WD Red vs WD Blue: Which Hard Drives are Better?

The increase of workload on our PCs is starting to take its toll. You might be working from home and/or homeschooling. More gaming, more streaming, etc. Perhaps you are planning to organize all of your digital files, but you don’t have enough storage space. An internal hard drive can make all the difference.

Western Digital has a massive range of hard drives, conveniently color coordinated. Today, we are going to cover the WD Red vs WD Blue. We will compare all of the specifications and include a side-by-side chart for a quick overview. After some pros and cons, we will make our final decision.

While there are different storage capacities, we will concentrate on the WD Red and the WD Blue 2TB. As there are two versions of the WD Blue, we will include both secs. Let’s start with what the two internal hard drives have in common.

Appearance

The color is obviously different, but the size is the same. The WD Red and the WD Blue have a 3.5-inch form factor and are 5.79 x 4 x 1.03 inches. They also both weigh 1.32 pounds, however, the second version of the WD Blue weighs 0.99 pounds.

Compatibility

The WD Red and the WD Blue can be used with Windows and Mac but be prepared to format them.

Cache

You can benefit from a large cache of 256MB with the WD Red and the WD Blue. Be careful with the WD Blue because the other version has a cache of only 64MB.

Revolutions Per Minute

Revolutions Per Minute or RPM measures the number of times the disk inside the hard drive spins in a minute. The WD Red and the WD Blue have an RPM of 5,400.

Transfer Speeds

From buffer to host, the transfer speeds of the WD Red and the WD Blue are 6GB/s. To and from the drive, the transfer speeds are up to 180MB/s. Again, read the description of the WD Blue because the version with the 64MB cache has transfer speeds of 147MB/s.

Here is a comparison chart for a quick review of the features.

	WD Red	WD Blue
Image
Size	5.79 x 4 x 1.03 inches	5.79 x 4 x 1.03 inches
Weight	1.32lbs	1.32/0.99lbs
Storage Capacity	2TB	2TB
Other Capacities	3TB, 4TB, 6TB	500GB, 1TB, 3TB, 4TB, 6TB
Form Factor	3.5 inches	3.5 inches
Compatibility	Windows and Mac	Windows and Mac
Uses	Single PC or NAS system up to 8 bays, home or small business	General added storage
Technology	NASware 3.0	IntelliSeek, No Touch Ramp Technology, Data LifeGuard
Cache	256MB	64MB/256MB
Revolutions per minute	5,400RPM	5,400RPM
Transfer Rate	Up to 180MB/s	Up to 147MB/s/180MB/s
SATA 6.0 GB/s	Yes	Yes
Workload	180TB/year. MTBF 1 million hours	Not stated
Warranty	3-year limited warranty	2-year limited warranty
Price	Check price on Amazon	Check price on Amazon

There are still some differences between the WD Red and the WD Blue, so we will focus on those now.

Both hard drives have a good range of storage capacities apart from the 2TB.

WD Red

You can find 3TB, 4TB and 6TB hard drives. If you need more, you can look at the WD Red which goes up to 14TB.

WD Blue

There are 5 other options, 500GB, 1TB, 3TB, 4TB and 6TB.

The Winner Is- The WD Red

Read next – WD Green vs WD Blue: Which Hard Drives are Better?

This is where an easy choice will be made as though they have the same compatibility, they are designed for different uses.

WD Red

The WD Red is specifically designed for 24/7 use. It is perfect for NAS systems with up to 8 bays. At the same time, it is also suitable for single PCs.

WD Blue

This hard drive is for general use to increase storage and performance.

The Winner Is- The WD Red

Read next – WD Red vs WD Gold: Which Hard Drives are Better?

The technology is also related to the uses of the hard drive.

WD Red

It comes with NASware 3.0, a firmware that increases compatibility and reliability.

WD Blue

IntelliSeek is a technology that helps to reduce the consumption of energy, and noise and vibrations. You also have No Touch Ramp Technology and Data LifeGuard to help keep the hard drive healthy.

The Winner Is- The WD Blue

Read next – WD Green vs WD Red: Which Hard Drives Are better?

The workload a hard drive can handle speaks to its durability.

WD Red

This will handle up to 180TB per year. It also has a mean time before failure of approximately 1 million hours.

WD Blue

There is no product information on the workload of this hard drive.

The Winner Is- The WD Red

Read next – WD Red vs WD Black: Which Hard Drive is Better?

There isn’t a great deal of difference in terms of price.

WD Red

The large the storage the better value for money. It comes with a 3-year limited warranty.

WD Blue

The warranty is a 2-year limited warranty, but the hard drive is around $20 cheaper for the larger cache.

The Winner Is- A Tie

Read next – WD Blue vs WD Black: Which Hard Drives are Better?

Finally, we have some pros and cons of the WD Red and the WD Blue.