The best inexpensive hybrid hard drive. Selecting a hard drive. Which hdd is more reliable, which brand?

Your choice must be taken with full responsibility, because the performance of your device and the safety of documents will depend on it.

When purchasing a HDD, you need to pay attention to various factors: reliability, manufacturer, technical characteristics (depending on the required tasks), compatibility with other components of your PC or laptop.

External HDD: basic parameters

Basically, when choosing external hard drives, you need to focus on the following characteristics: memory type, form factor, disk space, interface.

You also need to take into account the speed at which the disk rotates, the speed at which data is transferred, and additional functions (for example, the ability to recharge USB devices).

Let's look at the main ones.

External HDD: Form factor

The dimensions of the external drive are determined by the form factor.

3.5". The largest of the form factors. The main advantage: large capacity (up to tens of terabytes). The disadvantages include heavy weight and cost.
2.5". The most common type of disk at the moment. Pros: light weight, can be powered from a USB connector, capacity up to 500 gigabytes.
1.8". Today they are the most compact. The main advantage is small dimensions. The downside is that there is a small selection, since they began to be produced relatively recently.

External HDD: Interface

Interface HDD– this is a way to connect the disk directly to the computer (in which connector it is connected). The most common options are:

There are also combined systems (SSD is used for caching files, HDD is used for storing information).

HDD is a classic of the genre. Best suited for long-term storage. Disadvantages include noise (due to moving plates).
SSD – due to the fact that it is a solid-state drive, it does not (like an HDD) have moving parts. Main advantages: high data transfer speed, small size. One of the disadvantages is the relatively small amount of memory.

External HDD: major manufacturers

Several large companies specialize in the production of external HDDs. The most popular of them are:

Seagate (USA)

It is considered one of the largest manufacturers of external HDDs.

Among the advantages, it is worth noting the affordability, the disadvantages are reliability; most often, it is the disks of this manufacturer that are handed over to service centers.

Western Digital (USA)

A fairly well-known manufacturer that produces reliable disks that rarely break. Some models differ in their “tricks” (for example, “cool” disks with low disk rotation speed).

Transcend (Taiwan)

It is considered the most popular manufacturer of external HDDs in Russia and other post-Soviet countries. They bribe you with an affordable price.

The downside is low performance in various reliability ratings.

External HDD: the best drives of 2017

1 place. WD My Passport Ultra 1TB

The discs of this manufacturer have a well-deserved reputation for their reliability.

This model comes in five variants (depending on the capacity from 50 GB to 3 TB) and in four colors - white, blue, black and dark red.

Compatible with both PCs and laptops from .

Comes with three special utilities (WD SmartWare Pro, WD Utility, WD Security).

To work on a Mac, you will have to download a special Time Machine utility, which has a clear interface.

Main characteristics:

Interface: USB 3.0; USB 2.0
Volume: 500GB; 1TB; 1.5TB; 2TB; 3TB
Write/read speed: 118MB/s, 120MB/s

Additionally: software that allows you to access cloud storage and special coding.

2nd place. Seagate Expansion 1 TB

A new model from this manufacturer, STEA1000400, has been released onto the market, which is available in five versions (depending on memory capacity): from 500 GB to 4 TB.

The only “minus” of this model is the lack of software included, but it is easy to find and download for free on the Internet.

The device is capable of supporting data transfer via USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. One port is used for power supply and receiving information; the color of the disk is black.

Main characteristics:

Interface: USB 3.0; USB 2.0
Volume: 500GB; 1TB; 2TB; 3TB; 4TB
Write/read speed: 129 MB/s and 121 MB/s

Additionally: optimal ratio of cost to disk space

3rd place. Toshiba Canvio Connect II 1TB

This disk is compact, reliable and comes with good software, including the Pogoplug PC program, which costs $30 if you buy it separately from the disk.

Sold in four versions, depending on the amount of memory - from 50 GB to 3 TB. Available in five colors - black, red, white-gold, blue and white.

Capable of working with both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, however, users note possible difficulties with the first connection option.

Initially in the NTFS system, for use with Apple equipment you need to install the special program Tuxera NTFS for Mac.

Main characteristics:

Interface: USB 3.0; USB 2.0
Volume: 500GB; 1TB; 2TB; 3TB
Write/read speed: 98 MB/s, 100 MB/s

Additionally: there is the possibility of automatic backup; if necessary, you can configure access from any gadget to files in Canvio Connect II.

4th place. Seagate Backup Plus/Slim 1 TB

This HDD is available in five versions, depending on the memory capacity: from 500 GB to 4 TB.

A nice bonus: after registering the disk on the manufacturer’s website, you can get 200 GB of Microsoft OneDrive for free (if you buy separately, you will have to pay $95 for this).

However, hurry up, this promotion ends on June 30th. The Seagate Dashboard application is also included with this HDD.

This device is offered in two versions: Buckup Plus Slim (thickness - 0.5 inches, memory capacity - up to 2 TB, four color options) and Seagate Buckup Plus (thickness - 1.3 inches, memory capacity - 4 TB, black only ).

Main characteristics:

Interface: USB 3.0; USB 2.0
Volume: 500GB; 1TB; 1.5TB; 2TB; 4TB
Write/read speed: 125 MB/s and 120 MB/s

Additionally: free 200 GB (storage period - 2 years).

5th place. Toshiba Canvio Basics USB 3.0 1 TB

This HDD comes in five versions, depending on the memory capacity: from 500 GB to 2 TB.

For an unknown reason, the manufacturer provides different warranties for its devices, depending on the disk size: from 1 to 3 years.

The main disadvantage: the disc is sold without software, which you will have to download yourself.

This HDD is powered and transmits information using the same USB port.

The performance of this HDD is lower than that of its competitors: with a read speed of 95 MB/s, the write speed is only 89 MB/s.

Main characteristics:

Interface: USB 3.0; USB 2.0
Volume: 500GB; 750GB; 1TB; 1.5TB; 2TB
Write/read speed: 95 MB/s and 89 MB/s

Additionally: the device has a built-in shock sensor, and technology has been introduced to reduce vibration during operation.

External HDD is not detected: what to do

Sometimes users encounter a problem when a laptop or computer does not see the external HDD.

The reasons may be different, let's look at the most common ones.

In most cases, they help deal with the problem without involving a specialist in solving it.

To begin (after installing the external HDD), go to computer management.

Go to the Control Panel

To do this, you need to select the control panel, go to system and security settings.

Format the disk

If the external HDD works on other devices (for example, it is seen by another computer or TV), then the reason for not being detected may be incompatibility with the operating system or the lack of necessary drivers.

In this case, the order of your actions is as follows.

First, check the USB port to which you are connecting the external HDD.

To do this, just connect a regular one to it. If the flash drive is detected, then the problem is not with the USB port.

In this case, go to the device manager (click “Control Panel”, go to the “System and Security” tab, then select “Device Manager”.

We look at two tabs: disk devices and other devices.

This screenshot shows that the operating system did not see the drivers for the external HDD, which is why the computer did not find it.

There are two ways to correct the situation:

1. First, click the “Update hardware configuration” tab; after activating it, the drivers are installed automatically.

If the necessary drivers are not on your computer, one of the special driver search programs, of which there are many on the Internet, will come to the rescue, or search for the required driver on the manufacturer’s website.

2. The second option is preferable, since you may accidentally download the wrong driver and the device will still not work.

Installing drivers

Hard drives are the most predictable of all computer components. They are slowly growing in volume, and in our annual final review we report on what indicators the products of a particular company have achieved. However, 2016 was a surprisingly active year for the magnetic storage industry. As you know, sales of hard drives have been steadily falling and reached their peak in the summer. The reasons for this are the declining demand for ready-made computers as such and the growing popularity of SSDs. Manufacturers responded to the challenge by focusing their efforts on the class of HDD that is now most in demand - large-capacity disks, primarily server disks.

The latest innovation that has had a major impact on the performance of enterprise HDDs is helium. For a long time since the advent of this technology in commercial devices, it remained the prerogative of drives from one company - HGST. But over the past year the situation has changed. Seagate released its first server model in a sealed 10TB case, and then the helium expanded to client offerings.

The new record for HDD capacity was 12 TB based on perpendicular magnetic recording, and the next milestone will be 14 TB using SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording). In addition, Seagate, as part of the reorganization of its consumer line, introduced 2.5-inch drives with capacities up to 5 TB in 15 mm high cases (and these are also SMR). Let's talk in more detail about the changes that have occurred in each category of hard drives.

⇡ Server HDDs: nearline are thriving, mission-critical continue to develop

3.5-inch nearline class hard drives (from near online), designed for storing large amounts of data with moderate access speed requirements, remain the only class of HDD that generates stable demand in the market. Thanks to the development of cloud services and the growth of user data, they will be in demand for many years to come and will be the last to fall under the onslaught of SSDs. Information density and power consumption per server rack are the defining parameters of data center storage, and sealed helium-filled drives have no equal here.

HGST has broken another capacity record by releasing the Ultrastar He12 series helium HDD with a capacity of 12 TB. With platters with a usable capacity of 1.7 TB and a spindle speed of 7200 rpm, it also achieved an impressive sequential access speed of 255 MB/s for a magnetic drive.

However, SMR technology has once again come to the rescue to increase HDD capacity beyond the limits set by Perpendicular Magnetic Recording (PMR) technology in its modern form. HGST will soon begin selling the Ultrastar He14 series with tiled recording capacity up to 14 TB. It is easy to see that the capacity gap between gel drives and HDDs in a standard ventilated case is greater than ever: the latter have not yet even crossed the 8 TB mark.

As for Western Digital, the ongoing integration of HGST's management and production structures into the combined enterprise following the historic transaction has allowed the company to more clearly delineate which segment of the HDD market is served by each brand. Since WD's products are mostly aimed at individual consumers, their server range has been reduced, retiring nearline drives such as WD Se, WD Ae, WD Re+, and in the mission-critital category, WD Xe has fallen victim. The main Re series remains in service and includes drives with a capacity of no more than 6 TB. At the same time, WD released its own helium HDDs for data centers, built on HGST designs, under the WD Gold brand - first in a volume of 8 and then 10 TB.

Seagate, which in recent years has been increasing recording density faster than its competitors, but neglected helium, nevertheless recognized this technology. First came the Enterprise 3.5 HDD helium model with a capacity of 10 TB (plates with a usable capacity of 1.43 TB), which we found this summer and found a number of design advantages over the competing sealed HGST platform. Then, based on it, the company prepared a number of consumer devices for desktop and NAS, which will be discussed below, and a new enterprise model with a capacity of 12 TB was sent for testing to selected Seagate partners and will appear on the mass market in 2017.

The most capacious drive with SMR in Seagate's arsenal remains the 8 TB Archive HDD. Considering that standard 3.5-inch drives, even without helium, have already reached this volume, this area does not yet seem to be a priority for Seagate, although the company promises to expand the use of SMR in the future and has begun to implement it in client devices.

High-speed hard drives of the SFF form factor (2.5 inches) with a spindle speed of 15 thousand rpm are gradually becoming a thing of the past, since SSDs can offer incomparably higher performance for critical services. At the same time, 10-thousandth drives will be in demand for some time as an intermediate option between SSDs and nearline drives.

Nevertheless, there is still a noticeable demand for drives with 15 thousand rpm, and Seagate has introduced the updated, sixth version of the Enterprise Performance 15K HDD line. Thanks to the increased recording density, the drive has a volume one and a half times larger than its analogues (900 GB) and the highest sequential read/write speed among hard drives - 315 MB/s. Additionally, some Enterprise Performance 15K HDD v6 configurations include dual cache—256 MB DRAM and 16 GB NAND Flash. The latter is used both to duplicate frequently read information and to speed up recording. The Enterprise Performance 15K HDD v6's random block throughput, Seagate claims, has increased by 100% compared to previous generation drives (also equipped with Flash memory).

For 2017, Seagate has planned an upgrade to the Enterprise Performance 10K HDD series, which has already gone through eight iterations. But Western Digital does not share its competitor's enthusiasm for mission-critical drives. The company has no further plans to develop this area, and the WD brand, as we have already noted, completely left this market when the merged enterprise closed the WD Xe line. The portfolio of Toshiba drives with spindle speeds of 10/15 thousand rpm has remained unchanged since the end of 2015, and we do not know whether new models will be released.

⇡ HDDfor desktop PCs andNAS:growth in volumes and the advent of helium

This year marks the first time we've seen sealed helium-filled enclosures in consumer drives. WD, using the mechanics of the HGST Ultrastar He8, has released several new products for network storage under the WD Red, Red Pro and Purple brands. The drives have seven 1.42 TB platters with a total capacity of 8 TB. At the same time, only Red Pro retained the spindle speed of 7200 rpm, characteristic of the HGST He8, while in others the plates rotate at a speed of 5400 rpm.

The WD Blue and WD Black desktop series, as well as the drives for Purple NV video surveillance systems, remained at the 6 TB mark.

Seagate's customer portfolio, on the other hand, has been completely redesigned. All new products for 2016 and previous offerings that remain in service have been reorganized under four brands. Desktop drives are now sold under the familiar name BarraCuda (BarraCuda Pro), which was once inextricably associated with Seagate drives, but for several years gave way to the more formal name Desktop HDD and served to distinguish different series of devices in documents. In addition to BarraCuda, the brands FireCuda are presented - disks with a Flash memory buffer, IronWolf (IronWolf Pro) - for NAS and SkyHawk - for video surveillance systems.

The core of the BarraCuda, IronWolf and SkyHawk lines was formed by the models presented in previous years from the Desktop HDD, NAS HDD and Surveillance HDD series, respectively, but Seagate added to them 8 TB configurations in a ventilated case (six 1.33 TB platters), which use mechanics , previously tested in Seagate Enterprise Capacity 3.5 HDD and Enterprise NAS HDD drives. The pinnacle of development was the 10 terabyte helium models (1.43 TB per wafer). The BarraCuda series is characterized by a spindle speed of 7200 rpm, the rest - 5900 rpm.

But FireCuda drives are the only ones among all new Seagate products in the 3.5-inch form factor that have decreased in volume. These are completely new hybrid HDDs, introduced to replace the Seagate Desktop SSHD line. Like their predecessors, the drives are equipped with an 8 GB Flash memory chip, but the maximum storage capacity has been reduced from 4 to 2 TB (two 1 TB platters spinning at 7200 rpm).

HGST, barred by antitrust regulators from OEM supply of consumer HDDs after its merger with Western Digital, still sells desktop and NAS hard drives in the form of boxed upgrade kits. The most capacious model among them is the 8 TB HGST Deskstar NAS, which has a spindle speed of 7200 rpm and, we assume, comes with six platters with a usable capacity of 1.33 TB. The HGST Deskstar line, on the contrary, has not been updated for a long time and can only offer a 4 terabyte model based on five 800 GB platters (7200 rpm).

Toshiba client magnetic drives remain limited to 6 TB (7200 rpm).

⇡ 2.5-inchHDD with SATA interface: SMR and capacity up to 5 TB

750 GB per platter within the framework of traditional PMR technology remains the limit for 2.5-inch HDDs with a spindle speed of 5400-7200 rpm, and even then only Toshiba uses such platters in the MQ03ABB line. Other products from all manufacturers continue to use 500GB wafer sizes.

Previously, Seagate attempted to overcome this limitation with tiled recording, which allowed the platter capacity of the Mobile HDD series to be increased to 1 TB, and the disk capacity to 2 TB. However, the manufacturer did not stop there and released a new series of hard drives with SMR under the BarraCuda brand.

In addition to drives in 7 mm cases, it includes models with a height of 15 mm, reaching a capacity of 5 TB. The maximum sequential read/write speed is 130/140 MB/s for thick and thin drives, respectively, at a spindle speed of 5400 rpm (compare with the 145-169 MB/s figures available for the company's mobile HDDs with PRM platters).

In order to reduce the performance degradation when overwriting sectors that is typical of SMR, Seagate uses several tricks. Sections of overlapping tracks on the wafer are organized into stripes. In addition, the plate has an area formatted using standard PMR technology. Finally, the BarraCuda is equipped with a large DRAM buffer (128 MB) and 8 GB of NAND Flash memory. When under load, the controller logic tends to write blocks to the solid-state cache or PMR areas in order to place information on the SMR tracks in the free time.

Hybrid FireCuda hard drives in the 2.5-inch form factor, unlike their desktop counterparts, are also based on SMR technology and are identical in basic characteristics to BarraCuda models in 7 mm high cases, with the exception of slightly higher plates (although the difference is negligible and does not affect the usable capacity) recording density. The difference from BarraCuda is that the solid-state cache is used here to speed up not only write operations, but also read operations. Like Seagate's previous offering in this category, the Seagate Laptop SSHD, the new product determines the access pattern for the most popular data and copies it to Flash memory.

By the way, Seagate no longer has 5 mm high Laptop Ultrathin HDD mobile hard drives in its arsenal. Only Western Digital has similar offers in its WD Blue line.

⇡ Plans for the near future

Helium made it possible to install one more platter in HDD cases than before, and to increase the accuracy of positioning of heads on the track. On the other hand, tiled formatting makes it possible to use the platter area more economically due to the mutual overlap of the tracks. However, these methods only bring the industry closer to the fundamental limitations of perpendicular magnetic recording, and the next leap in capacity will bring bolder technology solutions that will likely be used in combination with both helium and SMR.

There is a so-called superparamagnetic limit, which determines the minimum size of a single “grain” of several hundred that make up a domain storing one bit of information. For a sufficiently small grain, the difference in the energy of the “zero” and “one” states is already comparable to the energy of temperature fluctuations, which entails an increased risk of charge loss.

The most promising solution to this problem is thermomagnetic recording - HAMR (Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording). As part of this technology, instead of cobalt alloys (as now), other materials (for example, an alloy of iron and platinum or gold-based alloys) will be used in HDD plates, which have a higher coercive force - the magnetic field strength necessary for demagnetization. And in order to temporarily make the substrate more susceptible to charge changes, it needs to be heated by a laser or a source of microwave radiation at the moment it passes the recording head.

The theoretical limit for recording density when using HAMR is estimated at 50 Tbit/in2, which gives a capacity of 80 TB per 3.5-inch hard drive platter. HDD manufacturers have been conducting research in this area for many years, and in 2017, HAMR technology will bear its first fruits. The company plans to begin trial deliveries of new-generation hard drives with twice the recording density of existing devices, and in another year, if all goes well, they will hit the mass market. Of course, for HAMR to find application in client HDDs, additional time will be needed.

Another technology, TDMR (Two-Dimensional Magnetic Recording), is aimed not so much at increasing the recording density as such (although it will allow this to be done by 5-10% when using standard PMR), but at making it more reliable to read information from plates when dense markings, and this is especially important for SMR and HAMR. If the track width is sufficiently small, the read head collects noise from adjacent tracks. Engineers propose to combat this by using an array of heads that process one or more tracks simultaneously. The first such devices will be Seagate Enterprise Performance 10K HDDs of the ninth series, planned for release in 2017.

Other hard drive manufacturers are also showing interest in HAMR and TDMR technologies, but we do not yet know anything about the specific plans of the joint venture of HGST and WD, on the one hand, and Toshiba, on the other.

Last November, backup provider Backblaze published . The company uses standard consumer HDDs, rather than enterprise-level models with increased reliability. It turned out that after five years of operation, 74% of all hard drives purchased continue to work. Only 26% of disks failed, with the peak of failures occurring in the fourth year of operation. Experts believe that this is a very high figure, which indicates that HDDs are actually more reliable than is commonly believed.

However, during the last Backblaze study they did not report the main thing: which specific manufacturer makes the most reliable hard drives? A new portion of statistics answers this question.

Backblaze data centers operate more than 28 thousand hard drives, including 12,956 Hitachi drives, 12,765 Seagate drives, 2,838 Western Digital drives, 58 Toshiba drives and 18 Samsung drives. Thus, it is possible to assess with relatively high reliability the reliability of HDDs from three manufacturers: Hitachi, Seagate and Western Digital.

In terms of the number of failures for different models, the undisputed leader in reliability is Hitachi (1-1.5% of drives fail annually), and the outsider is Seagate (3-13%). Western Digital drives are quite reliable (2.5-3% failures annually).

The table shows reliability for specific HDD models.

Model	Volume	Qty disks	Average Term of the work in years	Annual level failures
Seagate Desktop HDD.15 (ST4000DM000)	4.0 TB	5199	0.3	3.8%
Hitachi GST Deskstar 7K2000 (HDS722020ALA330)	2.0 TB	4716	2.9	1.1%
Hitachi GST Deskstar 5K3000 (HDS5C3030ALA630)	3.0 TB	4592	1.7	0.9%
Seagate Barracuda (ST3000DM001)	3.0 TB	4252	1.4	9.8%
Hitachi Deskstar 5K4000 (HDS5C4040ALE630)	4.0 TB	2587	0.8	1.5%
Seagate Barracuda LP (ST31500541AS)	1.5 TB	1929	3.8	9.9%
Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 (HDS723030ALA640)	3.0 TB	1027	2.1	0.9%
Seagate Barracuda 7200 (ST31500341AS)	1.5 TB	539	3.8	25.4%
Western Digital Green (WD10EADS)	1.0 TB	474	4.4	3.6%
Western Digital Red (WD30EFRX)	3.0 TB	346	0.5	3.2%
Seagate Barracuda XT (ST33000651AS)	3.0 TB	293	2.0	7.3%
Seagate Barracuda LP (ST32000542AS)	2.0 TB	288	2.0	7.2%
Seagate Barracuda XT (ST4000DX000)	4.0 TB	179	0.7	n/a
Western Digital Green (WD10EACS)	1.0 TB	84	5.0	n/a
Seagate Barracuda Green (ST1500DL003)	1.5 TB	51	0.8	120.0%

Seagate Barracuda Green drives, which were received under warranty from Seagate to replace failed drives, have terrible reliability indicators. Their average lifespan is only 9-10 months. Experts suggest that these are not new disks, but updated/repaired models that are sent only for replacement under warranty.

The “survival” graph shows that Western Digital drives fail more often in the first months of operation, but then Seagate confidently takes the lead in this unenviable category.

Information security, quick access and processing are the main tasks of any modern hard drive. Regardless of the purpose, these indicators are fundamental in user choice. Servers need HDDs with maximum fault tolerance and large physical capacity. Office computers are aimed at the budget segment with an optimal speed/volume ratio. Gamers prefer high-speed hard drives with large built-in cache. Among the large range of products, it is not easy to make a choice.

We have compiled a list of the best hard drives based on expert assessments and reviews from real customers. Our recommendations will help you make a choice that suits your needs and desires. There are many competitors in the global technology market, but we have selected the best manufacturers and recommend paying special attention to them:

Western Digital
Hitachi
Seagate
Toshiba

Interface: SATA 6Gb/s Interface: SATA 3Gb/s Rotation speed: 7200 rpm Rotation speed: 5400 rpm Volume: up to 2 TB Volume: from 2 TB Server

*Prices are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change without notice.

Hard drives: Interface: SATA 6Gb/s

Interface: SATA 6Gb/s / Rotation speed: 5400 rpm/ Volume: from 2 TB

Main advantages

Ideal as file storage for a computer whose OS runs on an SSD drive
Large amount of physical memory at a budget price
The minimum noise level during search/record is 27 dB, in contrast to analogues - 30 dB. The idle reading is even lower - 23 dB. Works unnoticed even at night
Has high impact resistance in operating mode - 65G
The latest generation SATA III connection interface provides data transfer speeds of up to 147 Mb/s. A high figure, considering the not very high spindle speed of 5400 rpm
The maximum level of power consumption is 4.1 W, with competitors' indicators ranging from 5-7 W

Show all products in the category "Interface: SATA 6Gb/s"

Hard drives: Interface: SATA 3Gb/s

Interface: SATA 3Gb/s / Rotation speed: 7200 rpm/ Volume: up to 2 TB

Main advantages

Support for signal processing distribution technology using hard drive hardware. This allows you to avoid crashes and freezes during several simultaneous accesses to different memory cells
Very low noise level of 27 dB even at maximum speed 7200 rpm
Optimal design features for efficient heat dissipation
The built-in memory is 32 MB, which is quite good for a budget model.
The classic sector size of 512 bytes makes the hard drive compatible with all consumer electronics (TVs, set-top boxes, etc.). The modern 4096 byte standard significantly limits this possibility.

Interface: SATA 3Gb/s/ Volume: up to 2 TB / Rotation speed: 7200 rpm

Main advantages

The best option for home PCs with a limited budget that are used occasionally
Provides sufficient data read/write performance, as well as minimal power consumption during idle time
Compatible with previous generations of motherboards with SATA/SATA ll connection interfaces
Despite belonging to the budget segment, the engine rotation speed reaches 7200 RPM, typical for more expensive devices, including server ones
The presence of only one plate to the structure guarantees the lowest possible noise level at maximum speed

Show all products in the category "Interface: SATA 3Gb/s"

Hard drives: Rotation speed: 7200 rpm

Interface: SATA 6Gb/s / Rotation speed: 7200 rpm/ Volume: up to 2 TB

Main advantages

High data transfer speed to RAM 600 MB/s, despite belonging to the middle price segment
Read/write speed 150 MB/s
Official warranty from the manufacturer - 60 months. Competitors' indicator does not exceed 36 months
High maximum RPM of 7200 rpm allows faster access to memory cells, unlike hard drives with a limit of 5400 rpm
Low noise level (30 dB) is ensured even during prolonged operation at maximum speed
Support for disk partitioning into 4 KB sectors
Decent amount of own cache - 64 MB

Show all products in the category "Rotation speed: 7200 rpm"

Hard drives: Rotation speed: 5400 rpm

Interface: SATA 6Gb/s/ Volume: from 2 TB / Rotation speed: 5400 rpm

Main advantages

Belongs to the Low-Energy series, which is characterized by reduced energy consumption. The manufacturer claims a figure of 5.4 W, which is significantly less than competitors
Supports SATA lll connection standard with data transfer rates up to 600 Mbps
External design and internal structural features provide high impact resistance in operating mode
The optimal amount of memory allows you to use a hard drive when assembling a home PC or a small multimedia center
There is support for NCQ, which allows you to more effectively distribute the load and perform tasks

Show all products in the category "Rotation speed: 5400 rpm"

Hard drives: Capacity: up to 2 TB

Interface: SATA 6Gb/s/ Volume: up to 2 TB / Rotation speed: 7200 rpm

Main advantages

High spindle speed provides quick access to the necessary clusters and reading information, which allows you to use the disk when assembling a gaming computer
Implemented a modern third generation connection interface
Has a record low power consumption, which allows you to slightly reduce energy costs
A system of automatic control over the activity of work and access to the memory of the hard drive significantly extends its lifespan
The small volume and budget price make the HDD suitable for everyday home use, where there is no need to store a large amount of archival data

Show all products in the category "Volume: up to 2 TB"

Hard drives: Volume: from 2 TB

Interface: SATA 6Gb/s / Rotation speed: 7200 rpm/ Volume: from 2 TB

Main advantages

The maximum buffer memory capacity of 128 MB for storing frequently used data allows for significantly less use of mechanical components, which significantly extends the service life of the hard drive
The fastest connection interface SATA III 6 Gbit/s provides write/read speeds of 227 MB/s
Considering the engine rotation speed of 7200 rpm, it has a very low noise level of 36 dB. In a closed case, such a device will be absolutely silent
The memory capacity for static information storage is 6 GB
The official warranty from the manufacturer is 5 years. Competitors cannot offer such luxury

Many of us cannot imagine modern life without the Internet. Some people use it only to log into social networks a couple of times a day, look at the weather forecast or chat with friends on Skype, but most of the lucky owners of high-speed Internet use it to download certain information, magazines, videos, etc. Thus, if earlier we could not even dream of a 1 TB hard drive, and the very possibility of filling it with extremely important information in a matter of days seemed absolutely fantastic, now such storage media are in great demand, and the demand is the highest. to external disk drives.

Well, demand, as we know, creates supply. Therefore, now you can buy an external hard drive with a capacity of up to 6 TB or more. But how reliable and profitable will such an acquisition be? After all, now that the dollar exchange rate has exceeded 75 rubles, hard drives are very expensive, and you want them to last, although not a hundred years, but not a year, much less a month. What is the best hard drive to choose that best suits your needs, as well as the criteria for quality and reliability?

In order to choose the right hard drive for your needs, you need to pay attention to its parameters.

Hard disk capacity

What do most of us pay attention to when choosing a hard drive? That's right - the volume, which directly determines how much data (documents, music, books, films, etc.) can be recorded on it. Modern HDDs have capacities ranging from several hundred gigabytes to several terabytes. The bigger, the better. But more is not always more reliable and more affordable. Since currently disks with capacities from 500 GB to 2 TB do not differ so much in price, for storing large amounts of information it is better to take a closer look at disks with 2-3 TB of memory.

Interface

The hard drive is connected to the computer motherboard using an interface cable. As for internal computer drives, there are two types of interfaces - modern SATA and outdated IDE. Modern drives can have one of the following interface types - SATA (data transfer speed up to 1.5 Gbit/s), SATA 2 (up to 3 Gbit/s), SATA 3 (up to 6 Gbit/s). The former have long been discontinued, and SATA 2 and SATA 3 are made interchangeable, however, if SATA 3 is inserted into a SATA 2 connector, it will operate at SATA 2 speeds.

Spindle (pancake) rotation speed

The read-write speed directly depends on the speed at which the hard drive spindle rotates. Naturally, the higher it is, the better. The best option would be to buy a disk with this parameter of 7200 rpm. For installing an operating system or games, a disk with a speed rating above 10,000 rpm is best suited. It’s even better to use modern solid-state SSD hard drives for these purposes (we’ll look at them a little later).

Hard drive cache (buffer memory)

Cache memory is the memory where data from the disk that has already been read but not yet transmitted through the interface is stored, which also affects the speed of the hard disk. Today this parameter can be 16, 32 or 64 MB. The more cache, the better.

Form factor

The form factor of a hard drive refers to its overall dimensions. Of the main types, two types are available: 2.5" or Small Form Factor (designated as SFF) and 3.5" - Large Form Factor (LFF). The former are intended primarily for laptops, which is why their spindle rotation speed, as a rule, does not exceed 5400 rpm. 3.5-inch hard drives are already designed for installation in a computer system unit, but there is a trend towards reducing them and releasing all HDDs in the 2.5-inch form factor.

Which brand of hard drive is better to buy?

And who actually produces them? The number of brands under which hard drives are produced is huge, but until recently there were only three manufacturers: Hitachi, Seagate (correctly pronounced “Seagate”, not “Seagate”, as many call it) and Western Digital. But the Hitachi manufacturer as such no longer exists, since all of their production facilities and technologies have become the property of Western Digital. Thus, now there is only one choice between two manufacturers.

So, which is the most reliable hard drive - Western Digital and Seagate? Judging by numerous reviews, analyzes and statistics on returns and disk failures, we can recommend, if possible, not to buy Seagate at all. Someone will say that internal Seagate drives purchased long ago have served him faithfully for 5-10 years. As a rule, this means disks with a capacity of 40 GB or less. Of course, they can be of better quality and more reliable, but can they be compared with modern ones made using completely different technology?

With the growing demand for hard drives with more memory and faster read-write speeds, manufacturers were forced to accommodate the consumer halfway, unfortunately at the expense of quality. Thus, in these tough market conditions, Western Digital has proven itself best as more reliable hard drives. Do not consider this as advertising, because it is possible that you also have your own opinion on this matter, but, for lack of anything better, I now have to recommend WD. A trend has been noticed: if a WD hard drive worked without breakdowns in the first month of operation, then most likely it will work for a very long time. Therefore, if you decide to buy a WD hard drive, then after purchasing it, test it thoroughly in the first weeks, check it with special programs, so that if a defect is discovered, immediately exchange it in the store and do not subsequently run to service centers, which There are very few, if any, in Russia. So, for example, when a Hitachi hard drive broke, people had to send it to a service center abroad, and the cost of repairing it with shipping was almost the cost of the hard drive, which already shows the inexpediency of repairing hard drives - it’s easier to buy a new one.

Which hard drive is better to choose from WD?

Western Digital hard drives are produced under different series, as evidenced by the color of the inscriptions on the drive itself: black, green, blue or red. What is the difference?

For most users, “blue” WD drives are optimal for performing everyday tasks on a computer, both in terms of price and functionality. They are not the cheapest and fast enough. Of course, if you need to very often work with video and graphics or play modern, resource-demanding games like GTA V, and you also have the means to buy a “cooler” disc, then you can take a closer look at discs from higher price categories. Analogues of WD blue series hard drives include Seagate Barracuda drives in the middle and low price range.

As for the hard drives of the green Western Digital series, which are also available from Seagate, they are ideal for people who care about the environment, although what good do they do for the environment? The only thing is that they do not contain lead. These drives have lower operating speeds, but low power consumption is perhaps their main and only advantage. Therefore, green hard drives are well suited for owners of battery-powered laptops.

Relatively inexpensive WD Green drive

WD premium hard drives from the “black” series are fast, reliable and quite expensive. They are ideal for gamers and people who are constantly engaged in video editing.

Modern “red” WD drives, according to manufacturers, are intended for NAS - network drives. They are designed for round-the-clock operation, for example, for constant distribution of torrents - which is what they are usually used for. For most of us, the role of NAS in this case is performed by a regular computer - and it works. Therefore, on the forums, the “red” Western Digital was dubbed nothing more than pure marketing. Buying such a drive for a regular home computer is wasteful, to say the least, since you won’t notice the difference in your daily work. And even with round-the-clock operation, a disk can, like any other, fail. Even if this happens in a year or two. The only difference is that if disks of other series break down while working 24/7 under warranty, they simply may not be accepted - after all, they are not intended for this. And it’s good if there is at least one service center for repairing hard drives in Moscow, not to mention other cities. As for other companies... Or rather, as for Seagate, they produce similar drives with the abbreviation NAS.

Of course, you can choose well-proven drives from the Samsung or Toshiba brands, but all of them are manufactured by third-party companies, that is, their assembly can be carried out either at WD or Seagate. It’s hardly worth taking risks here, but there are also successful models, as can be judged by the numerous positive customer reviews about this or that model both on Yandex Market and on online store sites. It can even be profitable to buy a hard drive on the Internet, for example, in the time-tested Ozone, especially during periods of discounts or promotions; fortunately, many cities have pick-up points, which significantly affects the cost of delivery.

Before purchasing, also pay attention to the year of manufacture of the model. It is best, as in principle when purchasing any other equipment, to choose not the newest, not yet time-tested models, but to purchase an already well-proven model, released a couple of years ago. In addition, the price of such hard drives is usually, if not an order of magnitude, then noticeably lower.

How to choose an external hard drive? Which is better?

External hard drives are convenient because they do not need to be mounted into the case of a laptop or computer, but simply connected via any external connector - USB 2.0, USB 3.0, FireWire or eSATA. A USB 3.0 hard drive is ideal because it is faster and is also compatible with USB 2.0, so it can be connected to any computer.

An external hard drive can be made in two form factors, which we discussed above. If compactness and the ability to often carry a hard drive with you are important to you, then you should choose only drives with a 2.5″ form factor, powered only by a USB port. But remember that small drives have lower data transfer speeds. If you simply need a disk to store large amounts of information and do not need to often carry it with you from place to place, then you should pay attention to external 3.5″ drives, powered mainly from a 220V network.

If you plan to carry the hard drive with you often, then you can pay attention to the strength of its case. It is desirable that it be rubberized. Or buy a case for it. However, this does not mean that the hard drive will be able to play football - according to the results of crash tests, most hard drives failed after falling from a height of only 10-15 cm while running. You may have better luck - but keep this in mind keep in mind, be careful - this is not a phone with a touch screen, which can be replaced even for a lot of money. After all, it will be much more difficult to recover information.

In addition, it has become possible to connect regular hard drives, which are designed for installation in a system unit, externally through special boxes that have several connection interfaces. The box itself can be connected via a USB port to a computer.

In addition, many modern computer cases are already equipped with a special compartment into which you can connect a regular HDD as an external hard drive - very convenient.

Down with the rotating pancakes! Long live SSD!!!

Is it true that we will soon forget the familiar HDDs like a bad dream?! They are being replaced by modern solid-state drives, also erroneously called hard drives. But they have absolutely nothing in common with them, because they have no mechanical parts at all! An SSD is no longer a disk; it is inherently more like a very large and capacious flash drive with microcircuits. All data is transmitted exclusively electronically.

Solid state drive with a minimum storage capacity of 32 GB for an SSD

SSD drives are connected via the latest SATA 2 and 3 interfaces, and some can be connected via PCI Express (much faster!), simply by being installed in the appropriate slot on the computer motherboard - PCI-E. SSDs are characterized by the same parameters as regular HDDs. Unless, like a flash drive, there are no rotation speeds - there’s simply nothing to rotate! And since SSDs are more compact than regular computer hard drives, they are often sold complete with an adapter, so they can be easily inserted into a standard HDD box on a system unit.

Due to the absence of any mechanical “skewers”, SSDs would seem to be more reliable, faster, quieter and consume less energy. So what are we still waiting for? Why don’t we throw our multi-terabyte HDDs into a landfill and gallop to the store to buy cutting-edge solid-state drives? The thing is that this is still a new product, which, firstly, not everyone can afford. Perhaps in the future prices for SSD drives will come down to earth from heaven, and then they will become affordable to a mere mortal to the mass buyer. In addition, SSDs are not yet distinguished by their durability - despite such an advantage as a much lower probability of damage when dropped, unlike conventional hard drives, solid-state drives nevertheless also break. Therefore, it is still better and more reliable to store important files on regular HDD drives!

But this does not mean that we should completely abandon all the advantages of SSDs at this time, since they are ideal for installing an operating system! The system on such a disk will simply fly! This does not mean that we need to buy an SSD drive with a capacity of several terabytes for the price of an apartment outside the Moscow Ring Road - take one that has enough space for the system and the most necessary programs, and for storing files a budget and much slower “green” drive is quite suitable WD series Green. In any case, it is advisable to purchase a separate, faster drive for the system - for example, the same “black” WD, if funds do not allow you to buy a solid-state drive.

Another important point: if you buy an SSD to install the system, then install at least Windows 7 on it, since older versions of the operating system do not support working with these drives.

We hope our advice will be useful to you and will help you decide which hard drive to choose based on your own needs and financial capabilities.