14 DAY TRIAL // New hybrid, WD Blue solid-state hybrid drives have been launched in secret by Western Digital these days.
These two hybrid SSHD drives, the 4TB WD40E31X and the 1TB WD10J31X, feature self-learning NAND flash cache. Being hybrid storage devices, the SSD speeds are only for some dedicated application while not having typical SSD prices since they belong to WD's mainstream family of HDD products.
The two first models will come in two different form factors depending on which platform they will work. The WD40E31X drive with 4TB capacity in 3.5” form-factor will be meant for desktops while the WD10J31X drive with 1TB capacity in 2.5” form-factor is built for laptops. The hybrid drives will feature 5400rpm spindle speed, Serial ATA-6Gb/s interface, 8GB of intelligent multi-level cell NAND flash cache, and 64MB DRAM cache.
One of the main advantages of the WD Blue SSHDs is that they use the NAND flash memory to store the frequently used data based on the magnetic media of the LBA sectors, speeding the boot times of Windows and load times of frequently used applications. The company considers that its WD Blue SSHDs perform up to five times faster than traditional 5400 rpm HDDs.
Even though these are good, WD has better options in store
These aren't meant for enthusiasts’ use and are more adequate for mainstream users who do not seek maximum performance. There are other, more attractive options on the market, hybrid still, that can cater to enthusiasts like the WD Black² which allows the users to select which storage should they use for their applications, NAND flash or magnetic.
The need for hybrids right now is to provide a price-wise friendly stop gap solution until deciding to buy a full-fledged SSD drive. Large storage SSDs are still very expensive, while hybrid SSHDs come at lower prices and offer a good compromise between storage area and performance.
The new WD Blue SSHDs are still rather expensive, as the 4TB WD40E31X costs $197 (€ 179), while the 1TB WD10J31X is $99 (€90). The prices will seem a bit higher than 7200rpm HDDs, although the SSHDs come with 5400 rpm spindle speed, but this is justified by its hybrid nature and better-specialized performance guaranteed by its dual storage design.