I remember when WD started introducing “performance class” drives. WD Elements Portable WDBUZG0010BBK - hard drive - 1 TB - USB 3.0 - overview and full product specs on CNET. October 15, 2015, 1:18am #1. This isn't a great result which indicates that there are much faster alternatives on the comparison list. There are more details on the topic at the Reddit thread above, including a specific list of affected models (all 8TB or higher). Despite being classed by WD as a 5400 rpm drive its acoustic pattern is the same as 7200 rpm drives. WD Red 6TB NAS Internal Hard Drive - 5400 RPM Class, SATA 6 Gb/s, SMR, 256MB Cache, 3.5" - WD60EFAX 4.1 out of 5 stars 511 $149.99$149.99 Get it as soon as Thu, Aug 27 It spins at the rate of an average, low-power laptop drive, around 5400 revolutions per minute. This WD Elements 8TB drive is listed as "5400 RPM Class" on its datasheet, and its firmware reports 5400 RPM via SMART—but it's humming at 120HZ. Open Disk Utilities. WD is currently implementing Advanced Format technology on its WD Caviar Green line of products, beginning with the WD20EARS, WD15EARS, WD10EARS, WD7500AARS, WD6400AARS and WD5000AARS models. Top Rated Gear: WD Elements 2TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive, USB Powered MFR: WDBU6Y0020BBK-EESN. Strengths. The WD Elements 2TB averaged 75.5% lower than the peak scores attained by the group leaders. External Drives for PC. Select WD Elements on the left side of the window. Regardless, Western Digital’s position in this matter is anything but exemplary. Similar to Seagate Expansion, WD Elements also offers plenty of space, but for even a lower price. The phrase “performance class” used to mean something distinctly different than it apparently does now, and Western Digital never bothered to tell anyone it was changing the meaning of the term. This might seem like … WD Elements, 2.5TB: WDBAAU0025HBK: Leaflet (English) WD 160GB Dual-Opt Backup 2MB 7200rpm Ret (WDXUB1600BB) WDXUB1600BBNE: Leaflet (English) WD Elements 1.5 TB: WDBU6Y0015BBK: Leaflet (English) WD Elements, 750GB: WDBUZG7500ABK-EESN: Leaflet (English) WD Elements, 3TB: WDBWLG0030HBL-EESN, WDBWLG0030HBK-NESN, WDBWLG0030HBK-EESN, … Western Digital WD Black 1TB Performance Mobile Hard Drive - 7200 RPM Class, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64 MB Cache, 2.5" - WD10SPSX 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,044 $71.99$71.99 Get it as soon as Tue, Jul 7 120Hz * … Hi All, I am trying to confirm the RPM of the WD Elements 6TB External HDD but am having no luck on the web finding … The Elements drive quickly backs up and retrieves files by utilizing USB 3.0 technology and draws power from a USB bus-powered port on your device, meaning that it requires no other additional external power source. The WD Green may actually have been the drive to introduce this feature/nomenclature, and it wasn’t something WD used to secretly boost performance. © 1996-2021 Ziff Davis, LLC. By doing so, we are able to leverage our economies of scale and pass along those savings to our customers. Avg. A WD Black 7200 rpm drive: A Western Digital Elements 8TB drive classed as 5400 rpm: There is differentiation between 7200 rpm and 5400 rpm drives until the WD Elements 8TB drive’s acoustic pattern is displayed. 7200 RPM drives are also noisier than 5400 RPM products. Right click and choose "Erase" from the pop-up menu. The price difference lies in the fact that the WD Elements is a much slower drive since its sequential read/write speeds of around 95MB/s, are some 30% slower than those of its Seagate rival. We also fine-tune select hard drive platforms and the related HDD characteristics to create several different variations of such platforms to meet different market or application needs. For 5400 RPM this would be multiples of 90Hz instead (180Hz, 270Hz, 360Hz, …). While this may not be a concern for a majority of users, it’s also not the first time we’ve seen dishonest behavior from Western Digital. This might seem like a non-issue, given that customers directly benefit from having a 7200 RPM drive. It wasn’t a way to secretly ship 7200 RPM drives without telling anybody. Simply plug this drive into a compatible USB 3.0 (USB 3.1 Gen 1) or USB 2.0 port and begin transferring data at speeds up to 5 Gb/s when using the integrated micro-USB 3.0 interface. The WD Elements drive is protected by a limited 2-year worldwide warranty and a micro-USB to USB Type-A cable is included. Subscribe Today to get the latest ExtremeTech news delivered right to your inbox. Sustained Write Speed 51.1 MB/s. The sleek design features up to 12TB capacity plus Western Digital quality and reliability. Though the Western Digital Green drive inside each My Book still spins at 5,400 rpm, the drives include Western Digital’s backup utility, making them better for … If a drive marketed at 5400 RPM actually spins at 7200 RPM, what’s the difference between 5400 RPM and 7200 RPM drives? © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, Select a location to see product availability, External CD DVD Drive USB for Windows & Mac, External DVD Drive, Amicool USB 3.0 Type-C CD DVD +/-RW Optical Drive USB C Burner Slim CD/DVD ROM Rewriter Writer Reader Portable for PC Laptop Desktop MacBook Mac Windows 7/8.1/10 Linux OS Apple, External DVD Drive USB 3.0 USB C CD Burner Amicool CD/DVD +/-RW Optical Drive,Slim Portable DVD CD ROM Rewriter Writer Duplicator for Laptop Desktop PC Windows 10/8/7 MacBook Mac Linux OS Apple, BLACK, WD 2TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive, USB 3.0, Compatible with PC, Mac, PS4 & Xbox - WDBU6Y0020BBK-WESN, LaCie Rugged USB-C 4TB External Hard Drive Portable HDD – USB 3.0, Drop Shock Dust Rain Resistant Shuttle Drive, for Mac and PC Computer Desktop Workstation Laptop, 1 Month Adobe CC (STFR4000800), Fantom Drives 2TB 7200RPM External Hard Drive - USB 3.2 Gen 1 - 5Gbps - GForce 3 Aluminum - Black - Compatible with Mac/Windows/PS4/Xbox (GF3B2000UP) by Fantom Drives, FD 5TB 7200RPM External Hard Drive - USB 3.2 Gen 1 - 5Gbps & eSATA - GForce 3 Aluminum - Black - Compatible with Mac/Windows/PS4/Xbox (GFP5000EU3) by Fantom Drives, WD_Black 8TB D10 Game Drive, Portable External Hard Drive Compatible with Playstation, Xbox, PC, & Mac - WDBA3P0080HBK-NESN, Glyph Studio S14000ENT 14TB External Hard Drive (7200RPM, USB 3, FW800, eSATA) (Enterprise Class), Toshiba Canvio Flex 2TB Portable External Hard Drive USB-C USB 3.0, Silver for PC, Mac, & Tablet - HDTX120XSCAA, G-Technology 4TB G-DRIVE USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive, Silver - Compact, High-Performance Storage - 0G03594-1, WD_Black 5TB P10-Game Drive, Portable External Hard Drive Compatible with -Playstation, Xbox, PC, & Mac - WDBA3A0050BBK-WESN, Seagate Portable 2TB External Hard Drive Portable HDD – USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, PS4, & Xbox - 1-year Rescue Service (STGX2000400), Seagate Backup Plus Portable 5TB External Hard Drive HDD – Red USB 3.0 for PC Laptop and Mac, 1 year MylioCreate, 2 Months Adobe CC Photography & 2-year Rescue Service (STHP5000403), LaCie - STHA4000800 d2 Professional 4TB External Hard Drive Desktop HDD – USB-C USB 3.0 7200 RPM Enterprise Class Drives, 5 Year Warranty and Recovery Service (STHA4000800) Black, Fantom Drives 500GB External Hard Drive - Super Fast 7200RPM USB 3.0 - Black Aluminum External Hard Drive Compatible with Mac, PC, Xbox One and PS4 - (GF3B500UP), Seagate BarraCuda 2TB Internal Hard Drive HDD – 3.5 Inch SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM 256MB Cache 3.5-Inch – Frustration Free Packaging (ST2000DM008), G-Technology 2TB ArmorATD All-Terrain Rugged Portable External Hard Drive - USB-C, USB 3.1 Gen 1 - 0G10434-1, Seagate STEL6000100 Backup Plus Hub 6TB External Hard Drive Desktop HDD – USB 3.0, 2 USB Ports, for Computer Desktop Workstation PC Laptop Mac, 2 Months Adobe CC Photography, All customers get FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon. 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