Western Digital SiliconEdge Blue 256GB SSD Review

HD Tune v4.01

HD Tune Pro 4.01 is an extended version of HD Tune which includes many new features such as write benchmark, secure erasing, AAM setting, folder usage view, disk monitor, command line parameters and file benchmark.

Benchmark Results: The WD SiliconEdge Blue 256GB SSD had solid read performance numbers in HD Tune Pro 4.01, but in the write test the benchmark results fell flat on its face. The average read speed was found to be 208MB/s with an average write speed of 48MB/s. The read test had an access time of 0.1ms, while the write test had an access time of 2.6ms. It is interesting that both HD Tune and HD Tach are showing something strange happening in the write tests.

Comparison Chart: When comparing the WD SiliconEdge Blue 256GB SSD to the competition, it had both the slowest average read and write speeds of all the SSDs that we have tested on this system. It also had the lowest burst rate and slowest random write access times as well.

64MB File Test

Benchmark Results: Running the built-in file benchmark test in HD Tune 4.01 showed once again just how the drive performs with various file sizes. This test shows the WD SiliconEdge Blue 256GB SSD topping out at nearly 230MB/sec in the read test and 170MB/sec in the write test.