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WDWD1000DHTZ
$268
WDWD1003FZEX
 $268 

Release date: Q2 2012.

Release date: Q4 2013.

Real World Speed
Performance profile from 249,130 user samples
8,165 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 117% 931GB free
Worst Bench: 67% 702GB free (System drive)
Poor: 67% Great: 117%
SPEED RANK: 9th / 1015
240,965 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 108% 836GB free
Worst Bench: 50% 413GB free (System drive)
Poor: 50% Great: 108%
SPEED RANK: 65th / 1015
Effective Speed
Effective HDD Speed
94.6 % Faster effective speed.
+15%
82.3 %
Read
Avg. Sequential Read Speed
175 MB/s Faster read speed.
+15%
152 MB/s
Write
Avg. Sequential Write Speed
159 MB/s Faster write speed.
+17%
136 MB/s
4K Read
Avg. 4K Random Read Speed
1.65 MB/s Much faster random read.
+34%
1.23 MB/s
4K Write
Avg. 4K Random Write Speed
4.2 MB/s Much faster random write.
+69%
2.48 MB/s
Mixed
Avg. Sequential Mixed IO Speed
106 MB/s Faster mixed IO speed.
+20%
88 MB/s
4K Mixed
Avg. 4K Random Mixed IO Speed
1.58 MB/s Much faster random mixed IO.
+45%
1.09 MB/s
SusWrite
Avg. Sustained Write Speed
154 MB/s Faster sustained write speed.
+15%
134 MB/s
Read
Peak Sequential Read Speed
217 MB/s Slightly faster peak read speed.
+7%
203 MB/s
Write
Peak Sequential Write Speed
192 MB/s Faster peak write speed.
+11%
173 MB/s
4K Read
Peak 4K Random Read Speed
1.9 MB/s Faster peak random read.
+27%
1.5 MB/s
4K Write
Peak 4K Random Write Speed
4.95 MB/s Much faster peak random write.
+65%
3 MB/s
Mixed
Peak Sequential Mixed IO Speed
135 MB/s Faster peak mixed IO speed.
+22%
111 MB/s
4K Mixed
Peak 4K Random Mixed IO Speed
1.8 MB/s Much faster peak random mixed IO.
+50%
1.2 MB/s
SusWrite
Peak Sequential Sustained Write 60s Average
196 MB/s Slightly faster peak sustained write speed.
+9%
180 MB/s
Market Share
Based on 53,961,429 HDDs tested
Market Share
Market Share (trailing 30 days)
0.02 % 0.89 % Insanely higher market share.
+4,350%
Value
Value For Money
7.05 % 25.9 % Hugely better value.
+268%
User Rating
UBM User Rating
55 % 58 % Slightly more popular.
+5%
Price
Price (score)
$268 $64 Much cheaper.
+76%
Age
Newest
151 Months 133 Months More recent.
+12%
Capacity
Capacity
1TB 1TB

There is no doubt that the 1TB WD Raptor this is one of the fastest mechanical drives you can buy, however ... an SSD offers orders of magnitude better performance. In terms of price, the class leading 1TB Samsung 840 Evo costs around £360 vs. £185 for the Raptor. An economical approach would be to spend £130 on a blazingly fast budget SSD and £50 on a 1TB Seagate 7400.14. You would end up with 1.25TB for £180, the same price as a Raptor. Unless you need a full TB in one physical drive, the combination of SSD+1TB regular fixed drive makes a lot more sense. Even if prices for the Raptor dropped by around 50% it would still make little sense in today's market and with SSD prices continuing to march lower it's just a matter of time before the Raptor once again faces extinction... [Mar '14 HDrivePro]

MORE DETAILS

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 '14 HDrivePro]

MORE DETAILS

Hard Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) November 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]

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.
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