Very slow WD Green SSD

[quicky008]

I've had a wd green 240 GB ssd installed on my pc for more than a year. I have observed that its quite slow and makes the computer very sluggish while starting up or performing disk intensive tasks such as windows updates (it becomes almost unusable at such times).

Today i tested the read/write speeds of the ssd and was quite surprised with the results.It has a random read and write speeds of just 282 and 40 MB/s respectively,which is way too slow.

In contrast to this,an older 120 GB Crucial SSD installed on another pc gives a read/write speeds of around 400-500 MB/s.

This WD ssd was slow from the day it was installed-initially i didn't mind that much but over time it has become very annoying.

Is the SSD defective or are WD green ssds supposed to be really slow?!

Should i get rid of it?

(screenshots of Crystal disk info and ssd test results attached for reference)

 

[patkim]

What is the exact model number of the SSD e.g. WDS240G3G0A

Most likely the SSD is a DRAM Less SSD where there's no real cache present on the chip. Techniques like TLC and SLC caching are used to gain speed but when the cache fills up the speed may plummet.

I would be interested to see the ATTO Disk Benchmark results and also results from CrystalDiskMark.

 

[quicky008]

how can i find the exact model no of ssd? in Device manager it shows up as WD Green 2.5 240 GB SSD.

I have attached the screenshot of crystaldisk mark.

 

[patkim]

It is written on the product. It might be there in the invoice. Also msinfo32.exe may also display it under storage -> Disks
I suspect what you have is DRAM-Less SSD. Such issues are common with DRAM-Less SSDs.

This info about DRAM cache is never disclosed by the manufacturer. You have to refer third party guides to figure out this info. Absence of DRAM cache affects Write speeds.

Make sure there's at least 10- 15% free space on the SSD which helps in improving the speed to some extent.

Try factory reset (secure erase) procedure to restore the SSD back to factory defaults. This is data destructive operation. So take backups.
If things do not improve thereafter, consider RMA and demand a replacement.

 

[omega44-xt]

WD green & BX500 are cheap very slow SSDs.

What is your CPU & RAM? Very likely SSD can be the bottleneck. My friend had a PC with BX500 SSD with R7 3700X CPU & SSD bottleneck was apparent at times from day 1 when I installed Win10 on his rig.

 

[patkim]

All SSDs are slow. Yes that's the irony!!
Consumer is fooled into believing that SSDs are fast by the tagline '10 times faster than HDD' as HDDs are miserable in 4k Random I/O.
What makes SSDs fast is the presence of DRAM Cache, which increases the cost but helps improve speed and endurance in TBW.
Hence on all of my systems, the system drive is always on DRAM SSD. I use DRAM-Less only as a storage disk.

I had ADATA SU 650 and that was DRAM-Less. It was failing the speed test at just 15 MB/S sequential from day-1. I showed the results to prime ABGB and they gave me a replacement which is operating now for last 4 years at acceptable speed of 350MB/S sequential.

As I mentioned earlier, I would also be interested to see the ATTO Benchmark speed test results.

There are two most important specs that SSD manufacturers do not disclose

1. Size of DRAM or if it's DRAM-Less (This indirectly represents TBW, Warranty period and MTBF)
2. Retention period.

Rest everything that you see on specs webpage is not so relevant.
At 20 MBs/S seq I suggest you demand a replacement and hope that the other one will have somewhat acceptable speed.

 

[quicky008]

i have used cheaper ssds even from run of the mill brands (like zebronics,consistent etc) that are installed in my office pcs,and they are a lot faster than this WD ssd.The WD ssd feels as slow as a decade old HDD-i don't know how it still manages to sell so well.I hope the one i received wasn't defective or malfunctioning.Even a crucial bx500 120GB ssd i tested was much faster than the WD ssd.

The system i am referring to has an i5 10th gen cpu with a b460 mobo,so i don't think its causing any bottlenecks here.

BTW how much warranty does WD green SSDs typically have? This one is around 1.6 years old and was purchased online.Can i write to WD's customer care and ask for a replacement?

 

[patkim]

Yes, as I mentioned earlier you should show this report to WD and ask for replacement.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I had same issue with ADATA SU 650. And I got a replacement.

 

[quicky008]

replaced the wd ssd today as it was becoming increasingly frustrating to use-the replacement (crucial bx 500) seems good enough for now-lets hope it wont slow down as it gets older.

 

[patkim]

Good to know that you have replaced it.
BX series is again DRAM-Less but as long as you are getting 400+ MB/S sequential you should be in general good to go.
Just keep checking the speed once in a while or so.

 

[quicky008]

Results with the new SSD.