If you’re planning on upgrading your computer’s storage, Western Digital has introduced its latest SSD (Solid State Drives) lineup with 64-layer 3D NAND technology. On top of enabling higher storage capacity, 3D NAND offers better performance and greater reliability than current 2D NAND technology.
2D NAND SSD has already reached its physical limitation and 3D NAND-based SSDs are the way forward. This enables higher capacity with storage options up to 2TB and it’s more power efficient with 25% less active power than before.
3D NAND SSD also offers better endurance with up to 500TBW (Terabytes Written) for the 2TB model. Based on their lab tests, their 2TB 3D SSD can last up to 70 years with an average workload of 20GB/day or up to 17 years with an extreme workload of 80GB/day.
In terms of performance, the SSDs have sequential read speeds up to 560MB/s and write speeds up to 530MB/s for their 500GB capacity and above. Meanwhile, the 250GB unit does 550MB/s read and 525MB/s write. Since there are no moving parts, it can resist shocks up to 1,500G at 0.5m/sec.
Western Digital will be pushing their 3D NAND SATA models under two brands – WD Blue and SanDisk Ultra. Regardless of which brand you choose, they are identical in hardware and specs and they are sold separately to target loyal customers of both brands. The M.2 version, however, is only sold under WD Blue and it is priced slightly higher than the SATA version. Western Digital’s 3D NAND SSDs are now available at authorised retailers nationwide and they come with a 3-year warranty.
WD Blue/SanDisk 3D NAND SSD Pricing
250GB – RM620 (SATA), RM640 (M.2)
500GB – RM1,100 (SATA), RM1,150 (M.2)
1TB – RM2,000 (SATA), RM2,100 (M.2)
2TB – RM3,800 (SATA), RM3,950 (M.2)
