Western Digital WD Green 2000GB

The Western Digital WD Green 2000GB (2TB) is a DRAM-less SATA drive designed for low-power consumption and basic storage tasks rather than sustained throughput. It typically pairs a Silicon Motion-derived controller (often the SM2259XT or a proprietary SanDisk variant) with SanDisk BiCS 3D NAND and relies on SLC caching buffers for peak sequential speeds, which can degrade significantly once the cache is exhausted. This SKU shares hardware DNA with the SanDisk SSD Plus and has seen silent component revisions over its lifecycle (potentially shifting between TLC and QLC NAND). The firmware is tuned for aggressive low-power states (DevSleep), which may introduce measurable latency during wake cycles in desktop setups.

Key Specifications

• Interface: SATA III (6Gb/s)
• Sequential Read/Write: 545 MB/s Read / 525 MB/s Write
• Controller: Silicon Motion SM2259XT / SanDisk 20-82-00469-2 (Variable)
• NAND Type: SanDisk BiCS 3D NAND (TLC or QLC variable)
• DRAM Cache: None (DRAM-less)
• Physical Characteristics: Single-sided PCB, 7mm height, plastic chassis

Hardware Alternatives

• SanDisk SSD Plus: Functions as the direct internal hardware twin, often utilizing identical controller and NAND configurations under a different label.
• Crucial BX500: A competitor in the DRAM-less SATA category that uses similar Silicon Motion controllers and is targeted at the same use case.
• Kingston A400: Occupies the same technical tier, though it typically uses Phison S11 controllers rather than the Silicon Motion architecture found in the WD Green.