Good Storage HDD's

[max668]

Hello all

Im looking for some advice
I am trying to buy a good hdd to back up my important files but I know almost nothing about hdd's.

Is this a good hard drive or is it over kill?

https://www.newegg.com/gold-wd8004fryz-8tb/p/1Z4-0002-013V6

 

 

Im not sure what I should be looking for.

Thanks

[Dukesilver27-]

I guess it depends on how you intend to back up.

If it is cold storage, like you back up the data and not connect it to a system and store it somewhere safe, any consumer drive should be fine, provided that they are properly stored and handled.

If you intend to have it connected to a system, I suppose you need to look at RAID set up and have redundancy drive.

https://ttrdatarecovery.com/raid-redundancy/

[max668]

7 minutes ago, Dukesilver27- said:

I guess it depends on how you intend to back up.

If it is cold storage, like you back up the data and not connect it to a system and store it somewhere safe, any consumer drive should be fine, provided that they are properly stored and handled.

If you intend to have it connected to a system, I suppose you need to look at RAID set up and have redundancy drive.

https://ttrdatarecovery.com/raid-redundancy/

Thank you for the link.
Honestly I think will have it connected to my pc most of the time.

I was thinking about using the built in windows backup tool.

I was also looking at
https://www.newegg.com/blue-wd80eazz-8tb/p/N82E16822234496?Description=wd blue&cm_re=wd_blue-_-22-234-496-_-Product

but I was told that its not a good drive for storage. but again I have very little knowledge, thats why I am here

 

[Dukesilver27-]

I feel ya, I was in your shoes once, so research different hdd models and types. For the average consumer, WD Blue or Seagate Barracuda is fine.

After my internet research, I found that everyone have complained about either WD Blue or Seagate Barracuda, there's no better choice here, they perform about the same, priced about the same, and the quality is also about the same. It's just some luck really, some get a really durable HDD, some got a lemon, but you won't hear praises from people who got lucky, bc they have nothing to complaint. 

So my point is, get whichever is cheaper at the time of purchase, because between these two, it doesn't matter. 

I've had 3 WD Blue drives, 1 has died within 3 years of use, and I only have ever bought 1 Seagate drive, it died within 2 years I think. This doesn't mean that Seagate is bad, HDD could fail at any moment, there's no way of predicting it, which is why RAID redundancy is the best way to backup data.

[OhioYJ]

36 minutes ago, max668 said:

I am trying to buy a good hdd to back up my important files but I know almost nothing about hdd's.

Is this a good hard drive or is it over kill?

https://www.newegg.com/gold-wd8004fryz-8tb/p/1Z4-0002-013V6

 

I have many WD Gold drives here at the house. I have that exact WD 8 TB Gold drive in my son's PC for data and his Steam library actually.  My time and data are important to me, so I don't mind spending a little more on the "nicer" drives. My desktops / HTPCs all have Gold drives or HGST drives in them. My NAS though that has multiples, is using a the WD Red drives. It's got enough drives and redundancy that I'll swap drives if I have a failure.

 

- As mentioned a single drive is not a backup.

- This post explains my "backup" procedure. (A post down, I mention using Veracrypt for encryption).

- It's worth noting the Gold drives come with a 5 year warranty, but (double check me) it used to be you had to buy through an authorized retailer to get the warranty. Most of the third party sellers won't be authorized retailers. Newegg / Amazon are, but the various sellers on those sites likely aren't.

- Also Gold drives, well all the WD drives go on pretty good sales regularly.  So keep an eye out. for these. This happens even through WD themselves on their own store. My last two WD Gold drives (18 and 22 TB) came directly from WD as they put them on sale.

 

[max668]

52 minutes ago, Dukesilver27- said:

I feel ya, I was in your shoes once, so research different hdd models and types. For the average consumer, WD Blue or Seagate Barracuda is fine.

After my internet research, I found that everyone have complained about either WD Blue or Seagate Barracuda, there's no better choice here, they perform about the same, priced about the same, and the quality is also about the same. It's just some luck really, some get a really durable HDD, some got a lemon, but you won't hear praises from people who got lucky, bc they have nothing to complaint. 

So my point is, get whichever is cheaper at the time of purchase, because between these two, it doesn't matter. 

I've had 3 WD Blue drives, 1 has died within 3 years of use, and I only have ever bought 1 Seagate drive, it died within 2 years I think. This doesn't mean that Seagate is bad, HDD could fail at any moment, there's no way of predicting it, which is why RAID redundancy is the best way to backup data.

"WD Blue or Seagate Barracuda,"
^ I have also found that and I was confused

I have been using a 6 TB WD blue drive for 5 years now ..

https://prnt.sc/WIIWKR1hYYOO

^ its a bit slow but it gets the job done..

 

Blue drives dont support RAID do they ?
I was told that they dont but idk if thats true

[max668]

1 hour ago, OhioYJ said:

 

I have many WD Gold drives here at the house. I have that exact WD 8 TB Gold drive in my son's PC for data and his Steam library actually.  My time and data are important to me, so I don't mind spending a little more on the "nicer" drives. My desktops / HTPCs all have Gold drives or HGST drives in them. My NAS though that has multiples, is using a the WD Red drives. It's got enough drives and redundancy that I'll swap drives if I have a failure.

 

- As mentioned a single drive is not a backup.

- This post explains my "backup" procedure. (A post down, I mention using Veracrypt for encryption).

- It's worth noting the Gold drives come with a 5 year warranty, but (double check me) it used to be you had to buy through an authorized retailer to get the warranty. Most of the third party sellers won't be authorized retailers. Newegg / Amazon are, but the various sellers on those sites likely aren't.

- Also Gold drives, well all the WD drives go on pretty good sales regularly.  So keep an eye out. for these. This happens even through WD themselves on their own store. My last two WD Gold drives (18 and 22 TB) came directly from WD as they put them on sale.

 

I was able to find this

https://www.westerndigital.com/products/internal-drives/wd-red-plus-sata-3-5-hdd?cjevent=5ada60a06ad111ed812e04150a82b82c&utm_medium=afl1&utm_source=cj&utm_content=Shop+Western+Digital+US&cp1=8933687&utm_campaign=USwdchomepage&utm_term=10-28-2021&cp2=Slickdeals+LLC#WD80EFBX


and I can get the gold for 173

what do you think is the better move here?
 

[OhioYJ]

23 minutes ago, max668 said:

Blue drives dont support RAID do they ? I was told that they dont but idk if thats true

Any drive will work with RAID. Some have features that make them more ideal in that configuration, but you can use WD Blue drives in Raid. Just remember Raid is not a backup. It will put data on two drives, but that does not mean you can't loose data.

 

9 minutes ago, max668 said:

and I can get the gold for 173 what do you think is the better move here?

Both are fine drives. I currently have 8 of those WD Plus drives in my NAS.  I prefer the Gold drives in my regular machines.  The Gold is a slightly faster drive, and is rated for a longer lifespan (it should live longer).  Odds are both will live a long life in a "personal" PC. So you will have to decide how much you are will to spend.

 

So I would say if buying the red means maybe you invest in a second drive for redundancy, perhaps that a solid choice. Especially if that redundancy is an external that isn't hooked up to your PC all the time. If you need the drive to be as fast as possible, say running games from it, perhaps the Gold drive might be worth the extra money.

[max668]

13 hours ago, OhioYJ said:

Any drive will work with RAID. Some have features that make them more ideal in that configuration, but you can use WD Blue drives in Raid. Just remember Raid is not a backup. It will put data on two drives, but that does not mean you can't loose data.

 

Both are fine drives. I currently have 8 of those WD Plus drives in my NAS.  I prefer the Gold drives in my regular machines.  The Gold is a slightly faster drive, and is rated for a longer lifespan (it should live longer).  Odds are both will live a long life in a "personal" PC. So you will have to decide how much you are will to spend.

 

So I would say if buying the red means maybe you invest in a second drive for redundancy, perhaps that a solid choice. Especially if that redundancy is an external that isn't hooked up to your PC all the time. If you need the drive to be as fast as possible, say running games from it, perhaps the Gold drive might be worth the extra money.

 

15 hours ago, Dukesilver27- said:

I feel ya, I was in your shoes once, so research different hdd models and types. For the average consumer, WD Blue or Seagate Barracuda is fine.

After my internet research, I found that everyone have complained about either WD Blue or Seagate Barracuda, there's no better choice here, they perform about the same, priced about the same, and the quality is also about the same. It's just some luck really, some get a really durable HDD, some got a lemon, but you won't hear praises from people who got lucky, bc they have nothing to complaint. 

So my point is, get whichever is cheaper at the time of purchase, because between these two, it doesn't matter. 

I've had 3 WD Blue drives, 1 has died within 3 years of use, and I only have ever bought 1 Seagate drive, it died within 2 years I think. This doesn't mean that Seagate is bad, HDD could fail at any moment, there's no way of predicting it, which is why RAID redundancy is the best way to backup data.

https://www.newegg.com/gold-wd6002fryz-6tb/p/1Z4-0002-00DU6

Why is this so cheep?

 

Also Is this a good buy?

https://www.newegg.com/wd-ultrastar-dc-hc530-0f31284-14tb/p/N82E16822234360?Description=WD ultraStar&cm_re=WD_ultraStar-_-22-234-360-_-Product

[OhioYJ]

1 hour ago, max668 said:

 

https://www.newegg.com/gold-wd6002fryz-6tb/p/1Z4-0002-00DU6

Why is this so cheep?

 

Also Is this a good buy?

https://www.newegg.com/wd-ultrastar-dc-hc530-0f31284-14tb/p/N82E16822234360?Description=WD ultraStar&cm_re=WD_ultraStar-_-22-234-360-_-Product

The 6TB Gold drive you linked to is a refurbished drive.

- Basically no warranty, or only warrantied through the seller you bought it through. (I didn't look)

- You won't know how it was used, or how old it actually is.

- There have been refurbishers clearing / resetting / changing smart data on hard drives. So you really can't trust what you get.

 

Note this doesn't necessarily, make used drives a bad deal, or a "no-go", it's just sort of a "roll of the dice" in my opinion. You have to know what you are getting into. I'm not comfortable with the risk, so I don't go that route. You could get a drive that was only used for 100 hours, you could get a drive that's 100 hours away from it end of life.

 

On the Ultra star, that is what used to be the HGST line. WD bought them. You'll notice that drive is more through NewEgg (an authorized retailer), as you'll get a warranty if you buy through an authorized channel. It's what I was alluding too above. If you don't buy through an authorized retailer, the best you'll get is a warranty through the seller. The HGST / Ultrastar drives are good drives though, very similar (essentially the same, haven't looked at the datasheets in a while) to the WD Gold drives.

[max668]

1 hour ago, OhioYJ said:

The 6TB Gold drive you linked to is a refurbished drive.

- Basically no warranty, or only warrantied through the seller you bought it through. (I didn't look)

- You won't know how it was used, or how old it actually is.

- There have been refurbishers clearing / resetting / changing smart data on hard drives. So you really can't trust what you get.

 

Note this doesn't necessarily, make used drives a bad deal, or a "no-go", it's just sort of a "roll of the dice" in my opinion. You have to know what you are getting into. I'm not comfortable with the risk, so I don't go that route. You could get a drive that was only used for 100 hours, you could get a drive that's 100 hours away from it end of life.

 

On the Ultra star, that is what used to be the HGST line. WD bought them. You'll notice that drive is more through NewEgg (an authorized retailer), as you'll get a warranty if you buy through an authorized channel. It's what I was alluding too above. If you don't buy through an authorized retailer, the best you'll get is a warranty through the seller. The HGST / Ultrastar drives are good drives though, very similar (essentially the same, haven't looked at the datasheets in a while) to the WD Gold drives.

 

 

17 hours ago, Dukesilver27- said:

I feel ya, I was in your shoes once, so research different hdd models and types. For the average consumer, WD Blue or Seagate Barracuda is fine.

After my internet research, I found that everyone have complained about either WD Blue or Seagate Barracuda, there's no better choice here, they perform about the same, priced about the same, and the quality is also about the same. It's just some luck really, some get a really durable HDD, some got a lemon, but you won't hear praises from people who got lucky, bc they have nothing to complaint. 

So my point is, get whichever is cheaper at the time of purchase, because between these two, it doesn't matter. 

I've had 3 WD Blue drives, 1 has died within 3 years of use, and I only have ever bought 1 Seagate drive, it died within 2 years I think. This doesn't mean that Seagate is bad, HDD could fail at any moment, there's no way of predicting it, which is why RAID redundancy is the best way to backup data.

How much does HDD Cache count?
256 is less than 512MB but how much does that really matter in the real world use?

[OhioYJ]

3 hours ago, max668 said:

How much does HDD Cache count?
256 is less than 512MB but how much does that really matter in the real world use?

It matters, and more is better. However that being said, it's unfortunately one of those things you can't do much about most of the time. The cache size is generally tied to the size of the drive. There are smaller drives where you might find performance drives have 128 MB, and cheaper drives have 64 MB, something like that, but that's generally it. You'll have 256 MB of cache on many drives from 4 - 12 TB, then 512 on 14 and up.

 

So don't worry about it too much, that's not a variable you can control much. The drives will get slightly faster as they get larger generally too, but not by a huge amount.

[max668]

6 hours ago, OhioYJ said:

It matters, and more is better. However that being said, it's unfortunately one of those things you can't do much about most of the time. The cache size is generally tied to the size of the drive. There are smaller drives where you might find performance drives have 128 MB, and cheaper drives have 64 MB, something like that, but that's generally it. You'll have 256 MB of cache on many drives from 4 - 12 TB, then 512 on 14 and up.

 

So don't worry about it too much, that's not a variable you can control much. The drives will get slightly faster as they get larger generally too, but not by a huge amount.

Thank you for all your help
I really appreciate it

[Paul17]

Hi.   I am looking for 2 storage drives.   Looking for 2x 2TB, 3TB or 4TB to use in a (dual) enclosure.

 

Is there any thoughts on these?:

 

HGST Ultrastar 7K4000 HUS724030ALS640

Western Digital WD3000FYYZ

Toshiba X300 HDWR440XZSTA

Western Digital Red Pro WD2002FFSX

 

Obviously, some are better $/Tb than others - but, I am looking for reliability - and I want CMR drives.

 

Which one would you pick out of those - price being similar (within $10 of each other)?

 

[max668]

2 hours ago, Paul17 said:

Hi.   I am looking for 2 storage drives.   Looking for 2x 2TB, 3TB or 4TB to use in a (dual) enclosure.

 

Is there any thoughts on these?:

 

HGST Ultrastar 7K4000 HUS724030ALS640

Western Digital WD3000FYYZ

Toshiba X300 HDWR440XZSTA

Western Digital Red Pro WD2002FFSX

 

Obviously, some are better $/Tb than others - but, I am looking for reliability - and I want CMR drives.

 

Which one would you pick out of those - price being similar (within $10 of each other)?

 

Can you send links ?
That way I know I am looking at the same thing you are.

Also is your machine / server on all the time?

give us more details on how you play to use them


I was recommended to buy one of these drives

WD Red Plus
https://www.newegg.com/red-plus-wd20efzx-2tb/p/N82E16822234463

WD Red Pro
https://www.newegg.com/red-pro-wd4003ffbx-4tb/p/N82E16822234345
 

WD Gold 4TB
https://www.newegg.com/gold-wd4003fryz-4tb/p/1Z4-0002-013V8

 

 

What is the difference between red Pro and red Plus?

 

[Paul17]

1 hour ago, max668 said:

Can you send links ?
That way I know I am looking at the same thing you are.

Also is your machine / server on all the time?

give us more details on how you play to use them

I was recommended to buy one of these drives

WD Red Plus
https://www.newegg.com/red-plus-wd20efzx-2tb/p/N82E16822234463

WD Red Pro
https://www.newegg.com/red-pro-wd4003ffbx-4tb/p/N82E16822234345
 

WD Gold 4TB
https://www.newegg.com/gold-wd4003fryz-4tb/p/1Z4-0002-013V8

 

 

What is the difference between red Pro and red Plus

 

The ones I listed are sold on Amazon and/or Newegg.   The computer will be on all the time or most of the time. 

While doing video editing projects, you eventually need more disk/drive space.  

 

https://www.nasmaster.com/wd-red-vs-red-plus-vs-red-pro-nas-hdd/

 

https://nascompares.com/answer/wd-red-or-red-plus-or-wd-red-pro/

 

I would get the Red Pro if the price is decent else I would consider a Red Plus @ 7200 rpm speed.

 

I was leaning towards the HGST (I have an old one in an enclosure already) and the Red Pro.   The HGST is a bit cheaper ($10, iirc).  The Toshiba - seems to be used by video editors - according to a lot of reviews and their marketing.   Although, quite a few ppl claim they are a bit loud and others have expressed personal experiences that their drives have failed.   So, I am a bit apprehensive about the Toshiba but it's at a decent price right now - if I want to risk it.   Most reviews on Amazon for that drive are positive.

 

The Red series have been around for a while but I'm only considering CMR drives so I would probably choose a Pro if I went with WD.

 

The Gold is a step up from the Red but because I want two drives, I think the price is a bit high and really, I was thinking a Red Pro would be sufficient - hopefully. 

[max668]

1 hour ago, Paul17 said:

The ones I listed are sold on Amazon and/or Newegg.   The computer will be on all the time or most of the time. 

While doing video editing projects, you eventually need more disk/drive space.  

 

https://www.nasmaster.com/wd-red-vs-red-plus-vs-red-pro-nas-hdd/

 

https://nascompares.com/answer/wd-red-or-red-plus-or-wd-red-pro/

 

I would get the Red Pro if the price is decent else I would consider a Red Plus @ 7200 rpm speed.

 

I was leaning towards the HGST (I have an old one in an enclosure already) and the Red Pro.   The HGST is a bit cheaper ($10, iirc).  The Toshiba - seems to be used by video editors - according to a lot of reviews and their marketing.   Although, quite a few ppl claim they are a bit loud and others have expressed personal experiences that their drives have failed.   So, I am a bit apprehensive about the Toshiba but it's at a decent price right now - if I want to risk it.   Most reviews on Amazon for that drive are positive.

 

The Red series have been around for a while but I'm only considering CMR drives so I would probably choose a Pro if I went with WD.

 

The Gold is a step up from the Red but because I want two drives, I think the price is a bit high and really, I was thinking a Red Pro would be sufficient - hopefully. 

Personally I went with the red pro because you get 5 year warranty.  Its a good drive I just installed it in my sistem and it is very quiet

A small tip if buy it from newegg and you pay with PayPal you might qualify for PayPal credit and PayPal will give you 50 dollars for filling out the application.
I bought a 14 gig drive for 195 dollars. ( wont ever use it again but its 50 dollars)

What is your budget?

I would go with the WD red pro do to its price

 

Bellow I will post some quotes from other members and there opinions they gave me. Hope it helps

  

On 11/18/2022 at 8:34 PM, Mel0n. said:

I've only ever had 1 HGST die on me, and that was a 2007 Deskstar with 12 years of flying hours. All of the 2tb and 4tb Ultrastars in my RAID array are still going strong with no failing attributes at on average 8 years of flying hours. 
I'd avoid anything with Barracuda in the name if I were you, OP.

 

  

On 11/18/2022 at 8:32 PM, OhioYJ said:

I'll second @Mel0n.suggestion. My time and data is important. All my PCs have spinning disks in them still for data, the HTPCs still have HGSTs in them every thing else have WD Gold.  Personally, not a fan of Seagate, personal preference. Had better luck with WD.  Now I'll go find some wood to knock on... 

 

if I can run my Steam library from a Gold drive pretty sure your videos and data will be ok too. My video and data is fine on one. I will say typically I do video encoding on an SSD then move it to the HD for storage.