Which 1TB HDD?

Casterina · 7 Jul 2016 at 17:31

I'm after a 1TB HDD for storage and games to replace my Seagate Barracuda which creates a humming/spinning noise when I download files onto the drive, which brand should I go for which is reliable and is quiet?

Doogles · 7 Jul 2016 at 18:37

Cheapest 7200rpm drive, if it's gonna go wrong it should do in the first year. Get a new Seagate Barracuda for £40, have you done a SMART test because you might not have any problems.

koolpc · 7 Jul 2016 at 18:44

I like WD myself

Casterina · 7 Jul 2016 at 18:49

Doogles said:
Cheapest 7200rpm drive, if it's gonna go wrong it should do in the first year. Get a new Seagate Barracuda for £40, have you done a SMART test because you might not have any problems.

I haven't done a SMART test but I checked with Hard Disk Sentinel and the drive has 100% health and 312 days of power on time.

QuantumXP · 7 Jul 2016 at 22:04

WD 1TB Black. I have been using them for years often 24/7. My rule is to replace drives after 3 years of operation. I remove them from the machine and use them for off line backups. Not had any issues whilst in regular use or as offline storage.

smilertoo · 7 Jul 2016 at 23:29

WD Red are quieter (and cheaper) than WD black, but black has the better warranty which suggests they expect it to last longer.

Casterina · 8 Jul 2016 at 17:12

QuantumXP said:
WD 1TB Black. I have been using them for years often 24/7. My rule is to replace drives after 3 years of operation. I remove them from the machine and use them for off line backups. Not had any issues whilst in regular use or as offline storage.

smilertoo said:
WD Red are quieter (and cheaper) than WD black, but black has the better warranty which suggests they expect it to last longer.

I will pass on the WD Black as it seems to be a performance drive which will be louder than others but WD Red is only 5400RPM so only option is WD Blue.

QuantumXP · 8 Jul 2016 at 21:26

Casterina said:
I will pass on the WD Black as it seems to be a performance drive which will be louder than others but WD Red is only 5400RPM so only option is WD Blue.

Checking the spec sheets for the Blue & Black drives indicate they are the same on noise (1TB Versions @7200rpm).
Idle 29 dBA
Seek 30 dBA

Larger capacity Black drives (7200rpm) are slightly louder (Seek 34 dBA). Larger capacity Blue drives (5400rpm) are quieter (Seek 28dBA).

APM · 12 Jul 2016 at 19:12

WD Blue for me.

Doogles · 12 Jul 2016 at 19:58

QuantumXP said:
WD 1TB Black. I have been using them for years often 24/7. My rule is to replace drives after 3 years of operation. I remove them from the machine and use them for off line backups. Not had any issues whilst in regular use or as offline storage.

I don't see the point in replacing them every 3 years, had my Black for over 4 years now and it looks fine in all SMART tests so I just keep my stuff backed up like I should if something happens then replace.

QuantumXP · 12 Jul 2016 at 22:28

Doogles said:
I don't see the point in replacing them every 3 years, had my Black for over 4 years now and it looks fine in all SMART tests so I just keep my stuff backed up like I should if something happens then replace.

I would expect the drives to last the full 5 years that the warranty covers (much longer with light use). Swapping them out at 3 years is what I do to avoid drive potential drive failures and it has been working for me. Whilst the SMART data will give you an overall idea of drive health it's not perfect, but then nothing is.

In the past with smaller drive capacities I would use them for longer as I had more drives to deal with and replacing them cost more. At current capacities & prices a new drive or two every few years is cost effective.