It has been over 6 years since we saw an SSD come out of Western Digital, but we suspected some new ones may be coming after their recent acquisition of SanDisk. That say has come, and today we have two new SSD models announced by WD:

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These new SSDs naturally borrow SanDisk 15nm TLC flash but drive that flash with aftermarket controllers. The Blue employs a Marvell 88SS1074 controller while the Green will use a Silicon Motion SM2256S. The Blue will have the typical SATA 6Gbps saturating specs seen in modern SSDs, while the Green will be derated a bit. Detailed specifications are below:

  • Form Factors: 2.5¨/7mm cased, M.2 2280
  • Endurance (Blue):
    • 250GB: 100 TBW
    • 500GB: 200 TBW
    • 1TB: 400 TBW
  • Power (Blue):
    • Slumber: 42mW-52mW
    • DEVSLP: 4.9mW-9.7mW
    • Average Active Power: 70mW
  • Warranty (Blue and Green): 3 years

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The WD Green will be more budget minded and is to be offered in only a 120GB and 240GB form factor, with reduced endurance ratings of 40 TBW and 80 TBW, respectively.

Pricing (for the WD Blue SSD):

  • 250 GB $79.99
  • 500 GB $139.99
  • 1TB $299.99

The WD Green SSD will be available 'later this quarter', and we do not yet have pricing for that model, but it should come in at a lower cost than the Blue prices above. We have a Blue model in for testing and should see how it fares on our new storage suite later this week.

Press blast after the break.

WESTERN DIGITAL Introduces
WD Blue and WD Green SOLID STATE DRIVES

IRVINE, Calif., October 11, 2016 —  Western Digital Corporation (“Western Digital”) (NASDAQ: WDC) today announced WD Blue® and WD Green® solid state drives (SSDs), the first WD-branded SATA client SSDs. The new SSDs complement the company’s industry leading family of hard drives for PCs and workstations, providing a full portfolio of WD storage devices for virtually any application.

The ultimate solution for building DIY PCs, extending the life of current PCs or upgrading existing storage, the WD Blue and WD Green SSDs boast near-maximum speed of SATA drives, best-in-class endurance and MTTF and WD Functional Integrity Testing (F.I.T.) Lab certification, resulting in quick boot times and increased program responsiveness. Consumers benefit from the combination of reliable storage with an industry-leading 1.75M hours MTTF, coupled with reduced power and less heat when compared to HDDs. Both include free, downloadable, WD SSD Dashboard software, which allows continuous performance and capacity monitoring. For consumers who are looking for instant-on responsiveness, durability, low power consumption, and ultra-thin, ultramobile form factors, the WD Blue and WD Green SSDs are the perfect options.

“There is significant demand among our core WD resellers and consumers for a broad set of flash-based storage options,” says Eyal Bek, senior director, Devices Bsiness Unit, Western Digital. “The expansive reach of the WD channel enables availability of a Western Digital SSD solution. We are very proud to have developed and launched WD Blue and WD Green SSDs, and believe they’ll provide the instant-on, reliability and capacity benefits our customers have been demanding.”

Pricing and Availability

WD Blue SSD

For customers looking for enhanced SATA performance, WD Blue SSDs are optimized for multitasking and resource-heavy applications. Perfect in either a notebook or desktop PC, WD Blue SSDs are available in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB capacities, and in both 2.5-inch/7mm case or M.2 2280 form factors. The WD Blue SSD offers up to 545MB/s and 525MB/s sequential read and write speeds, and endurance up to 400 TBW. Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) ranges from $79.00 USD to $299.00 USD and will be available immediately to select customers worldwide and at wd.com.

WD Green SSD

     WD Green SSDs deliver essential-class performance, and are a great option for everyday use. Available in 120GB and 240GB capacities, and in both 2.5-inch/7mm case or M.2 2280 form factors, WD Green SSDs deliver an ultra-low power-draw, enabling PC users to work longer between battery charges. WD Green features sequential read and write times of up to 540MB/s and 405MB/s and endurance up to 80TBW. WD Green SSDs will be available later this quarter to select regions and customers.

     Both WD Blue SSDs and WD Green SSDs are protected by a 3-year limited warranty.