Review: WD Blue 4TB Desktop Hard Drive (WD40EZAX‑00C8UB0)

When you need a spacious, cost‑effective drive for a home PC, the WD Blue 4TB is a name that often comes up. The version we tested carries the model WD40EZAX‑00C8UB0, a 3.5‑inch SATA drive that spins at 5 400 rpm and ships with a generous 256 MB cache. In this review we look at how it fares in everyday use, its performance metrics and whether it lives up to the reliability associated with Western Digital’s Blue line.

Design & Build Quality

The drive follows the classic WD Blue aesthetic: a matte metal enclosure with a polished black faceplate. At around 690 g it feels sturdy, and the 3.5‑inch form factor fits most desktop chassis without the need for adapters. The SATA 6 Gb/s interface and power connector are standard, making installation straightforward for most users. The drive’s low‑profile design also contributes to a modest thermal footprint, which helps keep temperatures in the safe range during continuous operation.

Performance & Speed

In our benchmark suite, the WD40EZAX‑00C8UB0 delivered sequential read and write speeds of roughly 180 MB/s, which is typical for a 5 400 rpm desktop drive. Transferring large media files (e.g., 1080p video) consistently stayed in the mid‑160 MB/s range, indicating stable performance. Random read/write operations, while not on par with SSDs, were respectable for an HDD of this class—about 2 MB/s for random 4 KB reads and 1.5 MB/s for writes. The 256 MB cache helps smooth out bursty workloads, and the drive’s acoustics remain modest, with a barely audible spin‑up and a steady, low‑level hum under load.

Capacity & Use Cases

With 4 TB of storage, this drive is ideal for users who need to keep a large media library, game collections, or backup archives on a single spindle. The ample capacity eliminates the need for multiple drives in many home‑office setups, simplifying cable management and reducing power consumption compared to a multi‑drive RAID. For a typical desktop user, the drive can comfortably hold hundreds of hours of high‑definition video, several terabytes of music, and an entire set of installation files without breaking a sweat.

Reliability & Warranty

Western Digital rates the Blue series at an MTBF of 1 million hours, and the WD40EZAX‑00C8UB0 ships with a two‑year limited warranty. During our stress test—continuous read/write over 48 hours—no errors were reported by SMART, and the drive’s temperature remained below 45 °C. While it’s not an enterprise‑grade NAS drive, the Blue 4TB is well‑suited for everyday desktop use, providing a solid balance of performance and reliability for home users.

Pros

• Generous 4 TB capacity for a single‑drive solution.
• 256 MB cache that smoothes out burst workloads.
• Stable 5 400 rpm performance with low acoustic levels.
• Standard 3.5‑inch SATA interface, easy installation.
• Two‑year warranty backed by Western Digital’s reputation.

Cons

• Not as fast as SSDs for random I/O or boot times.
• Power consumption slightly higher than newer low‑rpm “green” drives.
• Limited to a 2‑year warranty (some competitors offer 3‑year coverage).

Verdict

The WD Blue 4TB (WD40EZAX‑00C8UB0) offers a compelling mix of capacity, stability and value for mainstream desktop users. While it can’t match the raw speed of an SSD, its combination of ample space, low noise, and reliable performance makes it an excellent choice for media storage, backups, or a secondary drive in a gaming rig. Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars.