Today, 4th May, Western Digital announced and launched their latest range of storage devices, their Solid State Drive range, in the form of the WD Blue and WD Green SSDs.
At a small gathering of media and industry partners at the Pivot Hotel in Monte Casino, Johannesburg, WD showcased their latest offerings. After having acquired SanDisk in 2016, WD finally enters the SSD market with products that are more than able to compete with others in the industry.
Noted on the day, South Africa has announced itself as an emerging market, with users moving from standard storage options based on size, now seeking additional speed performances and increased reliability. The Green drive delivers affordability to customers looking to save on big performances, while the Blue drives are aimed at the DIY computing enthusiasts, gamers and content creators looking for better performances and greater reliability.
WD has highlighted early benchmarks for their drives compared to other leading competitors, more often than not easily outpacing the competition on read and write speeds, and more so on reliability. Both drives are available in 2.5-inch/7mm case or M.2 2280 form factors and carry a 3-year warranty.
WD Blue SSD
- Available in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB capacities
- 2.5-inch/7mm case or M.2 2280 form factors
- Sequential read and write times at 540MB/s and 500MB/s for the 250 GB drive and 545MB/s and 525MB/s for the 500 GB and 1TB drive, with endurance times at 100 TBW (250 GB), 200 TBW (500 GB) and 400 TBW (1TB)
- Recommended retail price starting from of R1,429.00
WD Green SDD
- Available in 120GB and 240B capacities
- 2.5-inch/7mm case or M.2 2280 form factors
- Sequential read and write times at 540MB/s and 405MB/s and endurance at 40TBW for 120GB drive and 80TBW for 240GB drive
- Recommended retail price starting from R799.00