Western Digital WD RED 8TB NAS HDD Review

Western Digital WD RED 8TB HDD Review The WD RED series by Western Digital is one that we've already have a lot of looks at. That doesn't mean that we can't have another one, does it? Today I'm putting the 8TB HDD through the paces and benchmarks. WD RED NAS HDD The WD RED series is designed and intended for use with NAS devices. While that's said, it doesn't prevent you from using them in your desktop or other systems. They're just optimised for the type of usage that happens in a NAS. They're also safeguarded against issues that could happen in such a setup. In the 3.5-inch form factor, the drive is available from 1TB to 10TB, allowing you to find a match for your setup. You can't just pick the size, you can also pick the level of performance you want. There is a normal version as well as Pro which comes with slightly better figures. Built for Storage WD RED are built with NASware 3.0, as Western Digital call it. The technology is purpose-built to balance performance and reliability in NAS and RAID environments. It is certified for 24/7 usage which is important for such systems. And it doesn't matter whether they're NAS, RAID enclosures, or just single drives. At the same time, they are engineered to run cool and quiet while offering perfect compatibility with NAS devices. As I said above, there is nothing which prevents you from using this drive in your desktop, but you shouldn't do such a thing in reverse. Don't put desktop drives into your NAS. Multi-drive devices such as NAS' can catch these vibrations which can affect performance and reliability of the drives. To combat this, we have the 3D Active Balance Plus. This dual-plane balance control maintains the drive's performance over time and protects it from excessive vibrations and noise. With all this, WD is able to rate the drive for usage in enclosures with up to 8 drive bays. Eight times 8TB makes 64TB raw capacity, a nice number any day! Performance and Endurance Let us talk about the performance for a while. Right out of the box, we know that the WD RED won't be the fastest HDD. The fact that it is based on 5400 RPM tells us that. The WD RED Pro, for example, is a 7200RPM drive. That said, there's a reason for this. A slower speed means less noise and a more noise-friendly environment in return. The 8TB version is packed with 256MB cache. This is the same as the 10TB model, but four times that of the 6TB drive. And in speed, we get a sustained transfer speed of 210MB/s in return. Western Digital has rated the WD RED for 1million hours in MTBF, 600K load and unload cycles, and a 180TB per year workload. As far as warranty goes, the WD RED is backed by 3 years while the Pro is backed by 5 years. Where Should I Use a Drive Like This? This is an easy question to answer for the WD RED by Western Digital. Any multi-bay storage enclosure will be the perfect home for such a drive. Whether it's a NAS or DAS. You could also use it in your PC for extra storage, backups, or even your steam library. Sure, it's no where close to modern SSD speeds, but it still delivers a good result which is plenty for game loading. What Did Company Have to Say? "MVP OF NAS. There’s a WD Red drive for every compatible NAS system to help fulfill your data storage needs. With drives up to 10TB, WD Red offers a wide array of solutions for customers looking to build a high performing NAS storage solution. Built for single-bay to 8-bay NAS systems, WD Red packs the power to store your precious data in one powerhouse unit. With WD Red, you’re ready for what’s next.." Feature Highlights Up to 10TB capacity (8TB version reviewed)NASware 3.0 technology for optimal usage in up to 8-bay enclosuresSustained transfer speeds of up to 210MB/s256MB cache and 5400RPM spindle speed Specifications The specifications are valid at the time of this review, but might be subject to changes in possible reivisions of the product. Changes are rare, but can happen. Package and A Closer Look Western Digital does have great looking retail boxes for their drives, but we reviewers don't always get them. After all, it's the product that matters and there are no accessories to a HDD anyway. So I just got the WD RED 8TB NAS HDD in a moisture barrier bag. Of course, it was also well packed in a box with lot of padding. The drive itself is a standard SATA-based drive as you'd expect. There are no suprises here. A thing that I do like to see on any hard drive is sufficient mounting options. The WD RED 8TB has all three placements (6 screw holes) on the bottom. This ensures maximum compatibility with the devices it will be installed into. The sides also feature all three screw holes, making it possible to install in any type of drivebay which will accomodate 3.5-inch drives. Testing & Methodology Data Fillage There are many ways to test a storage drive, and we have chosen to include close to every test possible. We will start with a typical benchmark analysis of the formatted drive with various village scenarios. However, depending on how a drive is built, the performance may differ depending on how much data it is already storing. Testing this, the drive will be tested empty as well as with 25%, 50%, and 75% space usage. For these tests, we will be using Anvil’s Storage Utilities, AS SSD Benchmark, ATTO Benchmark, and CrystalDiskMark. Plain Drive Performance Following the fillage tests, the partition gets removed, and we check the drive’s raw performance. These tests will determine the hardware’s capabilities while eliminating any interference from the set file system. AIDA64’s storage benchmark is a great tool for this, and it help us paint an even clearer picture of the drive. Hardware Supermicro C7Z270-PG Intel Core i7-7700KCrucial Ballistix Sport DDR4 2400MHz (4x8GB)Toshiba OCZ VX500 512GB SSDbe quiet! Dark Power Pro 11 (1200W)Noctua NH-D15SCooler Master HAF XB EVO with Noctua NF-A14 FLX fans Software AIDA64 Storage Benchmark Anvil's Storage UtilitiesAS SSD BenchmarkATTO BenchmarkCrystalDiskMarkWindows 10 AIDA64 Storage Benchmark AIDA64 is a streamlined Windows diagnostic and benchmarking software for home users. It provides a wide range of features to assist in overclocking, hardware error diagnosis, stress testing, and sensor monitoring. It also has a disk benchmark tool, and that is the one I'll be using. Random Performance The Random Read and Write tests measure the random performance by reading or writing variable-sized data blocks at random locations on the surface of the drive. The Random tests are a combination of both speed and access times as it moves the position before each new operation. Access Times The Access Time tests are designed to measure the data access performance by reading or writing small 0.5KB data blocks at random locations on the drive surface. Drive Analysis Drive Comparison Anvil's Storage Benchmark Anvil’s Storage Utilities is a complete benchmark solution used to test any writeable storage drive. It also has a drive endurance test that consistently reads and writes data to the selected medium to deliver days, months, and potentially even years of use in a shorter period. Empty Drive 75% Data Fillage Drive Performance Analysis With the performance analysis, we get a good view of the drive’s consistency. We want as straight a line as possible for a good result. Drive Comparison For the drive comparison, we will use the performance figures from empty drives here. AS SSD Storage Benchmark The AS SSD software determines the performance of Solid State Drives (SSD). The tool contains five synthetic and three practice tests. The synthetic tests determine the sequential and random read and write performance of the SSD, and they aren’t using the operating system cache. The copy tests are cached and as such not viable results at this time. Empty Drive 75% Data Fillage Drive Performance Analysis With the performance analysis, we get a good view of the drive’s consistency. We want as straight a line as possible for a good result. Drive Comparison For the drive comparison, we will use the performance figures from empty drives here. ATTO Disk Benchmark The ATTO Disk Benchmark performance measurement tool is compatible with Microsoft Windows. Measure your storage systems performance with various transfer sizes and test lengths for reads and writes. Several options are available to customise your performance measurement including queue depth, overlapped I/O and even a comparison mode with the option to run continuously. Empty Drive 75% Data Fillage Drive Analysis With the performance analysis, we get a good view of the drive’s consistency. We want as straight a line as possible for a good result. Drive Comparison For the drive comparison, we will use the performance figures from empty drives here. CrystalDiskMark CrystalDiskMark is a small HDD and SSD benchmark utility that allows you to measure a drive’s sequential and random performance. Empty Drive 75% Data Fillage Drive Performance Analysis With the performance analysis, we get a good view of the drive’s consistency. We want as straight a line as possible for a good result. Drive Comparison For the drive comparison, we will use the performance figures from empty drives here. Pricing and Final Thoughts Western Digital's WD RED series has been around for a while now and as such, they come at a very fair price. The 8TB model which I tested today can be yours for just £235.02 or $250.27 through Amazon. It can naturally also be found in a lot of other shops. So look around for the best deal in your area, I'm sure you'll find a good one. Final Thoughts By now, there aren't many surprises when testing Westen Digital's RED 8TB NAS drive. It has been on the market for a while, but that doesn't mean that it isn't worth an extra view and review. We all know that drives don't perform the same in each capacity, so it's great to have the 8TB in our charts too. The WD RED 8TB drive performed as it should in our tests. It came in with good solid, and very stable, results. That is due to the hardware and firmware used. The combination of technology and tuning offers you a great performing drive with capacity and performance, but without the noise. Perfect for home-usage in your NAS, NVR, or other devices which need a lot of drive space. Should I Purchase One? With two of these drives, you can quickly create a great setup with a 2-bay NAS. 16TB raw storage capacity for an affordable price, what's not to love there. I can only recommend the drive. Want To Know More? If you'd like to know more about the other capacity options, then you should check out our other WD Red reviews. We have the 2.5" 1TB model in single and RAID setup. We also have the 6TB in single and 4-bay RAID mode as well as the 10TB model reviewed. Pros Good performanceUp to 10TB capacity (8TB tested today)Suited for multi-bay enclosures24/7 usage certifiedLow noise thanks to the 5400RPM class Cons Not as fast as 7200RPM drives "Western Digital's WD Red are proven drives which will serve you well any day. The 8TB model I tested today is no different." Western Digital WD RED 8TB NAS HDD Review Thank you Western Digital for providing us with this sample.