HGST He10 10TB Vs Seagate IronWolf 10TB?

[Steven Ansell]

Hi everyone,

I'm currently looking at two 10TB drives as potential candidates for use in my PC and my NAS. My choice has come down to the more-expensive HGST He10 10TB (0F27604, HUH721010ALE600 --> SATA, Instant Secure Erase, 512e, no power disable model) or the Seagate IronWolf 10TB (ST10000VN0004, SATA, 512e).

I can get the He10 for about £430, whereas I can get the IronWolf for about £330: a significant difference. I'll be purchasing two of whichever drive I choose, so the difference will be doubled.

I've been trying to find information on failure rates for both, as whichever I get would be expected to last for a minimum of 5 years without any issues, but have been unable to find any so far.

I'm fairly certain the HGST will be more reliable from what I've read and on a personal note I've had multiple issues with Seagate drives in the past (mostly in the 3TB era), but I don't want to let a brand bias get in the way of me making a logical decision based on evidence, facts and cost.

I'd appreciate any informed thoughts / opinions on this matter.

Kind regards

 

[ronbo613]

Can't tell you anything about the gas-filled hard drives, but I can testify that my customer service encounters with HGST have been overwhelmingly positive. For hard drives in the price range of average human beings, I prefer HGST over Seagate by a long ways.

 

[bigboxes]

I was such a Seagate fanboy. Was getting tired of the constant RMAs when Seagate lowered their warranty period. A few years ago I started migrating my hard drives to HGST. I always wanted the cheapest, but due to Seagate's business model changing to a one that is not consumer friendly I had no choice. Price is important, but so is reliability.

Based on your post, I take it one 10TB drive is for the PC and the other is for the NAS. You do know that your NAS is not backup, right? A NAS is for the sharing of files with connected devices. You still need to backup that data to an offline device. That is, one copy of your data on the NAS and one backup copy that you store offline.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

I'd lean towards the He10, but do keep in mind that it is a newer model and not as proven in the field (yet) as the He8.
You can get the He8 cheaply from WD MyBook 8TBs, which contain a white-label, 5400rpm version of the He8.

 

[Steven Ansell]

Can't tell you anything about the gas-filled hard drives, but I can testify that my customer service encounters with HGST have been overwhelmingly positive. For hard drives in the price range of average human beings, I prefer HGST over Seagate by a long ways.

Hi. Thank you for the reply and for the information

I was such a Seagate fanboy. Was getting tired of the constant RMAs when Seagate lowered their warranty period. A few years ago I started migrating my hard drives to HGST. I always wanted the cheapest, but due to Seagate's business model changing to a one that is not consumer friendly I had no choice. Price is important, but so is reliability.

Based on your post, I take it one 10TB drive is for the PC and the other is for the NAS. You do know that your NAS is not backup, right? A NAS is for the sharing of files with connected devices. You still need to backup that data to an offline device. That is, one copy of your data on the NAS and one backup copy that you store offline.

Hi. Thanks for the reply and for your experience there You are correct that I'm using one for PC and one for NAS, but my NAS acts as an effective backup for me. It's NAS use is just for me so I can access my Music, Videos etc. around the house / away from the house. I regularly use a simple program called QuickSync to keep all files updated. As such, it acts as both NAS and backup (where it stores all files from the large drive on my PC and would be used to restore to a new drive if the PC one failed). I thank you kindly though for information here, as I completely agree that most people would also require a separate backup.

I'd lean towards the He10, but do keep in mind that it is a newer model and not as proven in the field (yet) as the He8.
You can get the He8 cheaply from WD MyBook 8TBs, which contain a white-label, 5400rpm version of the He8.

Hi. Thank you for your reply and the suggestion. I definitely see your point about the He8 being more proven, but sadly this wouldn't provide enough of an upgrade over my current storage solution and as I'll also be loading games off this drive (until SSD prices reach a sensible level to upgrade my boot-drive SSD beyond 250GB), 5400 rpm would sadly be too sluggish for some uses. I very much appreciate your answer though and the information provided.

 

[Chaotic42]

I can't offer anything except this link:

https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-benchmark-stats-2016/

Backblaze releases quarterly reliability reports on their drives. Since we're in April, I'd expect one to drop soon. I don't know if they've jumped up to the 10TB drives, so if you can hold off, it might be worth it to see if there's any data on their reliability. If not, I'd lean HGST simply because of their quality and reliability.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Just watch out as I believe that the He10 line is segmented - most of them are PMR, but there's one model that's SMR.

 

[FFFF]

Take it from my experience, no hard drive can guarantee you 5 years no matter how good their quality or reputation is so get the He10 if it comes with bigger warranty otherwise pick the IronWolf which is cheaper and put that money towards additional drive backups.

 

[Steven Ansell]

I can't offer anything except this link:

https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-benchmark-stats-2016/

Backblaze releases quarterly reliability reports on their drives. Since we're in April, I'd expect one to drop soon. I don't know if they've jumped up to the 10TB drives, so if you can hold off, it might be worth it to see if there's any data on their reliability. If not, I'd lean HGST simply because of their quality and reliability.

Hi. Thanks for your reply. I'm a huge fan of Backblaze's reliability stats and have been keeping an eye out for a new set of stats, though I seem to recall reading that they couldn't easily source 10TB drives in enough volumes or at a decent-enough price.

Just watch out as I believe that the He10 line is segmented - most of them are PMR, but there's one model that's SMR.

Hi. Thanks for the reply. I've looked at the tech specs on the official He10 page and it claims that they're all PMR. (Had to check this multiple times to ensure I was looking for the right P/N.) I did a quick Google search and it looks like it is the Ha10 10TB drive that uses SMR. Thank you for this info nonetheless.

 

[Steven Ansell]

Take it from my experience, no hard drive can guarantee you 5 years no matter how good their quality or reputation is so get the He10 if it comes with bigger warranty otherwise pick the IronWolf which is cheaper and put that money towards additional drive backups.

Hi. Thanks for the reply. I definitely agree with you there: I'm just trying to maximise my chances of getting a good life out of the drive

The HGST He10 10TB model I'm looking at comes with a 5-year warranty, compared to the IronWolf 10TB's 3-year warranty, along with a much higher MTBF, which is why my current thinking is definitely to pay the extra for the HGST drives.

I appreciate the informed opinion, so thank you for taking the time to reply and give me the benefit of your experience.

 

[cfenton]

If reliability is your main concern, then go with the HGST. A 5-year warranty shows that HGST is pretty confident in the product. Worst case, if it fails four or five years in, you'll get it replaced, unlike the Seagate.

 

[Elixer]

I am unsure of when exactly the changed happened, but, apparently, Seagate now does warranties based on when THEY made them, not when the consumer bought them.

Makes no sense in my eyes, but, they are denying people left & right based on the manufactured date, not the bought date.

So, forget about buying anything from Seagate IMO.

How Long Does The Coverage Last?

The warranty period for your product is the length of time indicated as part of your product packaging. Please see your product box or quick start guide for the applicable warranty period for your product. You also may go to http://www.seagate.com/retailwarranty/ to obtain the length of your warranty period for Seagate, Maxtor or LaCie branded product and to determine whether there are any usage-based limitations. If you purchased the product in a European Economic Area Member State, you will receive the longer of your applicable product warranty period or two (2) years. The warranty period for all components other than the main product is ninety (90) days from the documented date of your purchase or two (2) years if purchased in a European Economic Area Member State.

http://www.seagate.com/support/warranty-and-replacements/limited-consumer-warranty/

 

[bigboxes]

I am unsure of when exactly the changed happened, but, apparently, Seagate now does warranties based on when THEY made them, not when the consumer bought them.

Makes no sense in my eyes, but, they are denying people left & right based on the manufactured date, not the bought date.

So, forget about buying anything from Seagate IMO.


http://www.seagate.com/support/warranty-and-replacements/limited-consumer-warranty/

That is a shame. Honestly, customer service is the key for all successful businesses. You can charge a fair price for your product, but you have to treat your customers right. I have no regret in leaving Seagate. I was probably defending them well past the time that was fair. They've brought this on themselves.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Not to mention they switched out the drives used in their portable 4TBs from the ST4000LM016 (PMR) to ST4000LM024 (SMR)

 

[sdifox]

Not touching Seagate for a while yet.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Their 2.5" drives are alright, except that f****** ST4000LM024 monstrosity.
3 out of 5 defective :|
The ST4000LM016 (really a Samsung drive) has been rock solid.

 

[Steven Ansell]

I am unsure of when exactly the changed happened, but, apparently, Seagate now does warranties based on when THEY made them, not when the consumer bought them.

Makes no sense in my eyes, but, they are denying people left & right based on the manufactured date, not the bought date.

So, forget about buying anything from Seagate IMO.

http://www.seagate.com/support/warranty-and-replacements/limited-consumer-warranty/

Wow. That's insane. Thank you very kindly for bringing this to my attention.