A lot of progress is going down in the data storage industry. Of course we have the capacity race where we see drives reaching new and larger capacities and having denser platters. Another area in which there has been a lot of focus on is the form factor getting smaller and smaller. With mechanical hard drives still offering far more economical means of bulk storage, a lot of engineering is being poured onto them to push into the currently booming market of tablets and ultraportables. With the 2.5″ disk form factor barely adopting the 7mm thickness, WD went a step further and went down to 5mm thickness. To imagine how thin that is, 5mm is about the thickness of your computer mouse. Without further ado today we’ll  be checking out the engineering marvel in the form of the WD UltraSlim. The most important point here is will the drive deliver what we expect from modern drives or will the size reduction be a reason for compromises. Let’s find out!
WD is progressively making noise in the storage market with their relentless chain of product releases. We’ve recently seen WD step into the networking market and update their storage port folio with 4TB drives, now we’ll be looking at their newest innovation, the UltraSlim drive. WD describes the UltraSlim as follows:
An ultra-slim design that does not compromise, WD Blue was designed with stronger aluminum materials and a harder Tied-Shaft motor which increases drive pinch strength as much as 30 percent. These advanced engineering improvements allow for a more rigid structure without degrading performance or increasing power consumption.
WD Blue ultra-slim has also revolutionized the mobile hard drive with influences of enterprise-grade craftsmanship, featuring a new superior grade, high performance Dual Stage Actuator. Our state-of-the-art technology helps to reduce vibrations and acoustics that are emitted from within your system, increasing drive reliability and adds value by helping protect your investment.
- Interface: SATA 6 Gb/s
- Performance
- Rotational Speed 5,400 RPM
- Buffer Size 16 MB
- Average Latency 5.50ms
- Shock
- Operating Shock (Read) 400G, 2ms
- Non-operating Shock 1000G, 2ms
- Acoustics
- Idle Mode 15 dBA (average)
- Seek Mode 0 17 dBA (average)
- Temperature
- Operating 0° C to 60° C
- Non-operating -40° C to 65° C
- Dimensions (HxDxW) 5mm x 100.3mm x 69.85mm
- Weight 74g
CLOSER LOOK
As previously stated, the drive features a 5mm thickness which is what makes it stand out immediately at first glance. The connector is a separate cable to convert it to standard SATA as the UltraSlim features a proprietary connector.
The top mostly white with little label aside from what we see here. The drive is also very light but feels very rigid and solid.
Flipping the WD UltraSlim over we see the label we are accustomed to in WD products. The PCB is incredibly small and lines the extreme lower part of the drive.
PERFORMANCE
Test Setup
Processor: Intel Core i7 4770K 4.4Ghz
Motherboard: GIGABYTE G1.Sniper 5
Memory: Kingston HyperX 10th Anniversary Edition DDR3-2400
Storage: WD Blue UltraSlim 500GB, Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB
PSU: Seasonic X-760W
As we are testing a pioneer in its class with no direct competitor, we will be presenting data here for your own conclusions. We feel that the WD UltraSlim’s intended applications can not be compared to the mostly enthusiast oriented data we have amassed so far in our database. That said, we present to you our raw benchmark runs that best represent that maximum potential of the product.
We used HD Tach to measure the potential read speed of our SSD. The average read speed is what matters in this test as this is more indicative of the drive’s performance on a day to day basis. HD Tach is at end of life status right now but we believe the program still manages to present a valid picture what to expect from a storage product.
At a glance:Â WD UltraSlim starts out strong peaking at around 140MB/s read and slowly goes down as it goes out the track. Looking at the average read, 99MB/s, not that impressive in terms of modern standards but for something that crammed everything at such a small body, its really impressive how it maintains such speeds.
For potential write testing, HD Tune was used to measure the drive’s write performance. Again, we focus on the average results for real-world relevance.
Average write speeds is looking pretty close to what has been established in our maximum write test. Access times though could be faster if this drive wants to be a contender in the tablet space.
Crystal Disk Mark is storage benchmarking software was developed by “hiyohiyo†of Japan, and is available for free. Crystal Disk Mark measures sequential, and random read/write speeds of storage devices.
Great results in this benchmark. Sequential results look great but 4K read needs some improving.
CONCLUSION
The WD Blue UltraSlim isn’t out to set new benchmark records, its hitting the market with the intent of fitting into smaller products whilst still offering consumer-class performance that is within a reasonable price margin. Priced at ₱3,995 during launch, it is only available to OEMs and industrial distributors who can better utilize the form factor. Performance is within entry-level standards, but the form factor is class-leading.
With UltraSlim Black version also in the market, we’re really curious how those perform. For now, the mainstream product is the WD Blue UltraSlim and it has really got us excited in its possible applications. With so much innovation built into such a small package, WD is going one step further into creating a HDD with a smaller footprint.
The WD UltraSlim Blue 500GB is available for OEMs and industrial partners only and is backed by a 2-year warranty. We award it our Bronze award for innovation.
3 Comments
Dear sir,
I need WD Ultra slim HDD cable to Sata cable.So pls.write to me how much price the cable.
Thanks
Pradip roy.
We’re not sure if you can get them separate since WD sells them via OEM. You can try reaching out to Western Digital via their Facebook page for a direct response.
Dear Sir,
Good day. I want WD ultra slim to SATA cable.
So you give me good price.
Thanks
Pradip Roy