Choosing an internal HDD

[Ahmadovich]

hey,guys
I'm a gamer and I wanna buy a new Internal HDD for my rig as the title say, but the problem is : I don't know which HDD to buy.

here are the options
----
WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM 64MB Cache : 65$

WD Black WD1003FZEX 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM 64MB Cache : 95$

Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB SATA 6GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache : 95$

I certainly wanna buy the seagate 2TB one 'cuz I wanna have the extra TB but I'm not sure will it be ok with gaming and is it the same speed and efficiency as WD ones or not

what's your opinion ? and I really wish it's accompanied with some benchmarks 'cuz I'm already confused :3
thanks in advance 🙂

 

[mikeymikec]

The WD Black performs better AFAIK (the last time I checked the benchmarks, pure HDDs aren't reviewed much from what I see these days). It also has a longer warranty, at least it does where I live.

Have you considered getting an SSD to boot Windows from (as well as storing your games on it), and having a HDD (which doesn't need to perform so well) as a secondary data disk? It will boot a lot quicker and game data will load significantly quicker.

I have a 256GB SSD and a WD Black 1TB in my main PC.

 

[Charlie98]

Blue vs Black = you are paying for the warranty.

WD vs Seagate = pick one, they are all 7200RPM drives; outside of benchmarks you are unlikely to see any performance differences.

Pick one in the size you need. Personally, I'd take the 2TB Seagate over the 1TB Black (assuming you need the space.)

 

[Essence_of_War]

What Charlie said.

The Black might slightly outperform a blue of equal capacity, but the difference is trivial. Nothing beats an SSD as a boot/application drive.

Two big questions that should inform your decision that you haven't answered yet are:
1) How much data do you currently have?
and
2) How quickly do you expect that data to grow?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Essence, Chas and Mikey all add to your benefit-cost perspective.

You should include specs and particulars on your rig, although not so essential on this question.

Before SSDs were available or affordable, I was keen on HDD performance, which drove my selections to a more expensive end of the spectrum. [I'm in the process of negotiating an RMA on a 3-year-old VelociRaptor 600GB, and if WD finds some reason to turn down the RMA request, it will go to a friend who wants to harvest the heatsink.]

With SSDs available in the current sizes, it matters less whether you get a "performance" or "budget" HDD. Reasonable expectations of longevity are more critical. So there was a time when I'd pick a WD Black over a Blue drive, and SSDs have changed all that.

Faced with such a choice now, I'd need more reasons to pick a Black over a Blue. If the drive were anticipated to be operating under more stress, maybe I'd go with the Black. But the Blue drives have proven quite reliable for my needs today.

Charlie98's point is also well-taken, and we'd visited this discussion before. Some lab-tests may favor one HDD over another, but in the long run, every make and model has its share of DOA shipments. If you spend money on an expensive HDD (like my VR 600GB), best to do more homework. In that example, there were troubles with the 600's that didn't plague the 500GB models.

 

[Ahmadovich]

You should include specs and particulars on your rig, although not so essential on this question.

I5 4440
R9 270 Sapphire Dual-x
Seasonic S12ll 520W
Ga-Z87X-D3H
G.skill RipjawsX 8GB (1x8) CL10 1866 MHz

It also has a longer warranty, at least it does where I live.

Blue vs Black = you are paying for the warranty.

I Really Have no attenion for Warranty

Have you considered getting an SSD to boot Windows from (as well as storing your games on it), and having a HDD (which doesn't need to perform so well) as a secondary data disk? It will boot a lot quicker and game data will load significantly quicker.

I have a 256GB SSD and a WD Black 1TB in my main PC.

With SSDs available in the current sizes, it matters less whether you get a "performance" or "budget" HDD. Reasonable expectations of longevity are more critical. So there was a time when I'd pick a WD Black over a Blue drive, and SSDs have changed all that.

my problem with SSDs is that the cheapest 64GB SSD Price = 1TB Blue HDD Price.. and I'm short on budget and really need the space

Two big questions that should inform your decision that you haven't answered yet are:
1) How much data do you currently have?
and
2) How quickly do you expect that data to grow?

If I have a 2TB HDD my Data Would be 2TB
If I have a 8TB HDD my Data would be 8TB :3
my Problem now is deleting valuable things to download others which I don't wanna do

 

[Ahmadovich]

do u know trusted HDD benchmarking Sites that would help me choose ?

 

[Ahmadovich]

,,

 

[jjmIII]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...39&ignorebbr=1
Good cheap 7200rpm 1TB drive. It will work great for what you need.

http://www.amazon.com/WD-Blue-Deskto.../dp/B0088PUEPK
Cheaper if you have Prime.

 

[mirageracerx]

fwiw, i have seen more ssd's fail than hdd's fail in a corporate environment proportionately. also its easier to recover data from an hdd vs. ssd.

i'd say get the black edition and be done with it.

 

[Essence_of_War]

If I have a 2TB HDD my Data Would be 2TB
If I have a 8TB HDD my Data would be 8TB :3

I see what you're trying to say, but this is not a particularly helpful reply.

If you really have that crippling of a digital hoarding problem, the only advice I can give you would be to NOT spend any money on drives so that you won't fill them, require new ones, and have to back-up this monstrosity of data you're creating.

Let me rephrase:
How big is your steam library, and how often do you buy new games?

 

[Ahmadovich]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...39&ignorebbr=1
Good cheap 7200rpm 1TB drive. It will work great for what you need.

http://www.amazon.com/WD-Blue-Deskto.../dp/B0088PUEPK
Cheaper if you have Prime.

fwiw, i have seen more ssd's fail than hdd's fail in a corporate environment proportionately. also its easier to recover data from an hdd vs. ssd.

i'd say get the black edition and be done with it.

what about Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB SATA 6GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache
I wanna this extra 1TB for that price but I'm not sure will it be ok with gaming and is it the same speed and efficiency as WD ones or not

 

[Ahmadovich]

I see what you're trying to say, but this is not a particularly helpful reply.

If you really have that crippling of a digital hoarding problem, the only advice I can give you would be to NOT spend any money on drives so that you won't fill them, require new ones, and have to back-up this monstrosity of data you're creating.

Let me rephrase:
How big is your steam library, and how often do you buy new games?

I meant that my data requirement is infinite ,, I can always fill my HDD,,,my only problem is the money , I wouldn't mind buying a 12TB HDD if I have its price.. that's why I tend to prefer the Seagate 2TB HDD cuz I wanna this extra TB

 

[Essence_of_War]

I meant that my data requirement is infinite ,, I can always fill my HDD,,,my only problem is the money , I wouldn't mind buying a 12TB HDD if I have its price

I understand that. So can I. But right now, my game and music library takes up about 1 TB of space. I have a 2 TB HDD. I'm fine for now, but I'm starting to plan my next drive upgrade, probably to a 4-6 TB HDD, and that should last me a while from there.

What is your budget, and how much drive capacity are you using RIGHT NOW?

 

[Ahmadovich]

I understand that. So can I. But right now, my game and music library takes up about 1 TB of space. I have a 2 TB HDD. I'm fine for now, but I'm starting to plan my next drive upgrade, probably to a 4-6 TB HDD, and that should last me a while from there.

What is your budget, and how much drive capacity are you using RIGHT NOW?

Now I have old 500GB Blue and I'm using 500GB after deleting a huge lot of Documentaries/1080p Movies/Games

The only options for my current Budget and for the local Computer Shops is these

WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM 64MB Cache : 65$

WD Black WD1003FZEX 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM 64MB Cache : 95$

Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB SATA 6GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache : 95$

 

[Essence_of_War]

Get the 2 TB seagate.

For reference:
1) It really isn't a great idea to fill HDDs completely to capacity
2) If you'd given us the information about your current used capacity, budget, and available options at the outset, we could given you an immediate answer without all of this beating around the bush.

 

[jjmIII]

what about Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB SATA 6GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache
I wanna this extra 1TB for that price but I'm not sure will it be ok with gaming and is it the same speed and efficiency as WD ones or not

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barrac...T2000DM001+2TB

Then by all means get the Seagate. I thought money was VERY tight. Any 7200rpm drive will be so close in speed it just doesn't matter. I'd worry more about how reliable a drive is instead. I'm not a big Seabait fan, but my 4TB has 11887 hours on it without a hiccup.

 

[Ahmadovich]

Get the 2 TB seagate.
2) If you'd given us the information about your current used capacity, budget, and available options at the outset, we could given you an immediate answer without all of this beating around the bush.

alright, my maximum budget for the HDD is 100$
but the only options at Local Computer Shops is

WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM 64MB Cache : 65$

WD Black WD1003FZEX 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM 64MB Cache : 95$

Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB SATA 6GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache : 95$

I mentioned only them without mentioning the budget 'cuz we in Egypt don't have much options as u see

 

[mikeymikec]

I found this review so far:
http://www.storagereview.com/western_digital_caviar_blue_1tb_review_wd10ealx

Less difference than I thought. Warranty means a lot to me though, especially for a storage device. "We guarantee that this disk will last for one year" does not inspire much confidence... it's not even saying that, it's actually saying "We guarantee that we will replace the drive if it fails in one year". It's a PITA if a drive fails, and it seems logical to me that they would put better quality components in a drive that they want to last at least five years than the cheaper one that they only have to support for a year.

Having said that, I've seen a WD Black fail in 6 months 🙂

 

[Ahmadovich]

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barrac...T2000DM001+2TB

Then by all means get the Seagate. I thought money was VERY tight. Any 7200rpm drive will be so close in speed it just doesn't matter. I'd worry more about how reliable a drive is instead. I'm not a big Seabait fan, but my 4TB has 11887 hours on it without a hiccup.

is the Seagate 2TB reliable ?, after reading reviews in newegg about it I am a bit worried... also I can't get DETAILED Information about its Specs like number of platters and the platter size

 

[ignatzatsonic]

is the Seagate 2TB reliable ?, after reading reviews in newegg about it I am a bit worried..

If you insist on reading reviews, you are going to remain worried and never buy anything. All brands and models have plenty of bad reviews and they are all a crapshoot.

You can get a 3 TB WD Green for 110 at newegg; and occasionally you can get it for 100 on sale. It's only 5400 rpm but still faster than most 7200 rpm drives that are more than a couple of years old, due to the high density 1 TB platters.

I've seen Toshiba 3 TB drives for 90 recently.

 

[Ahmadovich]

If you insist on reading reviews, you are going to remain worried and never buy anything. All brands and models have plenty of bad reviews and they are all a crapshoot.

You can get a 3 TB WD Green for 110 at newegg; and occasionally you can get it for 100 on sale. It's only 5400 rpm but still faster than most 7200 rpm drives that are more than a couple of years old, due to the high density 1 TB platters.

I've seen Toshiba 3 TB drives for 90 recently.

can you please give me a link to detailed specs of Seagate 2TB 7200.14 which includes Number of platters, Platters Density and size,release date..etc... sadly I can't find that data and I was told that the Drive has a lot of editions which differs in number of platters

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I found this review so far:
http://www.storagereview.com/western_digital_caviar_blue_1tb_review_wd10ealx

Less difference than I thought. Warranty means a lot to me though, especially for a storage device. "We guarantee that this disk will last for one year" does not inspire much confidence... it's not even saying that, it's actually saying "We guarantee that we will replace the drive if it fails in one year". It's a PITA if a drive fails, and it seems logical to me that they would put better quality components in a drive that they want to last at least five years than the cheaper one that they only have to support for a year.

Having said that, I've seen a WD Black fail in 6 months 🙂

Also interesting. I had four WD Blacks (but SATA-II) 500GB each, running in two RAID0's for three to six years -- never missed a lick. I thought the Blues were better on power consumption, but they're mid-range in performance (and obviously -- compared to the Blacks).

AND . . . the OP Ahmadovich is (a) on a tight budget and (b) would have to spend at least $100 just to get an SSD for his boot/system-plus-programs -- and it would be a squeeze, I think, in a 128GB unit. He can't get both.

He'd be better with both. I was thinking that with a good SSD for boot/system and programs, I'm personally fine with a mid-performance HDD 1TB like the blue drive. But in this case, I'd recommend he get a Black one -- if he's looking for one disk for boot-system-programs -- a-a-and data.

If he needs or wants 2TB, there are enough ~$100 options, but I'd think there'd be a compromise to performance. Longevity or reliability? Reviews say this or that, but it's really anybody's guess.

And . . . there's probably not a Newegg in Cairo.

 

[Charlie98]

can you please give me a link to detailed specs of Seagate 2TB 7200.14 which includes Number of platters, Platters Density and size,release date..etc... sadly I can't find that data and I was told that the Drive has a lot of editions which differs in number of platters

You are making this harder than it needs to be. If you have $100 budget, and you need 2TB of space (and it sounds like that would be a good idea... Essence is correct, don't pack an HDD up if it is also your OS drive) get the Seagate .14 drive and be done with it.

 

[Eileenfurst]

How much Space needed to store yOur files And Folders.