When switching to smaller 4K random transfers, the WD Black 6TB recorded top performance once again, with reads and writes of 0.325MB/s and 0.811MB/s, respectively. The 4TB model reached 73.41MB/s read and 86.12MB/s write. Moving to 2MB random transfer performance, the WD Black 6TB retained its top position with 78.34MB/s read and 107.05MB/s write. Here, the WD Black 6TB measured 214.53MB/s read and 214.91MB/s write, placing it well above its 4TB brother as well as the other Seagate and WD SSHD drives. Our first test measures 2MB sequential performance. For hybrid drives, the synthetic tests only capture spindle speeds, ignoring the caching technology that would be more evident in repetitive tasks, like the application testing further down. We compared WD Black 6TB with the following drives:Īll IOMeter figures are represented as binary figures for MB/s speeds. The WD Black 6TB uses an LSI controller in addition to 128 MB of RAM from NANYA.Īll consumer SSD benchmarks are conducted with the StorageReview HP Z620 Workstation. WD also leverages a foam pad, which is placed in between the drive and circuit board to help absorb vibration.
As a result, this allows components like the controller, RAM, and motor driver to dispense heat into the body. This is WD’s normal practice for their layouts of their HDDs. The WD Black 4TB uses the standard 3.5″ form factor with a SATA 6Gbps interface with the heat-producing components in contact with the body of the drive.
As such, the consumer-grade WD drive has the standard WD product label, gives users all the information they need about the drive including: the capacity, serious number, model number, and a QR code that sends users to the product website. The WD Black 6TB model looks identical to that of the company’s 4TB capacity, which was released roughly two years ago. Non-recoverable read errors per bits read: Host to/from drive (sustained): 218MB/s.Formatted capacities: 6TB, 5TB, 4TB, 3TB.All drives come include a 5-year limited warranty. In addition to the 6TB model, the WD Black also comes in capacities of 3TB, 4TB, and 5TB.
These characteristics make the drive a good candidate for external enclosures for professionals who need high performance, high capacity storage that can be moved about relatively easily. This results in a noticeable decrease in congestion as well as an increase in overall performance. Coupling this with WD’s Dynamic Cache Technology helps to enhance caching algorithms in real time, which allocates and optimizes cache between reads and writes. To produce these numbers, the WD Black has significant cache sizes up to 128MB of DRAM, which is double the amount of its predecessor. The WD Black is quoted to offer 218MB/s (an improvement from 194MB/s from the previous capacity) in sustained data-transfer rates. WD also sees the 6TB as a good fit for professionals looking for capacity and performance in a desktop enclosure. In addition, the 6TB model includes StableTrac Technology, which creates more accurate data tracking due to vibrations from additional gaming hardware.
PC games sometimes reach almost 50GB in size (not including their DLC), so the WD Black’s 6TB model can add real value to low- and mid-range gaming rigs. WD is also marketing this drive to gamers, which certainly makes sense due to its massive storage pool. It is an ideal internal storage solution for power consumers looking for the highest possible performance from the market’s current hard disk drive technology as well as those looking for an alternative to the more expensive hybrid drives. Like its predecessors, the WD Black 6TB is designed to give an overall boost for heavier computing tasks, while offering a good cost per TB.
WD Black has launched a 6TB version (as well as a 5TB model) of the performance-driven family of consumer-grade hard disk drives, which is a 2TB increase in storage compared to the previous 4TB model that we reviewed a few years back. WD Black has launched a 6TB version (as well as a 5TB model) of the performance-driven family of consumer-grade hard disk drives, which is a 2TB increase in storage compared to the previous 4TB model that we reviewed a few years back.