Average Bench: 67.3% (144th of 1015)

more Based on 68,726 user benchmarks.  Models: WDC WD30EFRX-68EUZN0, WDC WD30 EFRX-68EUZN0, WD30EFRX-68AX9N0, WDC WD30EFRX-68N, WDC WD30EFRX-68, WDC WD30EFRX-68E, WDC WD30EFRX-68N32N0, WDC WD30EFRX-68A, WDC WD30 EFRX-68AX9N0, WDC WD30 EFRX-68N32N0, WDC WD30EFRX-00Z5HB0, WDC WD30EFRX-68AX9N0, WD WD30EFRX-68EUZN0, WDC WD30EFRX-60EUZN0

With peak sequential read/write speeds of 140 and averages of 120 MB/s the 3TB WD Red is around 25% slower than the group leaders. If the Red is used in a NAS (Network Attached Storage), that won't make much difference because the vast majority of home networks still operate at Fast Ethernet (~10 MB/s), even users with faster Gigabit (~100 MB/s) networks will be limited by their network bandwidth before the drive. I could assume that any of our drives are for use in a NAS but that of course doesn't excuse sub-par performance because they could equally be used in a desktop. It's true that the power consumption (4.4W) on the Red is lower than average (6W) but the performance hit isn't justified. Even assuming continuous usage, those extra couple of watts for something like the Seagate Baracuda 7200.14 amount to a few pounds a year at most. At £133 this dive is both overpriced and offers sub-optimal performance. [Feb '14 HDrivePro]

Above average average bench

The WD Red 3TB (2012) averaged 32.6% lower than the peak scores attained by the group leaders. This isn't a great result which indicates that there are much faster alternatives on the comparison list.

Strengths

Avg. 4K Random Mixed IO Speed 0.91MB/s
Avg. 4K Random Write Speed 2.35MB/s

Average consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the WD Red 3TB (2012) is 45.6%. This is a relatively wide range which indicates that the WD Red 3TB (2012) performs inconsistently under varying real world conditions.

Weaknesses

Avg. Sequential Mixed IO Speed 74.6MB/s
Avg. Sequential Write Speed 114MB/s
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Average Bench

(Based on 68,726 samples)
Min Avg Max
72.9 Read 120 160
65.5 Write 114 147
41.3 Mixed 74.6 99
67.4 SusWrite 115 150
77.7% 106 MB/s
Min Avg Max
0.5 4K Read 0.81 1
1.1 4K Write 2.35 2.8
0.6 4K Mixed 0.91 1
178% 1.35 MB/s
User Benchmarks Bench Sequential Random 4k Deep queue 4k
The fastest HDD (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%
3TB free
Firmware: 80.00A80
SusWrite @10s intervals: 153 152 153 153 153 153 MB/s
Read 161
Write 156
Mixed 71.8
SusWrite 153
99% 136 MB/s
4K Read 1
4K Write 2.6
4K Mixed 1
201% 1.53 MB/s
68,726 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 51,617,312 HDDs tested.

 Prices

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MSRP ≈ $193 @ launch in Jul '12
EbayUS $6412 mins
AmazonUS $9124 mins
BHPhotoUS $1094 years
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Typical Red 3TB (2012) Builds (Compare 21,113 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings.
Gaming
Gaming 78%
Battleship
Desktop
Desktop 87%
Aircraft carrier
Workstation
Workstation 74%
Battleship

Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING - $135

EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER Value: 84% - Excellent Total price: $617

Popular Red 3TB (2012) compatible motherboards:

How Fast Is Your HDD? (Bench your build) Size up your PC in less than a minute.

Welcome to our freeware 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 upgrades.

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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.
Hard Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) September 2023 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.

 Comments

Designed specifically for home and small office NAS systems...

Features

  • No other drive is designed specifically for home and small office NAS systems.
  • Our exclusive technology, NASware™, makes WD Red thrive in the demanding small-NAS environment.
  • We keep power consumption low which keeps your NAS system happy and your wallet, too.

Specs

  • Interface SATA 6 Gb/s
  • Buffer Size 64 MB
  • Capacity 3 TB
  • MTBF 1,000,000 hours
  • Idle 4.10 Watts
  • active 4.40 Watts
  • Standby 0.60 Watts
  • Sleep 0.60 Watts
Added 10 years ago.

Below average

9 years ago.

Review  www.storagereview.com/...

Editors Choice (for a NAS).

Image  livedoor.blogimg.jp/...
CrystalDiskMark Benchmark Test

CrystalDiskMark Benchmark Test


Above average

10 years ago.

This should only be used in a NAS, its strong points are low operating temperature and power consumption, quiet operation and longevity. On the downside it's not particularly performant under heavy IO loads.


Your
opinion?
1015 Drives (Compared) Thousands of user benchmarks compiled into one comparison list.

See how consistently different HDDs perform with varying real world conditions. The charts also illustrate overall performance, popularity and rank.

 Frequently Asked Questions

 Best User Rated

The Best.
CPUGPUSSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $316Nvidia RTX 4060 $300Crucial MX500 250GB $30
Intel Core i5-12600K $215Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $397Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $60
Intel Core i5-12400F $140Nvidia RTX 4070-Ti $800Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $50
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $40Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $45SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $30Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $43SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $54G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $381SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
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