One interface caps every drive on the shelf at the same ceiling · review

Western Digital WD Blue 3D NAND 1 TB, 600 TBW and 1.75 M hours of MTTF, both with their methods review

The previous-generation WD Blue, and the only drive on this shelf that publishes the method behind each endurance figure — 600 TBW and 1.75 million hours of MTTF.

By Jean-Benoit Buisson

The first bullet is the most carefully written sentence on this shelf, and it is worth quoting in pieces. “An industry leading 1.75M hours mean time to failure (MTTF) and up to 600 terabytes written (TBW) for enhanced reliability”, followed by two footnotes: MTTF is based on internal Telcordia stress part testing, and the TBW values are calculated using the JEDEC client workload JESD219 and vary by product capacity.

Two quantities, each with the method that produced it. Neither of the other two drives on this shelf publishes a figure for either: the Gigastone pack names TBW without a number, and the SA510 names neither. A number with a method behind it can be compared with another number produced the same way; a bare word cannot be compared at all.

The statistic itself needs naming correctly. This page publishes MTTF, mean time to failure, not MTBF. MTBF describes the interval between failures of something that gets repaired, MTTF the expected life of something that does not. A solid-state drive is not repaired, so MTTF is the right statistic for it. It is a population figure: it says how a large batch behaves, not how long one drive will last.

Which is the gap. No warranty term appears anywhere on this page — not in the title, not in the four bullets, not in the description. The drive publishes both endurance quantities and the methods behind them, and creates no obligation. The SA510 beside it is in the same position; only the Gigastone pack names a term, three years.

The speeds are up to 560 MB/s reading, matched by the newer SA510, and up to 530 MB/s writing, the only writing figure on this shelf. Both sit in the description rather than the bullets.

The fourth bullet claims an active power draw up to 25 per cent lower than previous generations of WD Blue SSD. The description then narrows it twice: the saving applies during sequential reads, and at the 500 GB capacity point. This is a 1 TB drive, and most of what a drive does is not a sequential read.

The second bullet names WD F.I.T. Lab certification for compatibility across a range of computers, and the third free software to monitor drive health and clone a drive.

On October 26, 2026 Amazon.com had no featured offer for this drive; third-party sellers listed it at $295, against $274 for the newer SA510. What the extra $21 buys is a write figure, a written total, a population statistic and two published methods. It does not buy a warranty term, because neither drive publishes one.

Prices quoted in this text were read on October 26, 2026. The live price is at the top of the page.

Where it holds up, and where it stops

Strengths

The only drive on this shelf that publishes a method behind each endurance figure — JEDEC JESD219 for the written total and Telcordia testing for the population statistic
Publishes the statistic in the correct form for a drive, as MTTF rather than MTBF
The only writing figure on this shelf, up to 530 MB/s, alongside a reading figure of 560
States that the written total varies by capacity, so the 600 TB is offered as a range rather than as this drive’s own number
A compatibility certification program and free monitoring and cloning software are both named

Compromises

Third-party sellers only on Amazon.com on October 26, 2026, at $295 — $21 more than the newer SA510 beside it
No warranty term of any length, so two carefully published endurance figures carry no obligation
The 25 per cent power claim in the fourth bullet is narrowed by its own footnote to sequential reads at the 500 GB capacity point, which is neither this capacity nor ordinary use
Both sequential figures sit in the description rather than in a bullet
No random IOPS and no controller, which is where two drives sharing this interface actually differ

Specifications

Capacity	1 TB — printed in the title, in the maker’s unit and reported here unchanged. The description separately names capacities up to 4 TB, which belongs to the range rather than to this drive
Form factor	2.5-inch — printed in the title alongside the height
Height	7 mm (0.28 in) — printed in the title as 2.5"/7mm, which is the figure a thin laptop bay depends on
Stated sequential read figure	Up to 560 MB/s — printed in the title and repeated in the description, matched by the newer SA510 beside it
Stated sequential write figure	Up to 530 MB/s — stated in the description, thirty below the reading figure. It is the only writing figure on this shelf; the SA510 and the Gigastone publish none
Stated random IOPS	Not published on the listing — no figure in IOPS appears in the title, the four bullets or the description, as on the other two listings here
TBW rating	Up to 600 TB, with its method published — the first bullet gives the figure and its footnote names the JEDEC client workload JESD219 as the calculation and states that values vary by capacity. It is the only written total on this shelf
Stated MTBF	Published as MTTF rather than MTBF — 1.75 million hours of mean time to failure, with the footnote naming internal Telcordia stress part testing. MTBF describes the interval between failures of something repaired; MTTF the expected life of something that is not, which is the right form for a drive. It is neither a lifespan for one drive nor a guarantee
DRAM cache presence	Not published on the listing — no memory chip on the drive is claimed and no arrangement for working without one is named. The title names three-dimensional flash and nothing about a cache
Controller family	Not published on the listing — no controller is named in the title, the four bullets or the description, as on the other two listings here
Warranty length	Not published on the listing — no term of any length appears anywhere on the page, as on the SA510; only the Gigastone pack names one
Amazon reference	B073SBQMCX
EAN	0718037856278
On Amazon.com	Amazon.com had an offer at $295 on October 26, 2026.

The questions that come up before an order

Is MTTF the same as MTBF?

No. MTBF describes the average interval between failures of something that is repaired and returned to service. MTTF describes the expected time to failure of something that is not repaired, which is what a solid-state drive is. This page publishes 1.75 million hours of MTTF, which is the right form, and names the testing behind it.

Why does it cost more than the newer SA510?

The page does not say. On October 26, 2026 both WD drives were sold on Amazon.com only by third-party sellers, at $295 for this one against $274 for the 1 TB SA510. What this older drive publishes that the newer one does not is a write figure, a written total, a population statistic and the method behind each.

Does the 25 per cent power saving apply to this drive?

Not as stated. The bullet claims it against previous generations of WD Blue; the description narrows it to sequential reads, at the 500 GB capacity point. This drive is 1 TB, and sequential reading is not most of what a drive does.

What warranty comes with it?

None is published. No term appears in the title, the four bullets or the description, which leaves both endurance figures without an obligation behind them.

Against the rest of the network and storage gear

This network and storage gear share the category and the price bracket. Only what each one states is shown; an incomplete column would mislead.

Model	Price	Capacity	Form factor	Height	Stated sequential read figure
Western Digital WD Blue 3D NAND 1 TB, 600 TBW and 1.75 M hours of MTTF, both with their methods	$295	1 TB — printed in the title, in the maker’s unit and reported here unchanged. The description separately names capacities up to 4 TB, which belongs to the range rather than to this drive	2.5-inch — printed in the title alongside the height	7 mm (0.28 in) — printed in the title as 2.5"/7mm, which is the figure a thin laptop bay depends on	Up to 560 MB/s — printed in the title and repeated in the description, matched by the newer SA510 beside it
Western Digital WD Blue SA510 1 TB, five bullets of recopied attributes	$274	1 TB — printed in the title and repeated in the first bullet, in the maker’s unit and reported here in that unit without conversion	2.5-inch — printed in the title and repeated in the fifth bullet. The description adds that the drive is available in 2.5-inch or M.2 form, and this listing is the 2.5-inch one	7 mm (0.28 in) — printed in the title as 2.5"/7mm, which is the figure a thin laptop bay depends on	Up to 560 MB/s — printed in the title, matched by the previous-generation WD Blue beside it; the Gigastone pack publishes 550
Samsung 870 EVO 1 TB, whose written total belongs to a smaller drive	$370	1 TB — printed in the title, in the maker’s unit and reported here in that unit. The third bullet separately names a 250 GB variant, which is a different drive in the same range	2.5-inch — printed in the title beside the interface revision	Not published on the listing — the format is given in inches and no thickness follows it in the title or in the six bullets	Up to 560 MB/s — printed in the title and repeated in the second bullet, where it sits beside a multiple against spinning drives
Crucial BX500 1 TB, three years and a named encryption standard	$195	1 TB — printed twice in the title, in the maker’s unit and reported here in that unit. The second bullet separately names up to 4 TB, which is the ceiling of the range rather than this drive	2.5-inch — printed in the title, which also names laptops and desktop machines as the intended homes for the drive	Not published on the listing — no thickness in millimeters appears, on a page that names laptops in its title and its second bullet	Up to 540 MB/s — printed in the title. No bullet repeats it, and the first describes the effect rather than the figure

What separates the models, in network and storage gear

If price decides: Crucial BX500 1 TB, three years and a named encryption standard, at $195.
Highest Stated sequential read figure in the table: Samsung 870 EVO 1 TB, whose written total belongs to a smaller drive (Up to 560 MB/s — printed in the title and repeated in the second bullet, where it sits beside a multiple against spinning drives).

The buyer this one serves, among network and storage gear

A buyer who wants the endurance figures and the methods behind them, and will pay the previous generation’s premium to read them.

What this one costs among network and storage gear

Details checked on October 26, 2026.

The network and storage gear guides it appears in

Best SSD Upgrade for an Existing PC or Laptop

Sources

Specifications: the manufacturer sheet for network and storage gear and the matching Amazon product page. Prices and availability: Keepa. Every figure on this page names its source.

What we look at on this network and storage gear