Western Digital did not reveal the amount of platters inside its new drives or their technology, but it is highly likely that the new HDDs use latest-generation perpendicular magnetic recording to guarantee maximum performance. The 6TB version of the WD Black is shipping right now for a suggested retail price of $294.00.
There doesn’t seem to be any updates to the firmware (NASware 3.0, introduced last year, is retained).
The 5TB Black comes in at $264 while the 6TB comes in at $294.
Transfer times for the Red Pro now clock in at 214MBps.
While not the most glamorous upgrade you can buy for your rig, having a high performing yet dependable hard drive is definitely a necessity in our increasingly digital world.
Efficient dual processing: A dual-core processor offers twice the processing capability as a single-core processor to maximize drive performance for faster read and write speeds. Western Digital says that the Black 6TB drive is up to 29% faster than the Black 4TB version in maximum data throughput.
“Combining maximum system performance with generous capacity, the expansion of WD Black to 6 TB allows gamers, enthusiasts and creatives to push the boundaries of personalization without compromise”, said Cindi Grace, senior vice president of WD storage technology group.
Increased Reliability: StableTrac Technology secures the motor shaft inside of the hard drive to increase reliability, which helps to impact due to system-induced vibrations from other components. This movement of cache for read data helps to reduce congestion and increase overall performance.
High-capacity drives are nothing new, but with sister company HGST already rocking a 10TB drive thanks to its helium technology, the arrival of these drives aimed at the individual rather than enterprise are a first for WD, and reflect a segment of the market that would still much rather keep its stuff in one place. The drives feature five-year limited warranty. And they also come with the added comfort of a 5-year limited warranty.
Western Digital has announced a new Black 6TB Hard Drive. Available in 5TB or 6TB, they can work as either a stand-alone drive, or complement your desktop’s solid state drive to significantly bump up storage capacity. The Red Pro drives carry a 5 year warranty.
As for the WD Red Pro drives, these are NAS-focused and include a multi-axis shock sensor that, according to WD, will detect shock events and adjust each read-write function accordingly.
Vibration Protection: Its hardware vibration compensation technology monitors the drive to correct both linear and rotational vibration in real time.
Built for medium to large-sized businesses, the WD RED Pro specifications show that the drives are designed for NAS solutions with up to 16 bays.