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HDD Reccomendations

matulley
By matulley
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Go to solution Solved by SuperSoph_WD,

Finished my latest build and looking for 2 reliable HDD's that I can setup in RAID1. 

I dont need alot of space (probably 1-2 TB Total) as it's mostly going to be University work put onto them along with other personal files like a some music and pictures. 

 

I've just watched a few videos about the WD Black drives, Im not really some silence freak but they sound pretty loud. Can anyone confirm whether its noticeable during normal pc use at i'd probably say an Arm's length away from you?

And also about the WD blue if anybody could tell the difference between the Blacks in Read/Write/Sound/Reliability?

 

On amazon the Red drives are also around 20% cheaper per TB. It also specifies them as NAS drives which i've seen come up alot but not too familiar with the term and/or use. Would they also be alright for "normal" use as mentioned in the op?

 

Hey there, matulley!
 
WD Black drives are designed for performance and used mostly for gaming and high-end demanding applications.  
As for the WD Blue drives - they are mostly for everyday computing, meaning just for regular use in PCs and laptops. They are reliable internal HDDs with solid performance. http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=800  
However, I believe you mentioned you want to setup a RAID 1 configuration.
This actually should point you at WD Red drives. http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=810
They are identified as NAS drives because they are specifically designed and tested for small office and home office, 1-8 bay NAS systems and PCs with RAID configurations. 
In other words - optimal performance for systems operating in NAS and RAID environments.
Which I believe is the recommended solution in your case. :)
 
If you have any further questions, let me know! 
 
SuperSoph_WD
Posted

Finished my latest build and looking for 2 reliable HDD's that I can setup in RAID1. 

 

I dont need alot of space (probably 1-2 TB Total) as it's mostly going to be University work put onto them along with other personal files like a some music and pictures. 

 

Price isnt really an issue although at the same time I dont want to pay through the nose for them! :)

 

Thanks :)

PC Rig: Intel i7 4790k CPU, 2x Sapphire R9 290 Graphics, MSI Gaming 7 Z97 MB, 8GB DDR3 2133Mhz G-skill ripjaws, RAID0 2x Crucial 500GB MX500 SSD, RAID1 2x 1TB WD Black HDD, Corsair RM1000W Gold PSU, Noctua NHD14, Corsair 750D Case.

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Thanks guys

PC Rig: Intel i7 4790k CPU, 2x Sapphire R9 290 Graphics, MSI Gaming 7 Z97 MB, 8GB DDR3 2133Mhz G-skill ripjaws, RAID0 2x Crucial 500GB MX500 SSD, RAID1 2x 1TB WD Black HDD, Corsair RM1000W Gold PSU, Noctua NHD14, Corsair 750D Case.

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WD blue or Black

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I would recommend WD Blacks and Reds, but if you are running them 24/7, you should take a look at WD purples  

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WD Black is fast (for HDD) and reliable, WD Blues are also very reliable and very cost-effective. So I'd recommend Blacks if you can afford them, Blues if you want to save some money. Given that you're going RAID 1 I wouldn't worry about Blues being not quite as reliable as Blacks, because they're still very good.

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Thanks for recommendations guys.

 

I've just watched a few videos about the WD Black drives, Im not really some silence freak but they sound pretty loud. Can anyone confirm whether its noticeable during normal pc use at i'd probably say an Arm's length away from you?

 

And also about the WD blue if anybody could tell the difference between the Blacks in Read/Write/Sound/Reliability?

PC Rig: Intel i7 4790k CPU, 2x Sapphire R9 290 Graphics, MSI Gaming 7 Z97 MB, 8GB DDR3 2133Mhz G-skill ripjaws, RAID0 2x Crucial 500GB MX500 SSD, RAID1 2x 1TB WD Black HDD, Corsair RM1000W Gold PSU, Noctua NHD14, Corsair 750D Case.

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On amazon the Red drives are also around 20% cheaper per TB. It also specifies them as NAS drives which i've seen come up alot but not too familiar with the term and/or use. Would they also be alright for "normal" use as mentioned in the op?

PC Rig: Intel i7 4790k CPU, 2x Sapphire R9 290 Graphics, MSI Gaming 7 Z97 MB, 8GB DDR3 2133Mhz G-skill ripjaws, RAID0 2x Crucial 500GB MX500 SSD, RAID1 2x 1TB WD Black HDD, Corsair RM1000W Gold PSU, Noctua NHD14, Corsair 750D Case.

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Finished my latest build and looking for 2 reliable HDD's that I can setup in RAID1. 

I dont need alot of space (probably 1-2 TB Total) as it's mostly going to be University work put onto them along with other personal files like a some music and pictures. 

 

I've just watched a few videos about the WD Black drives, Im not really some silence freak but they sound pretty loud. Can anyone confirm whether its noticeable during normal pc use at i'd probably say an Arm's length away from you?

And also about the WD blue if anybody could tell the difference between the Blacks in Read/Write/Sound/Reliability?

 

On amazon the Red drives are also around 20% cheaper per TB. It also specifies them as NAS drives which i've seen come up alot but not too familiar with the term and/or use. Would they also be alright for "normal" use as mentioned in the op?

 

Hey there, matulley!
 
WD Black drives are designed for performance and used mostly for gaming and high-end demanding applications.  
As for the WD Blue drives - they are mostly for everyday computing, meaning just for regular use in PCs and laptops. They are reliable internal HDDs with solid performance. http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=800  
However, I believe you mentioned you want to setup a RAID 1 configuration.
This actually should point you at WD Red drives. http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=810
They are identified as NAS drives because they are specifically designed and tested for small office and home office, 1-8 bay NAS systems and PCs with RAID configurations. 
In other words - optimal performance for systems operating in NAS and RAID environments.
Which I believe is the recommended solution in your case. :)
 
If you have any further questions, let me know! 
 
SuperSoph_WD
I hope I can help with any storage issues that you may have!  ;) 
 

 

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I would recommend WD Blacks and Reds, but if you are running them 24/7, you should take a look at WD purples  

 

Reds are NAS drives, meaning they're also good for 24/7 operation. They're also good for RAID solutions. WD Purples are for if you're going to be writing large volumes of data to them 24/7, hence why they're geared as a surveillance drive.

 

WD Greens aren't bad for bulk storage either, their performance isn't as good as blues or blacks, but they use very little power and are very quiet

 

I've heard good things about Hitachi Deskstars.

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770k | Mobo: MSI Mpower Max | Cooling: Cryorig R1 Ultimate w/ XT140 front Fan | GPU: EVGA GTX 770 Dual SC SLI | Case: NZXT H440 | Case Fans: Phanteks PH-140SP x5 | PSU: EVGA Supernova P2 1000W | RAM: 16GB Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer | SSD: Kingston HyperX 3k 120GB | HDD: Seagate Barracude

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