
+14%
138 Months
Capacity
Capacity
6TB 4TB
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The 6TB WD Red is one of the first 6TB consumer drives. Sporting five large 1.2TB platters the Red is targeted at consumers for use in 1-8 bay NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices. The large platters on the 6TB drive enable slightly faster peak read speeds than on the smaller capacity Reds. Comparing performance between the 2TB and 6TB versions shows that the 6TB version is between 10 and 15% faster. At current market prices ($300) the 6TB red isn't a bad value proposition and, considering that the 6TB Red is just a few months old, prices are likely to drop significantly over the coming months. [Oct '14 HDrivePro]

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I don't understand the pricing on this drive, on the face of it, it looks seriously overpriced. Although the Black has a marginal speed advantage compared to a 3TB Barracuda, one 4TB Caviar Black costs more than two 3TB Barracudas! I have only seen benchmarks from 3 user samples for the 4TB 2012 Black so I will re-visit this recap over the coming months by which time I should have a better sample size. Additional samples may indicate far better performance than I have seen so far. [Aug '13 HDrivePro]

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Hard Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) May 2024 HDD Rankings

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]

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Group Test Results

  • Best user rated - User sentiment trumps benchmarks for this comparison.
  • Best value for money - Value for money is based on real world performance.
  • Fastest real world speed - Real World Speed measures performance for typical consumers.
How Fast Is Your HDD? (Bench your build) Size up your PC in less than a minute

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.

UserBenchmark of the month

How it works

  • - Download and run UserBenchmark
  • - CPU tests include: integer, floating and string
  • - GPU tests include: six 3D game simulations
  • - Drive tests include: read, write, sustained write and mixed IO
  • - RAM tests include: single/multi core bandwidth and latency
  • - SkillBench (space shooter) tests user input accuracy
  • - Reports are generated and presented on userbenchmark.com
  • - Identify the strongest components in your PC
  • - See speed test results from other users
  • - Compare your components to the current market leaders
  • - Explore your best upgrade options with a virtual PC build
  • - Compare your in-game FPS to other users with your hardware

 Frequently Asked Questions

 Best User Rated

The Best.
CPUGPUSSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $254Nvidia RTX 4060 $300Crucial MX500 250GB $39
Intel Core i5-12400F $133Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $163Nvidia RTX 4070 $539Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $39Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $45SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $31Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $48SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $51G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
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