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

Western Digital Announces the WD Blue and WD Green Consumer SSDs

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
47,297 (7.53/day)
Location
Hyderabad, India
System Name RBMK-1000
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory 2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s) BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s) ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard Gamdias Hermes E2
Software Windows 11 Pro
Western Digital Corporation today announced WD Blue and WD Green solid state drives (SSDs), the first WD-branded SATA client SSDs. The new SSDs complement the company's industry leading family of hard drives for PCs and workstations, providing a full portfolio of WD storage devices for virtually any application.

The ultimate solution for building DIY PCs, extending the life of current PCs or upgrading existing storage, the WD Blue and WD Green SSDs boast near-maximum speed of SATA drives, best-in-class endurance and MTBF and WD Functional Integrity Testing (F.I.T.) Lab certification, resulting in quick boot times and increased program responsiveness. Consumers benefit from the combination of reliable storage with an industry-leading 1.75M hours MTTF, coupled with reduced power and less heat when compared to HDDs. Both include free, downloadable, WD SSD Dashboard software, which allows continuous performance and capacity monitoring. For consumers who are looking for instant-on responsiveness, durability, low power consumption, and ultra-thin, ultramobile form factors, the WD Blue and WD Green SSDs are the perfect options.



"There is significant demand among our core WD resellers and consumers for a broad set of flash-based storage options," says Eyal Bek, senior director, Devices Bsiness Unit, Western Digital. "The expansive reach of the WD channel enables availability of a Western Digital SSD solution. We are very proud to have developed and launched WD Blue and WD Green SSDs, and believe they'll provide the instant-on, reliability and capacity benefits our customers have been demanding."

Pricing and Availability
  • WD Blue SSD: For customers looking for enhanced SATA performance, WD Blue SSDs are optimized for multitasking and resource-heavy applications. Perfect in either a notebook or desktop PC, WD Blue SSDs are available in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB capacities, and in both 2.5-inch/7mm case or M.2 2280 form factors. The WD Blue SSD offers up to 545MB/s and 525MB/s sequential read and write speeds, and endurance up to 400 TBW. Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) ranges from $79.00 USD to $299.00 USD and will be available immediately to select customers worldwide.
  • WD Green SSD: WD Green SSDs deliver essential-class performance, and are a great option for everyday use. Available in 120GB and 240GB capacities, and in both 2.5-inch/7mm case or M.2 2280 form factors, WD Green SSDs deliver an ultra-low power-draw, enabling PC users to work longer between battery charges. WD Green features sequential read and write times of up to 540MB/s and 405MB/s and endurance up to 80TBW. WD Green SSDs will be available later this quarter to select regions and customers.
Both WD Blue SSDs and WD Green SSDs are protected by a 3-year limited warranty.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 
Joined
Aug 13, 2010
Messages
5,480 (1.04/day)
Can someone confirm or deny if the blue SSDs are re-badged Sandisk units or is or a completely new design?

either way, the slight expectation i had for new price standards is gone as if it never existed. We are getting there, just slower than we should have.
 
Joined
Mar 18, 2008
Messages
5,444 (0.89/day)
Location
Australia
System Name Night Rider | Mini LAN PC | Workhorse
Processor AMD R7 5800X3D | Ryzen 1600X | i7 970
Motherboard MSi AM4 Pro Carbon | GA- | Gigabyte EX58-UD5
Cooling Noctua U9S Twin Fan| Stock Cooler, Copper Core)| Big shairkan B
Memory 2x8GB DDR4 G.Skill Ripjaws 3600MHz| 2x8GB Corsair 3000 | 6x2GB DDR3 1300 Corsair
Video Card(s) MSI AMD 6750XT | 6500XT | MSI RX 580 8GB
Storage 1TB WD Black NVME / 250GB SSD /2TB WD Black | 500GB SSD WD, 2x1TB, 1x750 | WD 500 SSD/Seagate 320
Display(s) LG 27" 1440P| Samsung 20" S20C300L/DELL 15" | 22" DELL/19"DELL
Case LIAN LI PC-18 | Mini ATX Case (custom) | Atrix C4 9001
Audio Device(s) Onboard | Onbaord | Onboard
Power Supply Silverstone 850 | Silverstone Mini 450W | Corsair CX-750
Mouse Coolermaster Pro | Rapoo V900 | Gigabyte 6850X
Keyboard MAX Keyboard Nighthawk X8 | Creative Fatal1ty eluminx | Some POS Logitech
Software Windows 10 Pro 64 | Windows 10 Pro 64 | Windows 7 Pro 64/Windows 10 Home
Well well well it has begun!
 
Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Messages
6,881 (1.46/day)
Location
Florida
System Name natr0n-PC
Processor Ryzen 5950x-5600x | 9600k
Motherboard B450 AORUS M | Z390 UD
Cooling EK AIO 360 - 6 fan action | AIO
Memory Patriot - Viper Steel DDR4 (B-Die)(4x8GB) | Samsung DDR4 (4x8GB)
Video Card(s) EVGA 3070ti FTW
Storage Various
Display(s) Pixio PX279 Prime
Case Thermaltake Level 20 VT | Black bench
Audio Device(s) LOXJIE D10 + Kinter Amp + 6 Bookshelf Speakers Sony+JVC+Sony
Power Supply Super Flower Leadex III ARGB 80+ Gold 650W | EVGA 700 Gold
Software XP/7/8.1/10
Benchmark Scores http://valid.x86.fr/79kuh6
Can someone confirm or deny if the blue SSDs are re-badged Sandisk units or is or a completely new design?

either way, the slight expectation i had for new price standards is gone as if it never existed. We are getting there, just slower than we should have.


We have to wait for a review\teardown really.
 
Joined
Jan 31, 2012
Messages
2,671 (0.57/day)
Location
East Europe
System Name PLAHI
Processor I5-10400
Motherboard MSI MPG Z490 GAMING PLUS
Cooling 120 AIO IWONGOU
Memory 32GB Corsair LPX 2400 Mhz DDR4 CL14
Video Card(s) PNY QUADRO RTX A2000
Storage Intel 670P 512GB
Display(s) Philips 288E2A 28" 4K + 22" LG 1080p
Case Silverstone Raven 03 (RV03)
Audio Device(s) Creative Soundblaster Z
Power Supply Fractal Design IntegraM 650W
Mouse Logitech Triathlon
Keyboard REDRAGON MITRA
Software Windows 11 Home x 64
Green SSD really ? Because regular SSD draws what ? - 3W of peak power ? Come on. Green series didn't make sense even on mechanical drives IMO.
 

TheLostSwede

News Editor
Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Messages
17,769 (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

TheLostSwede

News Editor
Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Messages
17,769 (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
Green SSD really ? Because regular SSD draws what ? - 3W of peak power ? Come on. Green series didn't make sense even on mechanical drives IMO.

In this case, green just means cheap and crap I think...
 
Joined
Jan 31, 2012
Messages
2,671 (0.57/day)
Location
East Europe
System Name PLAHI
Processor I5-10400
Motherboard MSI MPG Z490 GAMING PLUS
Cooling 120 AIO IWONGOU
Memory 32GB Corsair LPX 2400 Mhz DDR4 CL14
Video Card(s) PNY QUADRO RTX A2000
Storage Intel 670P 512GB
Display(s) Philips 288E2A 28" 4K + 22" LG 1080p
Case Silverstone Raven 03 (RV03)
Audio Device(s) Creative Soundblaster Z
Power Supply Fractal Design IntegraM 650W
Mouse Logitech Triathlon
Keyboard REDRAGON MITRA
Software Windows 11 Home x 64
In this case, green just means cheap and crap I think...

Yep, when I actually read the news I got it, but still....they rehash what their users already know from previous branding they have done. Which probably makes sense, but it is a double-edge tactic. I don't think first-hand associations in people will be for "everyday use" .
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Messages
13,791 (1.87/day)
Green SSD really ? Because regular SSD draws what ? - 3W of peak power ? Come on. Green series didn't make sense even on mechanical drives IMO.

Green just means the series, not green as "eco". They mentioned it, but it's just series really...

Green = Crap but cheap
Blue = Mid range
Black = High end
RE/Velociraptor = Enthusiast
Red/Gold/Pink/Rainbow = special purpose like surveillance

Though it's interesting to see WD finally going SSD. Too bad they have no 2TB drives, really interested if this is just Sandisk drives with new sticker or new design. Either way they'll be pretty good imo.
 
Joined
Sep 15, 2011
Messages
6,761 (1.39/day)
Processor Intel® Core™ i7-13700K
Motherboard Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX
Cooling Noctua NH-D15
Memory 32GB(2x16) DDR5@6600MHz G-Skill Trident Z5
Video Card(s) ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 3080 AMP Holo
Storage 2TB SK Platinum P41 SSD + 4TB SanDisk Ultra SSD + 500GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD
Display(s) Acer Predator X34 3440x1440@100Hz G-Sync
Case NZXT PHANTOM410-BK
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi Titanium PCIe
Power Supply Corsair 850W
Mouse Logitech Hero G502 SE
Software Windows 11 Pro - 64bit
Benchmark Scores 30FPS in NFS:Rivals
Green just means the series, not green as "eco". They mentioned it, but it's just series really...

Green = Crap but cheap
Blue = Mid range
Black = High end
RE/Velociraptor = Enthusiast
Red/Gold/Pink/Rainbow = special purpose like surveillance

Though it's interesting to see WD finally going SSD. Too bad they have no 2TB drives, really interested if this is just Sandisk drives with new sticker or new design. Either way they'll be pretty good imo.
I want a 2TB Rainbow drive, thank you very much.
 
Joined
Feb 18, 2013
Messages
2,186 (0.51/day)
Location
Deez Nutz, bozo!
System Name Rainbow Puke Machine :D
Processor Intel Core i5-11400 (MCE enabled, PL removed)
Motherboard ASUS STRIX B560-G GAMING WIFI mATX
Cooling Corsair H60i RGB PRO XT AIO + HD120 RGB (x3) + SP120 RGB PRO (x3) + Commander PRO
Memory Corsair Vengeance RGB RT 2 x 8GB 3200MHz DDR4 C16
Video Card(s) Zotac RTX2060 Twin Fan 6GB GDDR6 (Stock)
Storage Corsair MP600 PRO 1TB M.2 PCIe Gen4 x4 SSD
Display(s) LG 29WK600-W Ultrawide 1080p IPS Monitor (primary display)
Case Corsair iCUE 220T RGB Airflow (White) w/Lighting Node CORE + Lighting Node PRO RGB LED Strips (x4).
Audio Device(s) ASUS ROG Supreme FX S1220A w/ Savitech SV3H712 AMP + Sonic Studio 3 suite
Power Supply Corsair RM750x 80 Plus Gold Fully Modular
Mouse Corsair M65 RGB FPS Gaming (White)
Keyboard Corsair K60 PRO RGB Mechanical w/ Cherry VIOLA Switches
Software Windows 11 Professional x64 (Update 23H2)
Kinda ok though... for performance wise it's not consistent or as durable as Samsung's 850 & 950 Series lineup IMO...
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Messages
13,791 (1.87/day)
If these are the Extreme drives, they are. Sandisk Extreme were kinda the only drives that had consistent great performance afaik.
 

Ruru

S.T.A.R.S.
Joined
Dec 16, 2012
Messages
12,979 (2.96/day)
Location
Jyväskylä, Finland
System Name 4K-gaming / media-PC
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X / Intel Core i7-6700K
Motherboard Asus ROG Crosshair VII Hero / Asus Z170-K
Cooling Alphacool Eisbaer 360 / Alphacool Eisbaer 240
Memory 32GB DDR4-3466 / 16GB DDR4-3000
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 3080 TUF OC / Powercolor RX 6700 XT
Storage 3.3TB of SSDs / several small SSDs
Display(s) Acer 27" 4K120 IPS + Lenovo 32" 4K60 IPS
Case Corsair 4000D AF White / DeepCool CC560 WH
Audio Device(s) Sony WH-CN720N
Power Supply EVGA G2 750W / Fractal ION Gold 550W
Mouse Logitech MX518 / Logitech G400s
Keyboard Roccat Vulcan 121 AIMO / NOS C450 Mini Pro
VR HMD Oculus Rift CV1
Software Windows 11 Pro / Windows 11 Pro
Benchmark Scores They run Crysis
Green SSD really ? Because regular SSD draws what ? - 3W of peak power ? Come on. Green series didn't make sense even on mechanical drives IMO.
What about the throttling of Samsung 950 Pros under heavy load? There are differences.
 
Joined
Nov 5, 2014
Messages
714 (0.19/day)
Green just means the series, not green as "eco". They mentioned it, but it's just series really...

With their mechanical HDD's green meant low power/eco, it's kinda lol that their SSDs are just using green/blue to differentiate size.
 
Joined
Apr 1, 2014
Messages
503 (0.13/day)
System Name Personal Rig
Processor Intel i5 3570K
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V
Cooling Noctua NH-U12P Push/Pull
Memory 8GB 1600Mhz Vengeance
Video Card(s) Intel HD4000
Storage Seagate 1TB & 180GB Intel 330
Display(s) AOC I2360P
Case Enermax Vostok
Audio Device(s) Onboard realtek
Power Supply Corsair TX650
Mouse Microsoft OEM 2.0
Keyboard Logitech Internet Pro White
Software Legal ;)
Benchmark Scores Very big
Joined
Jul 14, 2008
Messages
872 (0.15/day)
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
System Name Ryzen/Laptop/htpc
Processor R9 3900X/i7 6700HQ/i7 2600
Motherboard AsRock X470 Taichi/Acer/ Gigabyte H77M
Cooling Corsair H115i pro with 2 Noctua NF-A14 chromax/OEM/Noctua NH-L12i
Memory G.Skill Trident Z 32GB @3200/16GB DDR4 2666 HyperX impact/24GB
Video Card(s) TUL Red Dragon Vega 56/Intel HD 530 - GTX 950m/ 970 GTX
Storage 970pro NVMe 512GB,Samsung 860evo 1TB, 3x4TB WD gold/Transcend 830s, 1TB Toshiba/Adata 256GB + 1TB WD
Display(s) Philips FTV 32 inch + Dell 2407WFP-HC/OEM/Sony KDL-42W828B
Case Phanteks Enthoo Luxe/Acer Barebone/Enermax
Audio Device(s) SoundBlasterX AE-5 (Dell A525)(HyperX Cloud Alpha)/mojo/soundblaster xfi gamer
Power Supply Seasonic focus+ 850 platinum (SSR-850PX)/165 Watt power brick/Enermax 650W
Mouse G502 Hero/M705 Marathon/G305 Hero Lightspeed
Keyboard G19/oem/Steelseries Apex 300
Software Win10 pro 64bit
Well well well it has begun!
indeed! it's weird actually, in my eyes.. the blue ones look nice enough, and their endurance rating seems reasonable enough, the greens on the other hand look like cheap crap for office use.
 
Joined
Apr 1, 2014
Messages
503 (0.13/day)
System Name Personal Rig
Processor Intel i5 3570K
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V
Cooling Noctua NH-U12P Push/Pull
Memory 8GB 1600Mhz Vengeance
Video Card(s) Intel HD4000
Storage Seagate 1TB & 180GB Intel 330
Display(s) AOC I2360P
Case Enermax Vostok
Audio Device(s) Onboard realtek
Power Supply Corsair TX650
Mouse Microsoft OEM 2.0
Keyboard Logitech Internet Pro White
Software Legal ;)
Benchmark Scores Very big
I'm surprised Seagate still has nothing for consumers. And they've bought SandForce long ago, haven't they?
Sandforce is garbage, i'm glad they didn't actually do anything significant with it.
 
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
207 (0.04/day)
Aww they could have made the PCB green and had a black PCB if they ever came out with that edition. Missed opportunity for the most colorful drive company.
 
Joined
Jun 4, 2004
Messages
480 (0.06/day)
System Name Blackbird
Processor AMD Threadripper 3960X 24-core
Motherboard Gigabyte TRX40 Aorus Master
Cooling Full custom-loop water cooling, mostly Aqua Computer and EKWB stuff!
Memory 4x 16GB G.Skill Trident-Z RGB @3733-CL14
Video Card(s) Nvidia RTX 3090 FE
Storage Samsung 950PRO 512GB, Crusial P5 2TB, Samsung 850PRO 1TB
Display(s) LG 38GN950-B 38" IPS TFT, Dell U3011 30" IPS TFT
Case CaseLabs TH10A
Audio Device(s) Edifier S1000DB
Power Supply ASUS ROG Thor 1200W (SeaSonic)
Mouse Logitech MX Master
Keyboard SteelSeries Apex M800
Software MS Windows 10 Pro for Workstation
Benchmark Scores A lot.
What about the throttling of Samsung 950 Pros under heavy load? There are differences.

The Samsung 950 PRO is actually a PCIe drive and as such not directly comparable to these SATA drives. It has about 4x the performance of these WD SATA SSDs, even when throttled. So these performance numbers had to come from somwhere, I guess.

What Samsung did was just tuning the performance of these drives to be as high as possible for its intended usage. During normal desktop usage, these drives will not throttle. The enterprise versions of said SSDs were tuned differently, had a bit lower initial performance, but don't throttle in typical environments even under heavy load.
 

Ruru

S.T.A.R.S.
Joined
Dec 16, 2012
Messages
12,979 (2.96/day)
Location
Jyväskylä, Finland
System Name 4K-gaming / media-PC
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X / Intel Core i7-6700K
Motherboard Asus ROG Crosshair VII Hero / Asus Z170-K
Cooling Alphacool Eisbaer 360 / Alphacool Eisbaer 240
Memory 32GB DDR4-3466 / 16GB DDR4-3000
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 3080 TUF OC / Powercolor RX 6700 XT
Storage 3.3TB of SSDs / several small SSDs
Display(s) Acer 27" 4K120 IPS + Lenovo 32" 4K60 IPS
Case Corsair 4000D AF White / DeepCool CC560 WH
Audio Device(s) Sony WH-CN720N
Power Supply EVGA G2 750W / Fractal ION Gold 550W
Mouse Logitech MX518 / Logitech G400s
Keyboard Roccat Vulcan 121 AIMO / NOS C450 Mini Pro
VR HMD Oculus Rift CV1
Software Windows 11 Pro / Windows 11 Pro
Benchmark Scores They run Crysis
The Samsung 950 PRO is actually a PCIe drive and as such not directly comparable to these SATA drives. It has about 4x the performance of these WD SATA SSDs, even when throttled. So these performance numbers had to come from somwhere, I guess.

What Samsung did was just tuning the performance of these drives to be as high as possible for its intended usage. During normal desktop usage, these drives will not throttle. The enterprise versions of said SSDs were tuned differently, had a bit lower initial performance, but don't throttle in typical environments even under heavy load.
Ah, forgot truly about that, my bad. Haven't just gotten into these so much, at least yet.
 
Joined
Sep 15, 2011
Messages
6,761 (1.39/day)
Processor Intel® Core™ i7-13700K
Motherboard Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX
Cooling Noctua NH-D15
Memory 32GB(2x16) DDR5@6600MHz G-Skill Trident Z5
Video Card(s) ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 3080 AMP Holo
Storage 2TB SK Platinum P41 SSD + 4TB SanDisk Ultra SSD + 500GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD
Display(s) Acer Predator X34 3440x1440@100Hz G-Sync
Case NZXT PHANTOM410-BK
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi Titanium PCIe
Power Supply Corsair 850W
Mouse Logitech Hero G502 SE
Software Windows 11 Pro - 64bit
Benchmark Scores 30FPS in NFS:Rivals
Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Messages
13,791 (1.87/day)
Enterprise isn't quite consumer, is it? Besides, who cares about 60TB drives. Most people even today don't have 2TB HDD's, let alone SSD's...
 
Joined
Sep 5, 2004
Messages
1,959 (0.26/day)
Location
The Kingdom of Norway
Processor Ryzen 5900X
Motherboard Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX 1.1
Cooling Noctua NB-U12A
Memory 2x 32GB Fury DDR4 3200mhz
Video Card(s) PowerColor Radeon 7800 XT Hellhound
Storage Kingston FURY Renegade 2TB PCIe 4.0
Display(s) 2x Dell U2412M
Case Phanteks P400A
Audio Device(s) Hifimediy Sabre 9018 USB DAC
Power Supply Corsair AX850 (from 2012)
Software Windows 10?
Ew M.2 SATA SSDs :/
 
Top