Hot on the heels of the enterprise-class
ReSATA 4TB (WD4000FYYZ) hard drive’s release, WD came out with another 4TB HDD
offering. November last year saw the launch of the WD Black 4TB (WD4001FAex)
which is targeted at non-enterprise users. Like the ReSATA 4TB, the Black 4TB
is a 3.5-inch internal hard drive that makes use of the current SATA 6Gbps
interface and has a standard rotational speed of 7200RPM.
Hot
on the heels of the enterprise-class ReSATA 4TB (WD4000FYYZ) hard drive’s
release, WD came out with another 4TB HDD offering.
Some technologies that are highlighted on
the Black 4TB include the use of dual processors and dynamic cache, both of
which are working to speed up the hard drive’s overall performance. With the
help of dynamic cache, the hard drive automatically adjusts the balance between
read and write traffics to prevent performance bottlenecks. The Black 4TB also
features StableTrac which helps in reducing vibration and stabilizing the HDD’s
platters. This setup results in accurate tracking during HDD’s operation and
improved performance. For data protection and durability, the Black 4TB also
employs No Touch ramp load technology. With this feature, the recording head
never touches the disk media and reduces wear and tear of the involved delicate
components.
The
Black 4TB also features StableTrac which helps in reducing vibration and
stabilizing the HDD’s platters.
By dismantling the Black 4TB’s printed
circuit board, we discovered that it makes use of the Marvell 88i9346-TFJ2
chip, the same controller found on the ReSATA 4TB and the VelociRaptor 1TB
(WD1000DHTZ). CoupLED with it is a Samsung K4T511630J-BCe7 which serves as the
hard drive’s 64MB buffer.
We began testing the Black 4TB by running
CrystalDiskMark on it, where it recorded read and write speeds higher than
those of the ReSATA 4TB. These readings are consistent with the HDD’s overall
score in PCMark Vantage. However, in AS SSD and PCMark 7, the ReSATA 4TB
noticeably dominated in these test categories, registering a better overall
score and faster speeds than the Black 4TB. A closer look at the details of the
Futuremark benchmarks, the Black 4TB dominated in certain tasks, but there were
also times when it was left behind by the ReSATA 4TB.
These
readings are consistent with the HDD’s overall score in PCMark Vantage.
While the WD Black 4TB is not the fastest,
large-capacity hard drive in the market, the ample storage that it can offer is
still its main selling point. A hard drive offering positioned toward
consumers, WD is selling for a more affordable price point of PhP 14,899. Given
its vast space, decent performance, and reasonable price, we recommend the
Black 4TB to those who are into content creation and gaming.
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Specifications
§ Interface:
SATA 6Gb/s
§ Rotational
Speed: 7,200 RPM
§ Buffer
Size: 64MB
§ Average
Latency: 4.20ms
§ Load/unload
Cycles: 300,000 minimum
§ Formatted
Capacity: 4,000,787 MB
§ User
Sectors Per Drive: 3,907,029,168
§ Dimensions:
Height 26.1 mm, Depth 147 mm, Width 101.6 mm
§ Weight:
0.78 kg
§ Operating
Shock (Read): 30G, 2ms
§ Non-operating
Shock: 300G, 2ms
§ Acoustics:
Idle Mode: 29 dBA (average), Seek Mode: 34 dBA (average)
§ Temperature:
Operating -0°C to 60°C, Non-operating -40°C to 70°C
§ Power
Dissipation: Read/Write: 10.40 Watts, Idle: 8.10 Watts, Standby: 1.20 Watts,
Sleep: 1.20 Watts
§ Non-recoverable
read errors per bits read: <1 in 1014
§ Warranty:
5 years
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