Until now, all news about solid-state technology from Western Digital came through its subsidiary SanDisk, but the question has been floating among the specialized press: does the company plan to launch an SSD under its own brand? Finally, the answer is yes. Just like with its hard drives, Western Digital will be selling new Blue and Green units aimed at general consumption.
Are you still considering buying an SSD? The price-capacity-performance ratio is already excellent, even the most economical models are delivering very acceptable quality, and as I've said on previous occasions, once you see Windows start up on an SSD, you'll want to throw your hard drive out the window. If you still prefer to wait, maybe you want to take a close look at the new SSD models that Western Digital has just presented. The company already has a considerable presence in the solid-state market thanks to its acquisition of SanDisk (which received the green light last May), but there was still a missing piece in the puzzle, and it was a "Western Digital brand" SSD. Well... here they are:
Western Digital Blue SSDs
First, we must mention the three models of Western Digital Blue SSDs. Their capacities are divided into 250 GB, 500 GB, and 1 TB, but they share the same Marvell 88SS1074 controller. In essence, the Blue line is based on the SanDisk X400 units, and includes firmware-level modifications. All three models offer sequential read speeds between 540 and 545 megabytes per second, while write speeds are 500-525 MB/s. The new units are available in the classic 2.5-inch SATA format (seven millimeters thick), and with an M.2 interface, ideal for upgrading more compact systems. Western Digital offers a three-year warranty and endurance of 100 TB (250 GB), 200 TB (500 GB), and 400 TB (1 TB). Their prices are $80, $140, and $300, respectively.
Western Digital Green SSDs
And second, we find the Western Digital Green SSDs. Unlike their hard drive counterparts, the Green series not only obeys lower power consumption (which is already very low in an SSD), but also a lower economic entry point. This is reflected in the use of an alternative controller (the Silicon Motion SM2256S), in the available capacities (120 and 240 GB), and in reduced sequential write speeds, ranging from 405 to 435 MB/s. The formats and the three-year warranty also extend to the Green series; however, with a smaller capacity we find more modest endurance, of 40 and 80 terabytes. Western Digital decided to keep the prices of both Green models under wraps (they are expected to be very affordable), but confirmed that they will hit the shelves before the end of the year.
