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

Western Digital Launches 2.5-inch WD Red Hard Drives for NAS

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
46,362 (7.68/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
WD, a Western Digital company and storage industry leader, today announced the expansion of its category-leading WD Red line of SATA hard drives specifically designed for home and small office NAS (network attached storage) systems with one- to five-drive bays. WD Red hard drives are now available in a 2.5-inch form factor offering 1 TB and 750 GB capacities and a new 3.5-inch 4 TB capacity. Powered by NASware 2.0 technology, WD Red is compatibility-tested with top NAS system manufacturers and optimized for performance and reduced power consumption.

"WD defined the NAS drive category by leading the development of hard drives specifically built for small NAS environments," said Matt Rutledge, vice president of client storage for WD. "The WD Red product line serves the unique environment of NAS and meets the growing demand for affordable, reliable, and compatible storage.



Through dialogue with our NAS partners and customer advocacy for WD Red, we saw the need for additional capacity in the 3.5-inch form factor and delivered our new 4 TB offering. We also wanted to deliver a highly reliable and compatible 2.5-inch hard drive built specifically for small NAS. This small form factor enables our customers to use high capacity NAS hard drives with high performance, quiet operation and low power consumption in compact NAS enclosures. We also see an opportunity in smaller-footprint NAS systems, media players and other industrial applications. Our pride in our product and our vision is shared with our customers."

Top industry analysts see NAS continuing to represent one of the fastest-growing segments of the worldwide SOHO storage systems market. From both revenue and terabyte perspectives, NAS will continue to experience strong growth through the forecast period (to 2015), driven by a major shift of storage deployments toward IP-connected systems (Worldwide Personal and Entry Level Storage Tracker IDC 2013).

The next generation of WD Red hard drives deliver the best NAS experience for customers with a new version of NASware 2.0, which further improves drive reliability and protects customer data in the event of a power loss or disruption. WD Red hard drives also feature 3D Active Balance Plus, an enhanced balance control technology, which significantly improves overall drive performance and reliability. Exclusive for WD Red customers, WD offers free premium 24x7 dedicated phone support and a three-year limited warranty.

The addition of a new form factor and higher capacity WD Red hard drives further underscores WD's "Power of Choice" mission for client hard drive solutions. WD recognizes the diverse challenges of customers and their applications and strives to empower them with storage solutions tailored to best suit their specific needs.
Integrating with WD NAS solutions, WD Red hard drives are qualified to work with a wide array of WD OEM partners. A regularly updated list of WD Red-qualified products and manufacturers is available here.

Price and Availability
Shipping now through select distributors and resellers, WD Red hard drives are covered by a three-year limited warranty. MSRP for the new 2.5-inch WD Red 1 TB, model #: (WD10JFCX) is $99; the 750 GB, model #: (WD750BFCX) is $79 and the 3.5-inch 4 TB, model #: (WD40EFRX) is $229 USD.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~
Joined
Apr 20, 2007
Messages
23,362 (3.76/day)
Location
London,UK
System Name Codename: Icarus Mk.VI
Processor Intel 8600k@Stock -- pending tuning
Motherboard Asus ROG Strixx Z370-F
Cooling CPU: BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 {1xCorsair ML120 Pro|5xML140 Pro}
Memory 32GB XPG Gammix D10 {2x16GB}
Video Card(s) ASUS Dual Radeon™ RX 6700 XT OC Edition
Storage Samsung 970 Evo 512GB SSD (Boot)|WD SN770 (Gaming)|2x 3TB Toshiba DT01ACA300|2x 2TB Crucial BX500
Display(s) LG GP850-B
Case Corsair 760T (White)
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V573|Speakers: JBL Control One|Auna 300-CN|Wharfedale Diamond SW150
Power Supply Corsair AX760
Mouse Logitech G900
Keyboard Duckyshine Dead LED(s) III
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
Hmmmm, Not sure if im happy with the price of the 4TB when converted into GBP. I can get a 3TB WD Red for £110-115 this 4TB will cost £147 ex. VAT - WITH VAT its looking like £176.40. who knows what the final RRP will be.
 

Fourstaff

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Nov 29, 2009
Messages
10,020 (1.91/day)
Location
Home
System Name Orange! // ItchyHands
Processor 3570K // 10400F
Motherboard ASRock z77 Extreme4 // TUF Gaming B460M-Plus
Cooling Stock // Stock
Memory 2x4Gb 1600Mhz CL9 Corsair XMS3 // 2x8Gb 3200 Mhz XPG D41
Video Card(s) Sapphire Nitro+ RX 570 // Asus TUF RTX 2070
Storage Samsung 840 250Gb // SX8200 480GB
Display(s) LG 22EA53VQ // Philips 275M QHD
Case NZXT Phantom 410 Black/Orange // Tecware Forge M
Power Supply Corsair CXM500w // CM MWE 600w
Hmmmm, Not sure if im happy with the price of the 4TB when converted into GBP. I can get a 3TB WD Red for £110-115 this 4TB will cost £147 ex. VAT - WITH VAT its looking like £176.40. who knows what the final RRP will be.

3TB ones are the sweet spot for now imo, but I haven't factored the cost of another NAS.
 

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~
Joined
Apr 20, 2007
Messages
23,362 (3.76/day)
Location
London,UK
System Name Codename: Icarus Mk.VI
Processor Intel 8600k@Stock -- pending tuning
Motherboard Asus ROG Strixx Z370-F
Cooling CPU: BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 {1xCorsair ML120 Pro|5xML140 Pro}
Memory 32GB XPG Gammix D10 {2x16GB}
Video Card(s) ASUS Dual Radeon™ RX 6700 XT OC Edition
Storage Samsung 970 Evo 512GB SSD (Boot)|WD SN770 (Gaming)|2x 3TB Toshiba DT01ACA300|2x 2TB Crucial BX500
Display(s) LG GP850-B
Case Corsair 760T (White)
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V573|Speakers: JBL Control One|Auna 300-CN|Wharfedale Diamond SW150
Power Supply Corsair AX760
Mouse Logitech G900
Keyboard Duckyshine Dead LED(s) III
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
3TB ones are the sweet spot for now imo, but I haven't factored the cost of another NAS.

Until the 3TB drops to something more affordable I could well stick with my £78 3TB Toshiba drives for the time being - not out of choice i might add, for lack of a better option, Rather a 7200rpm drive then a WD Green
 
Joined
Jan 1, 2010
Messages
68 (0.01/day)
Any news on the 5T Red model, the one which last year was "said" to be released in tandem with this 4T Red model?
 

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~
Joined
Apr 20, 2007
Messages
23,362 (3.76/day)
Location
London,UK
System Name Codename: Icarus Mk.VI
Processor Intel 8600k@Stock -- pending tuning
Motherboard Asus ROG Strixx Z370-F
Cooling CPU: BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 {1xCorsair ML120 Pro|5xML140 Pro}
Memory 32GB XPG Gammix D10 {2x16GB}
Video Card(s) ASUS Dual Radeon™ RX 6700 XT OC Edition
Storage Samsung 970 Evo 512GB SSD (Boot)|WD SN770 (Gaming)|2x 3TB Toshiba DT01ACA300|2x 2TB Crucial BX500
Display(s) LG GP850-B
Case Corsair 760T (White)
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V573|Speakers: JBL Control One|Auna 300-CN|Wharfedale Diamond SW150
Power Supply Corsair AX760
Mouse Logitech G900
Keyboard Duckyshine Dead LED(s) III
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
2.5" drives are so horribly slow... as to be painful.

aaaaaaaand 98% of SSDs are 2.5" - I guess technology owes you an apology and arrange compensation for your hospital bills and any butthurt emotional distress that might have been caused by the many years/decades of 2.5" drive production. You have suffered in silence for too long - the world owes you a debit of gratitude for your suffering, One man shouldering such a burden of monumental proportions.
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Messages
13,791 (1.93/day)
I had Seagate Momentus 7200.4 in 2.5" form and it was faster than most 3.5" desktop drives. A bit loud but insanely fast. I remember WD Scorpio Black were also very fast at that time.
 

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder
Joined
Nov 22, 2005
Messages
28,472 (4.24/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

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~
Joined
Apr 20, 2007
Messages
23,362 (3.76/day)
Location
London,UK
System Name Codename: Icarus Mk.VI
Processor Intel 8600k@Stock -- pending tuning
Motherboard Asus ROG Strixx Z370-F
Cooling CPU: BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 {1xCorsair ML120 Pro|5xML140 Pro}
Memory 32GB XPG Gammix D10 {2x16GB}
Video Card(s) ASUS Dual Radeon™ RX 6700 XT OC Edition
Storage Samsung 970 Evo 512GB SSD (Boot)|WD SN770 (Gaming)|2x 3TB Toshiba DT01ACA300|2x 2TB Crucial BX500
Display(s) LG GP850-B
Case Corsair 760T (White)
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V573|Speakers: JBL Control One|Auna 300-CN|Wharfedale Diamond SW150
Power Supply Corsair AX760
Mouse Logitech G900
Keyboard Duckyshine Dead LED(s) III
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
Found the 4TB Drives on Ebuyer - they aint doing too bad on price tbh. Its not far off my estimate

$251.97 = £162

costs £47 for that extra TB which doesnt seem worth it
 
D

Deleted member 24505

Guest
I had Seagate Momentus 7200.4 in 2.5" form and it was faster than most 3.5" desktop drives. A bit loud but insanely fast. I remember WD Scorpio Black were also very fast at that time.

I'm using a momentus 750gb alongside my tosh 256gb ssd:rockout:
 

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast
Supporter
Joined
Jul 25, 2008
Messages
13,909 (2.42/day)
Location
Louisiana -Laissez les bons temps rouler!
System Name Bayou Phantom
Processor Core i7-8700k 4.4Ghz @ 1.18v
Motherboard ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6
Cooling All air: 2x140mm Fractal exhaust; 3x 140mm Cougar Intake; Enermax T40F Black CPU cooler
Memory 2x 16GB Mushkin Redline DDR-4 3200
Video Card(s) EVGA RTX 2080 Ti Xc
Storage 1x 500 MX500 SSD; 2x 6TB WD Black; 1x 4TB WD Black; 1x400GB VelRptr; 1x 4TB WD Blue storage (eSATA)
Display(s) HP 27q 27" IPS @ 2560 x 1440
Case Fractal Design Define R4 Black w/Titanium front -windowed
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster Z
Power Supply Seasonic X-850
Mouse Coolermaster Sentinel III (large palm grip!)
Keyboard Logitech G610 Orion mechanical (Cherry Brown switches)
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Start10 & Fences 3.0 installed)
I hope these turn out to be just as reliable for me as the 3.5" Reds I've been using in my server. My money says yes, so I think this is great!
 
Joined
Jun 6, 2012
Messages
550 (0.13/day)
Processor Intel Core 2 QX6850
Motherboard ABIT AB9 Pro
Cooling Zalman CNPS-9900 MAX-R
Memory Patriot PDC24G6400LLK (4x 2 GB)
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce GTX 560 Ti Twin Light Turbo
Storage Not Enough!
Display(s) Samsung T240HD
Case NZXT Zero
Audio Device(s) Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro
Power Supply Thortech Thunderbolt Plus TTBPK00G 1000W
Mouse Elecom M-DUX70BK
Keyboard CM Storm Trigger (Cherry MX Brown)
Software NOT Windows 10
Any news on the 5T Red model, the one which last year was "said" to be released in tandem with this 4T Red model?

THIS.

Another 3.5" form factor 4TB drive? There isn't anything that makes it stand out (e.g. something like 10K RPM) to all the other 4TB drives already on the market. But something that finally breaks the 4TB ceiling...
 

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~
Joined
Apr 20, 2007
Messages
23,362 (3.76/day)
Location
London,UK
System Name Codename: Icarus Mk.VI
Processor Intel 8600k@Stock -- pending tuning
Motherboard Asus ROG Strixx Z370-F
Cooling CPU: BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 {1xCorsair ML120 Pro|5xML140 Pro}
Memory 32GB XPG Gammix D10 {2x16GB}
Video Card(s) ASUS Dual Radeon™ RX 6700 XT OC Edition
Storage Samsung 970 Evo 512GB SSD (Boot)|WD SN770 (Gaming)|2x 3TB Toshiba DT01ACA300|2x 2TB Crucial BX500
Display(s) LG GP850-B
Case Corsair 760T (White)
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V573|Speakers: JBL Control One|Auna 300-CN|Wharfedale Diamond SW150
Power Supply Corsair AX760
Mouse Logitech G900
Keyboard Duckyshine Dead LED(s) III
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
THIS.

Another 3.5" form factor 4TB drive? There isn't anything that makes it stand out (e.g. something like 10K RPM) to all the other 4TB drives already on the market

How many other 4TB Drives are optimised for NAS and come with a 3 year warranty?
 
Joined
Jan 1, 2010
Messages
68 (0.01/day)
How many other 4TB Drives are optimised for NAS and come with a 3 year warranty?
I guess this is how it looks today:

Consumer:
Seagate ST4000VN000 (3 years)
WD Red WD40EFRX (3 years)

Enterprise:
WD Se WD4000F9YZ (5 years)
[WD] HGST Ultrastar 7K4000 (5 years)
Toshiba MG03ACA/MG03SCA (5 years)

5 TB is much needed. :)

Edit: Here's a test just posted between the two consumer drives: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7258/battle-of-the-4-tb-nas-drives-wd-red-and-seagate-nas-hdd-faceoff
 
Last edited:

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~
Joined
Apr 20, 2007
Messages
23,362 (3.76/day)
Location
London,UK
System Name Codename: Icarus Mk.VI
Processor Intel 8600k@Stock -- pending tuning
Motherboard Asus ROG Strixx Z370-F
Cooling CPU: BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 {1xCorsair ML120 Pro|5xML140 Pro}
Memory 32GB XPG Gammix D10 {2x16GB}
Video Card(s) ASUS Dual Radeon™ RX 6700 XT OC Edition
Storage Samsung 970 Evo 512GB SSD (Boot)|WD SN770 (Gaming)|2x 3TB Toshiba DT01ACA300|2x 2TB Crucial BX500
Display(s) LG GP850-B
Case Corsair 760T (White)
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V573|Speakers: JBL Control One|Auna 300-CN|Wharfedale Diamond SW150
Power Supply Corsair AX760
Mouse Logitech G900
Keyboard Duckyshine Dead LED(s) III
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
I guess this is how it looks today:

Consumer:
Seagate ST4000VN000 (3 years)
WD Red WD40EFRX (3 years)

Enterprise:
WD Se WD4000F9YZ (5 years)
[WD] HGST Ultrastar 7K4000 (5 years)
Toshiba MG03ACA/MG03SCA (5 years)

5 TB is much needed. :)

Edit: Here's a test just posted between the two consumer drives: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7258/battle-of-the-4-tb-nas-drives-wd-red-and-seagate-nas-hdd-faceoff

Those enterprise drives are way to expensive to be compared to WD Reds or even that seagate for that matter let alone be considered for a purchase from the general consumer who might not have as deep a pocket as the big corporations and bankers who have thousands to throw in to their IT setups.


though the 4TB seagate is roughly about the same price as the WD Red give or take a few pounds here in the UK, Still quite pricy though £165 for a 4TB nas optimised drive when you can have a non-optimised for 3TB for £79 that will work just as well but lack the optimised firmware and the extra warranty which you can now buy as an optional package for very little money
 

Fourstaff

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Nov 29, 2009
Messages
10,020 (1.91/day)
Location
Home
System Name Orange! // ItchyHands
Processor 3570K // 10400F
Motherboard ASRock z77 Extreme4 // TUF Gaming B460M-Plus
Cooling Stock // Stock
Memory 2x4Gb 1600Mhz CL9 Corsair XMS3 // 2x8Gb 3200 Mhz XPG D41
Video Card(s) Sapphire Nitro+ RX 570 // Asus TUF RTX 2070
Storage Samsung 840 250Gb // SX8200 480GB
Display(s) LG 22EA53VQ // Philips 275M QHD
Case NZXT Phantom 410 Black/Orange // Tecware Forge M
Power Supply Corsair CXM500w // CM MWE 600w
As long as you are careful with your RAID setup I think consumer drives are fine. One or two drives failing every few years is easily manageable. the price difference is enough to pay for extra drives.
 
Joined
Jan 1, 2010
Messages
68 (0.01/day)
Those enterprise drives are way to expensive to be compared to WD Reds or even that seagate for that matter let alone be considered for a purchase from the general consumer who might not have as deep a pocket as the big corporations and bankers who have thousands to throw in to their IT setups.


though the 4TB seagate is roughly about the same price as the WD Red give or take a few pounds here in the UK, Still quite pricy though £165 for a 4TB nas optimised drive when you can have a non-optimised for 3TB for £79 that will work just as well but lack the optimised firmware and the extra warranty which you can now buy as an optional package for very little money
Yeah, was merely highlighting that there are options out there. All I want is higher density per drive. :D

And I did not know you could separately buy the NAS firmware and extended warranty to other drives.
 

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~
Joined
Apr 20, 2007
Messages
23,362 (3.76/day)
Location
London,UK
System Name Codename: Icarus Mk.VI
Processor Intel 8600k@Stock -- pending tuning
Motherboard Asus ROG Strixx Z370-F
Cooling CPU: BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 {1xCorsair ML120 Pro|5xML140 Pro}
Memory 32GB XPG Gammix D10 {2x16GB}
Video Card(s) ASUS Dual Radeon™ RX 6700 XT OC Edition
Storage Samsung 970 Evo 512GB SSD (Boot)|WD SN770 (Gaming)|2x 3TB Toshiba DT01ACA300|2x 2TB Crucial BX500
Display(s) LG GP850-B
Case Corsair 760T (White)
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V573|Speakers: JBL Control One|Auna 300-CN|Wharfedale Diamond SW150
Power Supply Corsair AX760
Mouse Logitech G900
Keyboard Duckyshine Dead LED(s) III
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
And I did not know you could separately buy the NAS firmware and extended warranty to other drives.

I was referring to the purchase of extra warranty cover, not the firmware. Though with firmware Ive heard thats the secret to WD Reds - They are re-labeled from their range with 'optimised' firmware for NAS environments/applications
 
Top