• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Western Digital Debuts World's First SSD+HDD Dual Drive

Joined
Dec 6, 2011
Messages
4,784 (1.01/day)
Location
Still on the East Side
WD, a Western Digital company and storage industry leader, today announced the release of the WD Black2 dual drive, a unique storage innovation that fuses a 2.5-inch 120 GB solid state drive (SSD) with a 1 TB hard disk drive (HDD) to offer a powerful dual drive solution. Perfect for consumers and service providers looking to upgrade notebooks, small form factor desktops, and single-slot and all-in-one (AIO) systems with both SSD level performance and HDD capacity, the WD Black2 dual drive connects through a single cable and fits into a conventional 9.5 mm slot.

"Our customers told us they like our Solid State Hybrid Drive technology, but our tech savvy users asked for more control of where they store their data," said Matt Rutledge, senior vice president of WD's Storage Technology business unit. "The WD Black2 dual drives empower our customers to enjoy SSD performance and access high capacity storage in a no-compromise package. The WD Black2 dual drive is a direct result of our interaction with our customer base through WD Labs initiatives. WD devised its beta labs program to provide an exclusive testing arena for key customers and technology influencers of existing and emerging WD storage products."





2-in-1
Designed for enthusiasts, creative professionals, gamers and PC builders, the WD Black2 dual drive provides improved overall drive capacity, performance, and reliability, while offering the flexibility to choose how and where their data is stored. Utilizing the benefits of both flash and magnetic disks, WD Black2 dual drives offload data usage from the SSD to the HDD, which increases endurance and life of the SSD. Users maintain greater data control, which can eliminate the need and expense of cloud-based storage.

WD Black2 is free of caching algorithms and benefits from SATA 6 Gb/second interface speed. It is neatly packaged in a standard 9.5 mm, 2.5-inch form factor with legacy SATA connector, making the WD Black2 dual drive compatible with popular PC operating systems ranging from Windows XP to Windows 8.1.

Price and Availability
Available at wdstore.com and through etailers such as Newegg.com, WD Black2 dual drives are covered by a five-year limited warranty. MSRP for the 2.5-inch 120 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD WD Black2 dual drive, model #: (WD1001X06XDTL) is $299.00 USD. Additional information about WD Black2 dual drives and limited warranty terms may be found on the company website at http://products.wd.com/wdblack2.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 

TheLostSwede

News Editor
Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Messages
17,725 (2.42/day)
Location
Sweden
System Name Overlord Mk MLI
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 SE with offsets
Memory 32GB Team T-Create Expert DDR5 6000 MHz @ CL30-34-34-68
Video Card(s) Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phantom GS
Storage 1TB Solidigm P44 Pro, 2 TB Corsair MP600 Pro, 2TB Kingston KC3000
Display(s) Acer XV272K LVbmiipruzx 4K@160Hz
Case Fractal Design Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s) Corsair Virtuoso SE
Power Supply be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W
Mouse Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard Corsair K70 Max
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores https://valid.x86.fr/yfsd9w
Now we're talking, this is perfect for notebooks, might just have to get one of these for my work notebook...
 
Joined
Oct 17, 2012
Messages
9,781 (2.20/day)
Location
Massachusetts
System Name Americas cure is the death of Social Justice & Political Correctness
Processor i7-11700K
Motherboard Asrock Z590 Extreme wifi 6E
Cooling Noctua NH-U12A
Memory 32GB Corsair RGB fancy boi 5000
Video Card(s) RTX 3090 Reference
Storage Samsung 970 Evo 1Tb + Samsung 970 Evo 500Gb
Display(s) Dell - 27" LED QHD G-SYNC x2
Case Fractal Design Meshify-C
Audio Device(s) on board
Power Supply Seasonic Focus+ Gold 1000 Watt
Mouse Logitech G502 spectrum
Keyboard AZIO MGK-1 RGB (Kaith Blue)
Software Win 10 Professional 64 bit
Benchmark Scores the MLGeesiest
looks interesting, but kinda pricey. I know that SSD's are dropping in Cost , but STILL not enough of a drop for ME to justify the purchase.......I DO like the way that this is going though, I wonder if there will be any issue's with the O.S. recognizing the Drive, or if they are TOTALLY separate. Very interesting.
 
Joined
Aug 19, 2011
Messages
529 (0.11/day)
System Name As Himself
Processor 2700X
Motherboard Asrock 370X ThaiChi
Cooling Custom Liquid
Memory 4133MHz Team
Video Card(s) Radeon VII
Storage Samsung 512 SSD's
Display(s) Asus "24 144Hz
Case Tt P5
Audio Device(s) Asus Essence One Muses/Sparkos
Power Supply EVGA 1200
Mouse RAT ProX
Keyboard Drop CTRL
Software W10 steam futuremark
too bad it's so expensive... i could see this as a good alternative to hdd+cacheSSD
 

TheLostSwede

News Editor
Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Messages
17,725 (2.42/day)
Location
Sweden
System Name Overlord Mk MLI
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 SE with offsets
Memory 32GB Team T-Create Expert DDR5 6000 MHz @ CL30-34-34-68
Video Card(s) Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phantom GS
Storage 1TB Solidigm P44 Pro, 2 TB Corsair MP600 Pro, 2TB Kingston KC3000
Display(s) Acer XV272K LVbmiipruzx 4K@160Hz
Case Fractal Design Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s) Corsair Virtuoso SE
Power Supply be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W
Mouse Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard Corsair K70 Max
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores https://valid.x86.fr/yfsd9w
Uhm, I just changed my mind, I think I'll get an mSATA SSD instead...

"Performance Specifications (SSD) Target Performance Internal transfer rate (read, max) 350 MB/s"

Install video if anyone cares http://bcove.me/idzt0sbj
It looks like the OS only sees the SSD part initially and then you have to install something to make the HDD part appear.
 
Joined
Apr 18, 2013
Messages
1,260 (0.30/day)
Location
Artem S. Tashkinov
It must have been made so that it represents two different storage devices to the OS.

Right now it's Windows specific, and if its SSD part dies, your whole data is jeopardized ('cause you cannot access the other part from another computer which doesn't have specific WD software installed). Also WD says, that SMART software is incompatible with it - so you have to trust WD's word whether your two drives are OK or not.

Thank you, but no, thank you.
 

TheLostSwede

News Editor
Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Messages
17,725 (2.42/day)
Location
Sweden
System Name Overlord Mk MLI
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 SE with offsets
Memory 32GB Team T-Create Expert DDR5 6000 MHz @ CL30-34-34-68
Video Card(s) Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phantom GS
Storage 1TB Solidigm P44 Pro, 2 TB Corsair MP600 Pro, 2TB Kingston KC3000
Display(s) Acer XV272K LVbmiipruzx 4K@160Hz
Case Fractal Design Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s) Corsair Virtuoso SE
Power Supply be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W
Mouse Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard Corsair K70 Max
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores https://valid.x86.fr/yfsd9w
Joined
May 14, 2012
Messages
891 (0.19/day)
Location
US
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 1600X
Motherboard AsRock X370 Taichi
Cooling Corsair H60 Liquid Cooling
Memory 16 GB CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 3000 Mhz (Running at 2933)
Video Card(s) EVGA FTW2 GTX 1070Ti
Storage 740GB of SSDs, 7 TB's of HDDs
Display(s) LG 27UD58P-B 27” IPS 4K
Case Phanteks Enthos Pro M
Audio Device(s) Integrated
Power Supply EVGA 750 P2
Mouse Mionix Naos 8200
Keyboard G Skill Ripjaws RGB Mechanical Keyboard
Software Windows 10 Pro
Its expensive but it may be worth it considering most users don't have more than 1 hard drive bay on their laptops. This would have been great on my HTPC but too bad I already have a 128 GB SSD in it...
 
Joined
Feb 2, 2011
Messages
561 (0.11/day)
System Name Salamander
Processor Ryzen 5 3600 @ 4.325ghz 1.206v
Motherboard Asrock X370 Taichi
Cooling EK Supremacy Evo | Black Ice Nemesis 360GTS XFlow | Noiseblocker BlackSilent Pro 120mm x 3
Memory Team T-Force Xtreem 2x8GB DDR4 3733 @ 3733mhz c16 1.4v | IF @ 1866mhz
Video Card(s) XFX RX-470 RS Single Fan flashed to RX-570 @ stock water-cooled
Storage Samsung 850 Evo 256gb M.2 | Crucial M4 128GB | WD Blue 1TB | WD Blue 500GB 2.5" | Toshiba 2TB 2.5"
Display(s) LG 27MP68VQ 27" 1920x1080 75hz IPS Freesync monitor
Case Fractal Design Define C
Audio Device(s) onboard
Power Supply Seasonic Prime Gold 650w
Mouse Steelseries Kana White
Keyboard Steelseries 6GV2 Cherry MX Black
Software Windows 10 Pro N
if the hdd craps out? Can we still use the ssd part?
 
Joined
Oct 26, 2011
Messages
3,145 (0.66/day)
Processor 8700k Intel
Motherboard z370 MSI Godlike Gaming
Cooling Triple Aquacomputer AMS Copper 840 with D5
Memory TridentZ RGB G.Skill C16 3600MHz
Video Card(s) GTX 1080 Ti
Storage Crucial MX SSDs
Display(s) Dell U3011 2560x1600 + Dell 2408WFP 1200x1920 (Portrait)
Case Core P5 Thermaltake
Audio Device(s) Essence STX
Power Supply AX 1500i
Mouse Logitech
Keyboard Corsair
Software Win10
Meh, a 512 GB Crucial M500 retails around the price of this thing.

I don't see this as an attractive solution over an SSD, even if it's half its capacity, it could have been a good product a couple of years ago when people were asking for more than a measly 8GB flash storage on hybrid HDDs.

Could make kinda sense for laptops but I'd still take that 512 GB ssd to be honest.
 
Joined
Apr 16, 2010
Messages
2,070 (0.39/day)
System Name iJayo
Processor i7 14700k
Motherboard Asus ROG STRIX z790-E wifi
Cooling Pearless Assasi
Memory 32 gigs Corsair Vengence
Video Card(s) Nvidia RTX 2070 Super
Storage 1tb 840 evo, Itb samsung M.2 ssd 1 & 3 tb seagate hdd, 120 gig Hyper X ssd
Display(s) 42" Nec retail display monitor/ 34" Dell curved 165hz monitor
Case O11 mini
Audio Device(s) M-Audio monitors
Power Supply LIan li 750 mini
Mouse corsair Dark Saber
Keyboard Roccat Vulcan 121
Software Window 11 pro
Benchmark Scores meh... feel me on the battle field!
GREAT IDEA..... like what was said earlier ...too pricey. You could simply get a 500 gig ssd for the same price. Great option for those who must have with 80+ gigs of itunes or family photos at their finger tips at all time while randomly downloading anything else that looks cool.
 
Last edited:
Joined
May 5, 2008
Messages
3,318 (0.55/day)
Location
Dallas, Tx
Processor Intel i5-3570K @ 3.4Ghz
Motherboard Asrock LGA1155 Z77 Extreme 4
Cooling Cooler Master Evo 212
Memory 16GB (4X4) G.Skill Ripjaw 2 DDR3-1600
Video Card(s) Nvidia gForce GTX 660ti
Storage 1x Samsung 840 EVO 256GB 6Gb/s, 1x WD 500GB 6Gb/s, 1x WD 80GB 3Gb/s
Display(s) ASUS VH242H Black + 2 HP 2311x 23" LED
Case Fractal Design R4
Audio Device(s) Realtek OnBoard Both
Power Supply Cooler Master 850w
Software Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1
Been wanting this for a long time, best laptop drive.
 
Joined
Nov 2, 2007
Messages
136 (0.02/day)
System Name blackened 24/7
Processor Intel Core i7-2600K @ 4.4GHz
Motherboard Asus MAXIMUS IV GENE-Z/GEN3
Cooling Corsair H60
Memory 4 x 4Gb Corsair Vengance ddr3 1866Mhz
Video Card(s) Asus Strix 1050ti 4gb
Storage Corsair Force 3 SSD 120gb+4TB WD HD
Display(s) Acer S271HL 27" HD LED 1920x1080
Case Corsair Obsidian 650D
Audio Device(s) X-Fi 2 MB
Power Supply Corsair HX650w
Software Win10 Pro
Can't wait for a review...
Big storage+fast boot time....
Wanna see how much is this new tech gonna cost.
 

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder
Joined
Nov 22, 2005
Messages
28,473 (4.09/day)
Location
Indiana, USA
Processor Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz
Motherboard AsRock Z470 Taichi
Cooling Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans
Memory 32GB DDR4-3600
Video Card(s) RTX 2070 Super
Storage 500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache
Display(s) Acer Nitro VG280K 4K 28"
Case Fractal Design Define S
Audio Device(s) Onboard is good enough for me
Power Supply eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3
Software Windows 10 Pro x64
It must have been made so that it represents two different storage devices to the OS.

Right now it's Windows specific, and if its SSD part dies, your whole data is jeopardized ('cause you cannot access the other part from another computer which doesn't have specific WD software installed). Also WD says, that SMART software is incompatible with it - so you have to trust WD's word whether your two drives are OK or not.

Thank you, but no, thank you.

At actually shows up as on large storage device to the OS, with a 120GB Partition and a 1TB Partition. I'm not sure if it requires special drivers to see the second partition after you initially set it up.
 

Athlon2K15

HyperVtX™
Joined
Sep 27, 2006
Messages
7,909 (1.19/day)
Location
O-H-I-O
Processor Intel Core i9 11900K
Motherboard MSI Z590 Carbon EK X
Cooling Custom Water
Memory Team DDR4 4000MHz
Video Card(s) ASUS TUF RTX 3080 OC
Storage WD WN850 1TB
Display(s) 43" LG NanoCell 4K 120Hz
Power Supply Asus Thor 1200w
Mouse Asus Strix Evolve
Keyboard Asus Strix Claymore
Joined
Nov 2, 2007
Messages
136 (0.02/day)
System Name blackened 24/7
Processor Intel Core i7-2600K @ 4.4GHz
Motherboard Asus MAXIMUS IV GENE-Z/GEN3
Cooling Corsair H60
Memory 4 x 4Gb Corsair Vengance ddr3 1866Mhz
Video Card(s) Asus Strix 1050ti 4gb
Storage Corsair Force 3 SSD 120gb+4TB WD HD
Display(s) Acer S271HL 27" HD LED 1920x1080
Case Corsair Obsidian 650D
Audio Device(s) X-Fi 2 MB
Power Supply Corsair HX650w
Software Win10 Pro
thanks for that. I really wanna see the good/the bad/the unique features of this Dynamic Duo
 
Joined
Apr 19, 2012
Messages
122 (0.03/day)
Location
San Diego, California
System Name Mi Negra
Processor Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processo
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3-iSSD LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Cooling Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 with 92mm PWM Fan
Memory Patriot Viper Xtreme Series DDR3 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) PC3-12800 1600MHz
Video Card(s) Nvidia Founders Edition GeForce GTX 1080 8GB GDDR5X PCI Express 3.0 Graphics Card
Storage Samsung 750 EVO 250GB 2.5" 250G SATA III Internal SSD 3-D 3D Vertical Solid State Drive MZ-750250BW
Display(s) Samsung UN40JU6500 40" Class 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV
Case In Win 303 Black SECC Steel/Tempered Glass Case ATX Mid Tower, Dual Chambered/High Air Computer Case
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional 70SB088600002 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz P
Power Supply Antec High Current Pro HCP-1200 1200W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Yes, High Cur
Mouse Logitech G700s Black 13 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB RF Wireless Laser 5700 dpi Gaming Mouse
Keyboard Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
Software Microsoft Windows 10 Professional 64-bit
Why cant I pull it out of the screen after throwing money at it?
 
Joined
Aug 18, 2013
Messages
43 (0.01/day)
Location
Australia
System Name DAW/Gaming
Processor 2500k @ 4.4ghz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68 Vpro
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB ripjaws 1866
Video Card(s) 2x 6950 :(
Storage Intel 120gb and Kingston 120gb SSDs in RAID 0 + 2x1TB HDDs RAID1 + 3TB of HDDs
Display(s) PLP; two 20" 1200x1600 and one 30" 2560x1600
Case Thermaltake Chaser A31 (in white) with 6 case fans.
Audio Device(s) MOTU Ultralite Mk3
Power Supply TX750 :O
Software Win 7 ultimate 64 bit
Benchmark Scores I once chugged 2 coronas at once, not consecutively, at the same time.
..the WD Black2 dual drive connects through a single cable and fits into a conventional 9.5 mm (3.5") slot....

....MSRP for the 2.5-inch 120 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD WD Black2 dual drive...


So is it 3.5" or 2.5"?
 

Athlon2K15

HyperVtX™
Joined
Sep 27, 2006
Messages
7,909 (1.19/day)
Location
O-H-I-O
Processor Intel Core i9 11900K
Motherboard MSI Z590 Carbon EK X
Cooling Custom Water
Memory Team DDR4 4000MHz
Video Card(s) ASUS TUF RTX 3080 OC
Storage WD WN850 1TB
Display(s) 43" LG NanoCell 4K 120Hz
Power Supply Asus Thor 1200w
Mouse Asus Strix Evolve
Keyboard Asus Strix Claymore
Joined
Apr 16, 2013
Messages
549 (0.13/day)
Location
Bulgaria
System Name Black Knight | White Queen
Processor Intel Core i9-10940X (28 cores) | Intel Core i7-5775C (8 cores)
Motherboard ASUS ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore X299G | ASUS Sabertooth Z97 Mark S (White)
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black | Xigmatek Dark Knight SD-1283 Night Hawk (White)
Memory G.SKILL Trident Z RGB 4x8GB DDR4 3600MHz CL16 | Corsair Vengeance LP 4x4GB DDR3L 1600MHz CL9 (White)
Video Card(s) ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 OC | KFA2/Galax GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Hall of Fame Edition
Storage Samsung 990 Pro 2TB, 980 Pro 1TB, 850 Pro 256GB, 840 Pro 256GB, WD 10TB+ (incl. VelociRaptors)
Display(s) Dell Alienware AW2721D 240Hz| LG OLED evo C4 48" 144Hz
Case Corsair 7000D AIRFLOW (Black) | NZXT ??? w/ ASUS DRW-24B1ST
Audio Device(s) ASUS Xonar Essence STX | Realtek ALC1150
Power Supply Enermax Revolution 1250W 85+ | Super Flower Leadex Gold 650W (White)
Mouse Razer Basilisk Ultimate, Razer Naga Trinity | Razer Mamba 16000
Keyboard Razer Blackwidow Chroma V2 (Orange switch) | Razer Ornata Chroma
Software Windows 10 Pro 64bit
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 30, 2008
Messages
1,768 (0.30/day)
System Name Lailalo
Processor Ryzen 9 5900X Boosts to 4.95Ghz
Motherboard Asus TUF Gaming X570-Plus (WIFI
Cooling Noctua
Memory 32GB DDR4 3200 Corsair Vengeance
Video Card(s) XFX 7900XT 20GB
Storage Samsung 970 Pro Plus 1TB, Crucial 1TB MX500 SSD, Segate 3TB
Display(s) LG Ultrawide 29in @ 2560x1080
Case Coolermaster Storm Sniper
Power Supply XPG 1000W
Mouse G602
Keyboard G510s
Software Windows 10 Pro / Windows 10 Home
Ya know I really appreciate WD for continuing the tradition of not listing RPMs on HDDs. Yeah they list them on some of their models but they have many, mostly low end or external where they purposely omit it. No surprise they are omitting it here in preference of showing off how amazingly they packed both together. WD wants you to be amazed by that, not by the specs.
 
Top