The fastest hard drive for a computer. Selecting a hard drive. Which hdd is more reliable, which brand?

A hard drive or hard drive is one of the main elements of any modern computer, responsible for storing information. The device consists of magnetic disks - round aluminum or glass plates and a read/write head. The main qualitative characteristics of a hard drive are capacity, read and read speed, rotation speed, sector search time, noise level and shock resistance during operation (for HDD). In addition, for many users, when purchasing a hard drive, a very important characteristic is the reliability and durability of the device.

The best HDD hard drives for a desktop computer for 1-2 TB

HDD ( Hard Drive Disk) is the most popular type of drive for a personal computer. Such hard drives have been on the market for a very long time and are still in high demand due to their high capacity, affordable price and relatively long service life. The main disadvantage of HDDs is their low resistance to mechanical damage. In particular, such devices are afraid of shocks and shaking during operation. Therefore, when choosing a reliable HDD drive, it is important to look at parameters such as shock resistance during operation and storage.

The most popular manufacturers of HDD hard drives for desktop computers are Toshiba (Japan), Western Digital(USA) and Seagate (USA).

3 Western Digital WD10EZRZ

The best 1 TB HDD in terms of price and quality ratio
Country: USA
Average price: RUB 3,449
Rating (2019): 4.6

Not expensive model Western Digital WD10EZRZ takes third place in the ranking of HDD hard drives for personal computers. The drive has a capacity of 1 TB and has an affordable price, which makes it quite popular on the market. Thanks to support for 4 KB sectors, the disk uses its usable space as efficiently as possible. Read speed and write speed are the same and amount to 150 Mbps.

Among the advantages in reviews, buyers indicate fast work, low noise level and low operating temperature. The device consumes little, only 3.3 W, so there will be no need to replace the power supply when installing the disk. Important parameter drive – the time of jumping between different tracks, which here is 0.4 seconds, which ensures high speed. The only disadvantages include some difficulties with setup.

2 Seagate ST1000DM010

Low price
Country: USA
Average price: 3,040 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.7

The silver medalist in the rating is a very affordable model from Seagate. In terms of its characteristics, it is very close to the WD representative, but at a slightly lower cost it offers higher performance. Volume – 1 TB – the best option for most home users. Claimed read and write speeds are 156 Mbit/s, but user reviews indicate even higher figures - up to 200 Mbit/s for sequential reading.

Also among the advantages are the relatively low noise level and minimal heating: under load, the disk heats up to 41 degrees, although the maximum permissible is almost a third higher. The only complaint about Seagate is that the power saving controls are too strict. Yes, the hard drive consumes 5.3 W, but due to the factory settings, the drive goes to sleep very quickly, which is why there is a noticeable delay when switching music tracks, for example.

Today there are three main types of hard drives: HDD (Hard Drive Disk), SSD ( Solid State Drive) and Hybrid (HDD + SSD). Which type of hard drive is better? There is no definite answer, since each has both its advantages and disadvantages:

1 Toshiba HDWD120UZSVA

Largest volume (2 TB)
Country:
Average price: 4,554 RUR
Rating (2019): 4.8

We will give leadership in the category to the most capacious hard drive. The Toshiba model with a capacity of 2 terabytes a few years ago might have seemed redundant and expensive, but today, due to the increasing volumes of information and cheaper technology, it is becoming quite relevant.

The device is made in a 3.5’ form factor. The disk rotation speed is 7200 rpm, which provides an acceptable speed of 150 MB/s for writing and reading. The manufacturer claims that during operation the disk produces only 28 dB of noise, which is confirmed by users in reviews. The disadvantage is high heating. Temperatures easily reach 50 degrees, with a critical level of 65 C. Among the pleasant features, we note the disk self-diagnosis function, which is designed to extend service life and maintain operating speed at the original level.

The manufacturer offers only a two-year warranty, but users talk about trouble-free operation for 4-5 years, and therefore there is no doubt about reliability.

Best Desktop Hard Drives Over 2TB

For most users, 1-2 terabytes of memory is enough for personal use. You can store all your files, music and even a collection of your favorite movies. But sometimes it takes a lot more memory. Videographers, editors and other professionals working with very large files need 3-4, or even 10 TB of memory. For such people, we have selected the four most capacious hard drives.

4 Western Digital WD Blue Desktop 4 TB (WD40EZRZ)

The best option for home archives
Country:
Average price: 8,200 RUR
Rating (2019): 4.6

Let's open the category with a rather modest hard drive from the well-known Western Digital. The official disk capacity is 4 TB, in reality, users complain about the availability of only 3.63 TB. On the other hand, the average cost allows you to forgive many shortcomings.

The disk rotation speed is 5400 rpm, the cache volume is only 64 MB. Because of this, the overall operating speed is low - with sequential writing/reading, the speed remains at 149-155 MB/s. But such modesty made it possible to make the WD Blue Desktop 4 Tb as quiet and cool as possible. During operation, the noise level does not exceed 28 dB, vibration is almost completely absent, and the temperature, even at maximum load, does not exceed 40 degrees. This allows you to build very quiet, reliable computers with several disks at once - assemble a couple of these HDDs in RAID 1 and you don’t have to worry about the safety of your data.

3 Seagate ST3000DM007

Affordable price
Country:
Average price: 6,690 RUR
Rating (2019): 4.7

The top three HDDs for desktop computers include the BarraCuda line model from Seagate. The price per terabyte is higher than that of the previous participant, but most ordinary users will probably be more interested in the bronze medalist. Capacity of 3.5' disk is 3 TB. This is more than enough to store a personal archive of photos, music and TV series.

The disk rotation speed is again only 5400 rpm, but due to the larger cache - 256 MB - slightly higher read/write speeds are provided - about 180-185 MB/s. Users will also be pleased with the low noise level: 27 dB during operation and only 22 dB when idle - it will not even disturb sleep! Heating is also extremely insignificant - users talk about 26-28 C under load. Finally, the drive consumes only 3.7 W when running.

There is practically no information from users about reliability. Officially declared service life is 1800 days (5 years), warranty is 720 days.

2 Western Digital WD Black 6 TB (WD6003FZBX)

Highest operating speed
Country: USA (manufactured in China, Malaysia)
Average price: 19,480 RUR
Rating (2019): 4.8

If the “Blue” line from Western Digital is intended for home use, then the “WD Black” is positioned as a tool for professionals. The capacity of the model is 6TB. Such volumes will be useful, for example, to operators and editors who have to deal with “source files” of several tens or even hundreds of gigabytes.

The disk rotates at a speed of 7200 rpm, which, in combination with a 256 MB buffer, provides write and read speeds of 225-230 MB/s - these are record figures in the class. In this case, you will have to put up with a fairly high noise level: when operating, the disk produces 36 dB, when idle – 29 dB. The user will also have to ensure good ventilation in the PC case, because the operating temperature range is small (from 5 to 55 degrees), and the heating level is high due to the high operating speed. Power consumption – 9.1 W.

In addition to high speed, the manufacturer guarantees maximum storage reliability. Official guarantee 1800 days. What are the disadvantages? High cost. 1 TB of memory on this disk costs one and a half times more than competitors (~3250 rubles)

The best hard drive manufacturers

As in any other field, there are clear leaders among storage drive manufacturers. Let's look at some of them.

• WesternDigital. This American company, founded in 1970, began producing its own hard drives back in 1988. Vast experience allows the company to always be on the crest of the wave and produce the most technically advanced devices. WD was the first to release a 10,000 rpm HDD, the first to create a 10 TB drive, and much more. The company's products are also famous for their very high reliability.
• Seagate. Another company comes from the USA. The company released its first “screw” in 1980. In 2009, Seagate's reputation was damaged by low-quality hard drives from the Barracuda11 line, but in recent years, judging by reports from large companies and user reviews, product quality has improved significantly. The company's products stand out for their best operating speed on the market. Seagate is also the largest manufacturer of hybrid HDD+SSD hard drives.
• HGST (Hitachi Global Storage Technologies). Previously an independent company, and since 2012 a subsidiary of Western Digital. The products are also highly reliable, but the range differs significantly. HGST specializes in the production of 2.5' format hard drives installed in laptops or all-in-one PCs.

1 Toshiba HDWR11AUZSVA

Best price for 1 TB
Country: Japan (made in China)
Average price: 20,228 RUR
Rating (2019): 4.8

In contrast to the previous participant, we offer a model with a minimum memory cost. For 10 TB you will have to pay only 17-18 thousand rubles. The scope of application of the model is still the same - storage and processing of high-quality video materials. Of course, you can also look at models with a larger capacity - other manufacturers offer hard drives up to 14 TB for home use - but the cost of one terabyte of memory in this case will be much higher.

In addition, our leader can boast of not only quantitative, but also qualitative indicators. The disk rotates at a speed of 7200 rpm, the cache volume is 256 MB - read and write speeds are kept at 200 MB/s. The model is undoubtedly noisy - even when idle, the noise level reaches 34 dB. Unfortunately, due to the newness of the HDD, there are no reviews about its reliability, but the manufacturer provides a 730-day warranty and claims 600,000 hours between failures - an excellent result.

The best HDD + SSD hybrid hard drives

Hybrid hard drive is considered a more advanced device for storing data, since it combines the positive aspects of HDD and SSD drives. A hybrid drive first stores data on flash memory and then transfers it to magnetic storage. This increases the speed of information transfer, increases the service life of the media and reduces energy costs. The only significant drawback of the “hybrid” is the high price.

2 Seagate ST2000DX002

The most capacious hybrid hard drive
Country: USA (made in Thailand)
Average price: 7,300 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.7

You need the capacity of a classic HDD with SSD speed? There are no miracles; it is impossible to combine these qualities in one device, but the model that opens the category comes as close as possible to this. The capacity of the “hard” part is 2 TB, which should be enough for even the most demanding users. The 8 GB flash memory is designed to ensure performance.

The test results are not amazing: sequential read speed is about 180 MB/s, write speed is 220 MB/s. Top classic HDDs can boast similar results. But the ST2000DX002 has an important feature - the effect of its work will become visible over time. The drive analyzes which files are most frequently used (usually system files and the most frequently used programs), and transfers them to flash memory to make their launch as fast as possible in the future.

Separately, it is worth noting the excellent acoustic comfort - the drive is almost inaudible during operation - and the traditional 720-day warranty for hard drives (service life 5 years).

1 Seagate ST1000LX015

Best hybrid drive 2.5’ format
Country: USA
Average price: 4,333 RUR
Rating (2019): 4.8

The leader of the rating is another representative of the Seagate hybrid drive line. The main difference from the previous participant is the 2.5’ form factor. This is suitable for installation not only on a desktop, but also on a laptop. The hard drive capacity is 1 TB, another 8 GB is carried by a flash drive. The disk rotation speed is only 5400 rpm, which can hardly be called a high result. Sequential read and write speeds of 140 and 110 MB/s, respectively.

Acoustic comfort, judging by the manufacturer’s statement, is simply excellent - only 22 dB during operation. However, some users report a slight noise when positioning the head. Although in everyday use you are unlikely to pay attention to it.

The best laptop hard drives

3 Western Digital WD5000LPLX

Favorable price. Popular HDD drive for laptop
Country: USA (manufactured in China, Malaysia)
Average price: 3,350 RUR
Rating (2019): 4.6

The top three best hard drives for laptops in 2019 opens with the Western Digital WD5000LPLX model. Thanks to the common 2.5” form factor, it will fit into the vast majority of laptop computers. The storage capacity is 500 GB, which is quite enough to store a large amount of documentation. HDD technology increases the service life of the media and allows it to be used for several years without having to be replaced.

The advantages of this model in reviews include good data exchange speed, a 5-year warranty and an acceptable cache size. The external data transfer rate is about 600 Mbit/s, which allows you to quickly display the requested documents. Among the weaknesses of this device are heating during intensive operation and a fairly high noise level when reading from the drive.

2 Seagate ST1000LM048

Excellent price/capacity ratio. Quietest model
Country: USA (made in Thailand)
Average price: 3,590 RUR
Rating (2019): 4.7

We will give the silver category medal to the model from Seagate. Winchester is approximately in the middle between its competitors in both cost and performance. The capacity of a 2.5' drive is 1 TB - the optimal solution for most users. Spindle speed 5400 rpm. Together with a 128 MB cache, this provides a sequential read speed of 125 MB/s and a write speed of 88 MB/s.

Special attention is paid to the important mobile computers temperature and noise indicators. If you believe the reviews, the disk heats up to a maximum of 27-28 degrees. It is worth considering that this indicator can vary greatly depending on the laptop model, namely, on its ventilation. The noise is still great. During operation, the volume does not exceed 22 dB - you will only hear it in the quietest room. Finally, shock resistance during operation - the ST1000LM048 can withstand overloads up to 400G!

1 HGST HTS721010A9E630

Best speed among laptop drives
Country: USA
Average price: 3,830 RUR
Rating (2019): 4.7

The leader in the ranking is a model from HGST, which is a subsidiary of Western Digital. The format, as befits a laptop model, is 2.5-inch. Storage capacity is the usual 1000 GB, which is the golden mean for most users. The speed of operation is not surprising - due to the high rotation speed (7200 rpm), the read speed is about 115-120 MB/s. It is worth noting the high access speed of Track to track - only 1 ms. Average latency 4.2 ms.

Other features include fairly low power consumption - 1.8 W, which is especially valuable for a laptop, and low shock resistance - the hard drive will withstand overloads of up to 400 G during operation without consequences for the stored information.

The best external hard drives

3 Toshiba Canvio Ready 1TB

Favorable cost
Country: Japan
Average price: 3,980 RUR
Rating (2019): 4.5

Third place in the ranking of the best external hard drives is occupied by Toshiba Canvio Ready 1TB. This model has the lowest cost among its TOP competitors, but is in no way inferior to them in terms of characteristics. The storage device uses a 1 TB HDD, which copes well with storing large files. Thanks to the USB 3.0 interface, good data transfer speeds are achieved - up to 500 Mbit/s. The practical plastic case perfectly withstands mechanical loads and reliably stores the contents.

The advantages of this model in reviews from users include small dimensions, light weight and high reliability. In addition, the drive has sufficient protection from shocks and falls. Competent software allows you to pair the media with a variety of multimedia devices. The disadvantages include a short cord and a non-standard connector for connecting it on the hard drive side.

2 Western Digital WDBUZG0010BBK-EESN

Popular 1TB external drive
Country: USA
Average price: 4,201 RUR
Rating (2019): 4.6

In second place in the ranking of the best external hard drives of 2019 is the Western Digital WDBUZG0010BBK-EESN model. The USB 3.0 data port provides high-speed data exchange between the storage device and a third-party device. The storage capacity is 1 TB, which allows you to store not only text files and photos, but also movies. The main storage device is 1 HDD disk with a 2.5” form factor.

In numerous positive reviews, buyers talk about its small size, good reliability and quiet operation. Among all the models presented in the TOP, this one has the lightest weight - only 130 grams. In addition to the drive itself, the package includes a data cable. Among the weaknesses of this model are the fragile plastic case and problems with drivers.

1 ADATA DashDrive Durable HD650 1TB

Optimal price-quality ratio
Country: China
Average price: 4,369 RUR
Rating (2019): 4.8

The first place in the ranking of the best external hard drives of 2019 is occupied by the ADATA DashDrive Durable HD650 1TB. This 1TB drive is one of the most popular drives on the market today. Thanks to USB connection 3.0 provides data transfer speeds of up to 500 Mbit/s. The standard 2.5” form factor makes the drive quite compact (weights only 201 grams). The storage device has 1 HDD.

Among the strengths of this model in reviews, users highlight its pleasant appearance, good operating speed and shock-resistant body. Engineers paid special attention to the strength of the device, since external drives are often subject to physical impacts. The disk is compatible with most modern devices, from laptops and smartphones to TVs. The disadvantages include a short cord and no high quality assemblies.

The best hard drives for a server

Hard drives for servers are characterized by increased reliability and operating speed (rotation speed up to 15,000 rpm). To connect a server disk, parallel (SCSI) and serial (SATA, SAS) interfaces are used. Time trouble-free operation Such devices typically exceed 1 million hours. The most common width (form factor) of server hard drives is 3.5 inches, but 2.5-inch devices have become increasingly popular. It is known that the smaller the width, the more economical the hard drive is.

3 Seagate ST1000VX000

Favorable price for a high-quality 1 TB HDD
Country: USA
Average price: 4,011 RUR
Rating (2019): 4.4

The Seagate ST1000VX000 model closes the top three in the ranking of the best hard drives for a server in 2019. This device has the lowest cost compared to its competitors, however, it is in no way inferior to them in terms of characteristics. This hard drive is specifically designed for installation in video surveillance systems, which determines its ability to function around the clock for a long time. High reading speed of 210 Mbit/s will allow you to quickly access stored information.

Among the advantages of the device in reviews, users highlight the volume (here it is 1 TB), low cost and low noise level during operation. Thanks to two write heads, a maximum recording speed of 156 Mbps is achieved. NCQ support enables multitasking. The weaknesses of this HDD include the low instantaneous transfer speed and difficulties with the firmware.

2 Seagate ST1000NM0033

Best operating speed (buffer capacity 128 MB)
Country: USA
Average price: 6,830 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.5

The second place in the ranking of the best hard drives for a server is occupied by the Seagate ST1000NM0033. The storage capacity is 1 TB, which allows you to store permanent memory a fairly large amount of data, and this is important for the server. The buffer volume is 128 MB - twice as much as that of competitors. This indicator ensures high operating speed and service life, as declared by the manufacturer, up to 1,400,000 hours.

The strengths of the device in customer reviews include excellent data transfer speed, high reliability and the presence of a humidity sensor. In terms of all its characteristics, this is one of the best models for a server, but the power consumption is quite high, amounting to 8.1 W. The disk has a good protection system and will save data upon impact with a load of up to 300G. Among the disadvantages are heating during operation and a fairly high noise level during recording.

1 Western Digital WD20EFRX

Best value for money
Country: USA
Average price: 6,861 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.5

The leader in the rating of the best hard drives for a server is the Western Digital WD20EFRX model. The drive has a capacity of 2 TB and, thanks to the SATA 6GB/s interface, provides a maximum information transfer speed of up to 600 Mbit/s. The failure-free operation time declared by the manufacturer is 1,000,000 hours, which indicates the high reliability of the device. Successful engineering solutions allow the disk to be stored at temperatures from -40 to 70 °C.

In numerous reviews, users talk about quiet operation, an extended warranty and the absence of vibrations as the strengths of this model. Thanks to the unique NCQ technology, the drive can process several commands at once, which has a positive effect on its performance. Compared to its neighbors in the TOP, it is the most economical - consumption is only 4.4 W. The disadvantages of this device include its high cost and fairly stringent requirements for the ambient temperature during operation.

How to choose best hard disk

The hard drive, at first glance, is not the most important part of the computer. Yes, your PC will still work with the “wrong” model. But in order to choose a high-quality drive, pay attention to our tips.

• Drive type. First, decide which type of drive is right for you: HDD, SSD or HDD+SSD. Detailed information about them in pivot table higher.
• Manufacturer. Information is the main value of the modern world. To ensure that your data is preserved for many years, choose products from trusted manufacturers. For example, those we listed above.
• Capacity. For the OS and programs, 250 GB is enough. Store a lot of photos and music - 1 TB is your choice. You can’t raise your hand to delete your favorite TV shows and movies - look at the “screws” from 2 TB and above. The larger the volume, the higher the price.
• Form factor. Laptops are equipped with 2.5’ format hard drives, and desktop PCs – 3.5’. Be sure to check which format is supported by your device.
• Spindle rotation speed. It happens from 5400 to 10000 rpm. Higher indicator - better speed work. The best option is models with a rotation speed of 7200 rpm.
• Noise. Many users collect the maximum quiet systems cooling. Because of this, the cracking sound of the hard drive may become audible. You won’t be able to check this in advance - just know that this situation occurs.

When choosing a hard drive when buying a computer, people most often do not think about its reliability. Capacity, price and recording speeds - these characteristics are given importance, and the service life of the device is measured only by the duration of the warranty. As it turned out, in vain. The fault tolerance of hard drives varies greatly depending on the manufacturer. At similar prices and capacities, drives from one company can serve well for more than 3.5 years, while another company is highly likely to fail in the first 1.5 years. And if this is not so painful for a home computer - at most, the archive of photos from last year’s tour will “burn out”, then a dead hard drive on a corporate server will paralyze the work of the entire company and “give” problems for several months to come. Even if a company protects itself by backing up data, it will still incur losses associated with their frequent replacement and downtime for repairs when buying short-lived hard drives. The information recovery laboratory Storelab.ru decided to determine whose hard drives usually last the longest.

Durability measure

Most hard drives are produced by 6 suppliers: Fujitsu/Toshiba, Hitachi, Samsung, Seagate and Western Digital. To determine who produces the most reliable devices, we analyzed the statistics on the receipt of failed hard drives. More than 4,000 devices were reviewed: from personal computers (3.5" format to laptops (2.5").

The data from the analysis was compared with the market shares of the companies. Obviously, the more hard drives of a certain brand were sold, the higher the percentage of those that failed. Popular models are sent to the information recovery laboratory more often than rare ones. And only a significant difference in revenue volumes and market share can indicate a relatively high or low level of reliability.

It turned out that the two groups of data correlated only partially. The main difference is that the percentage of failed devices at market leader Seagate is almost 2 times higher than its share: 56.1% versus 31%. You can make an allowance for Russian specifics: according to Seagate’s own data, its share in the domestic market is more than 40%. But this fact does not fundamentally change the situation: the percentage of receipts of “dead” disks is significantly higher than the market share. This indicates the lower reliability of Seagate hard drives compared to other manufacturers. All other vendors have revenue share below market share, with Western Digital and Hitachi having a difference of nearly 11%. Thus, the devices of these companies are characterized by higher fault tolerance.

The second important indicator is the average age of hard drives at the time of failure. It, again, differs depending on the disc manufacturer and often depends on the “success” of the model. At the development stage, it is difficult to determine the durability of a hard drive. Having developed a device, the company can only conduct laboratory tests: temperature, pressure, vibration, etc. But this study, as a rule, does not show all design defects. The real test of durability is time. Shortcomings become obvious within a year and a half. If the majority of a manufacturer's hard drives survive this milestone, the product can be considered reliable.

As can be seen from the table, the leader in hard drive life expectancy is Hitachi. Its devices lasted an average of 5 years, a year and a half longer than the next most reliable Western Digital with a capacity of up to 500 GB.

Typical hard drive failures

"CC fly" bites Seagate

Seagate's performance is spoiled mainly by the 7200.11 series of Barracuda hard drives with high capacities - from 500 GB to 1.5 TB. It can hardly be called the most successful, since the 11th accounted for 65% of all “dead” Seagate hard drives received at Storelab.ru. The design of the devices in the series was created as if in great haste; it is distinguished by weak components. In addition, the series has an increased percentage of defects. Many of the hard drives stopped working in the first 1.5 years after purchase, that is, they did not even serve their warranty period.

This is surprising, considering the quality of Seagate hard drives from other series. Old Seagate hard drives are much more reliable. Devices received by the laboratory up to series 7200.10 inclusive (35% of the total) worked for 3 years or more.

The most common fault with the 11 Series is firmware failure. When executed via the terminal, it produces a hexadecimal error code, which is preceded by the message LED: 000000CC. Because of it, the glitch was called “SS Fly” in engineering slang. Typical symptoms of the appearance of the “Fly”: the computer begins to “slow down” or freeze, and after a reboot the hard drive is no longer detected by the system. Its microcode self-destructs.

Motor spindle wedge

Another common problem is the motor spindle wedge. Hard drives from all manufacturers regularly fail for this reason. Devices with increased capacity that use 3 or more magnetic plates (or “pancakes”) most often jam. Additional “pancakes” increase the load on the hard drive axis, and for it to bend slightly and then stop rotating, it is enough to drop the device from a height of 20 cm. A spindle wedge can be identified by increased vibration of the hard drive and a sharp noise similar to a squeal.

In the 7200.12 series, Seagate uses new technology and new components, but it is not yet clear whether it will be more reliable than the previous one - breakdown statistics have not yet been accumulated.

Delicately covered Western Digital

Among non-working Western Digital hard drives, 59% had a capacity of up to 500 GB and an average age of 3.5 years. The remaining 41% are disks with a capacity of more than 500 GB. Due to the additional “pancakes” they are less reliable and most of them last less than 1.5 years.

WD drives are characterized by failure of the magnetic head unit (MMG). This occurs due to overheating (WD heads are capricious at temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius), as well as due to physical impact. The WD design feature makes these hard drives especially sensitive to shock and pressure. Unlike other suppliers, WD secures the axis with the magnetic head unit not with a separate screw, but with the device cover. Therefore, if you press hard on the hard drive case, the cover may move and change the angle of inclination, then the magnetic heads will come out to the “pancakes” at the wrong angle. This is enough to disable the device. By the way, due to the fastening of the engine axis with the WD hard drive cover, it is almost impossible to disassemble and assemble such a device at home. The clamping of the cover bolts changes slightly and the disk no longer rotates.

Apart from this vulnerability, WD drives are quite reliable both mechanically and electronically.

Toshiba/Fujitsu and Samsung gash down “pancakes”

The non-working hard drives received from Toshiba/Fujitsu were exclusively 2.5-inch format for laptops. The average service life of such a device was 2 years.

A specific Toshiba disease is jamming of the engine axis due to a faulty fluid bearing. The most common reason breakdowns are the destructive effects of time. The cover that covers the axle in a Toshiba HDD is thin and often deformed. Through small gaps in it, the bearing lubricant evaporates. Gradually, the friction increases, burrs appear in the bushing, and finally, one fine day, the axle stops rotating. This is where you can wave goodbye to the hard drive. An engine wedge is one of the most serious malfunctions; even data recovery after a wedge is not always possible.

In addition, laptop hard drives often fail due to falls; during an impact, the so-called magnetic head block becomes stuck. The fact is that the magnetic plates in the hard drive are ground very precisely, so precisely that if you connect them together, you won’t be able to separate them by pulling them in different directions. The molecular attraction is strong enough that an adult could only pull the discs lengthwise. This same attraction glues the plates and the magnetic heads that read information from them. At normal operation hard drive heads hover above the surface of the “pancakes”. They, like a wing, are lifted by the air flow from the rotation of the disks.

But with a strong impact, the air force is no longer enough to prevent contact. Once the BMG touches the “pancakes”, the hard drive engine will no longer be able to separate them and return them to their working position.

When the disks begin to rotate, the heads scratch them until they completely fail and information is lost. The user only hears a quiet buzzing sound; the hard drive is detected in the BIOS, but does not work.

In hard drives Samsung contact block of magnetic heads and “pancakes” sometimes happens without the “help” of the user. The head of the hard drive from this manufacturer is designed in such a way that sometimes it spontaneously scratches along the surface of the magnetic plate. Therefore, damage to the BMG is the most common cause of failure of Samsung drives.

Conclusion

The manufacturer of the most reliable hard drives is Hitachi Corporation. Of the more than 200 non-working devices from this company that arrived at the Storelab.ru laboratory, there was not a single one with manufacturing defects or weak components. All malfunctions are caused by physical influences from users. Coupled with the longest service life and the best ratio of market share to failure rate, Hitachi hard drives can rightfully be considered the leader in fault tolerance.

The market leader in sales, Seagate, on the contrary, is inferior to other manufacturers in terms of device durability, mainly due to the 7200.11 series hard drives. Data collection on the reliability of the new series of hard drives.12 continues.

The best SSD drives for your desktop computer

First, let's look at the best, in the opinion of our experts, solid-state SSD drives, which every year are more and more confidently squeezing out their predecessors - mechanical HDDs. Expertology experts have identified four notable models from different manufacturers. All presented devices support the extended format, in which sector sizes are 4 KB.

The first number in review is underway a very good drive from the well-known Plextor brand (Taiwan). Its capacity is 512 GB, TLC memory is used (three bits per cell). Write data at a speed of 1 thousand, read - 2.45 thousand MB per second, random write - 175,000 IOPS. 1024 MB are allocated for the buffer. Data flows are controlled by a Marvell 88SS1083 controller, and this is a distinct advantage of the model due to its power and efficiency.

The high speed of operation is partly ensured by the high-speed connection type PCI-E 3.0 x4. There is compatibility with the NVMe standard, the TRIM command is supported. The total recording resource is 320 TB.

The “physics” of the drive is as follows: dimensions - 22.39 × 121.04 × 176.33 mm, the device weighs 200 g. In operation and during storage, its shock resistance is 1500 G - a very high indicator. Operating temperature limitation - 70 °C.

Although the drive is designed for installation in a desktop computer case, it is not without aesthetic qualities. The impressively sized radiator, with its curved ribs, smoothly flows around a blue insert with a logo, and on the top edge there is another glowing Plextor logo and an LED strip. All this gives the device an expressive, even “gamer” look, and in an open or transparent case the drive looks very impressive.

Advantages

powerful, highly efficient controller;

spectacular design;

high-quality cooling;

easy setup, management and updating;

Quite high write/read speed.

Flaws

• No pronounced disadvantages were noticed.

Further in the rating, Expertology experts offer for consideration a Corsair drive, which the manufacturer itself positions as a gaming drive. In fact, its technical characteristics indicate its high suitability for modern video games, as well as for working with heavy, resource-intensive graphics. The 2.5" form factor allows you to install a hard drive not only in desktop PCs, but also in many laptops.

The most noticeable feature of the hard drive is its capacity, which is 1920 GB. In many ways, it was this circumstance that influenced its more than tangible cost. Uses MLC memory (two bits per cell), which has a number of important advantages over TLC, like the previous model, and a minimum of disadvantages.

The nominal read speed is 550 MB/s and the same for writing. This is significantly less than the model discussed above, but this indicator is more realistic and better correlates with the throughput capabilities of the interface. The device is connected via SATA 6Gbit/s. Random write – 85 thousand IOPS.

The physical characteristics of the drive are as follows. Dimensions - 70x7x100 mm, weight - 55 g. Impact resistance in static and operating mode is 500 G. Operating temperature limitation - 70 °C.

The manufacturer provides a full five-year warranty for this model. The package includes a 9.5 mm adapter.

Advantages

5 years warranty;

high-quality protection against power surges;

increased reliability;

• improved error correction methods.

Flaws

• not noted.

Now, within the framework of the rating prepared by our specialists, we will consider a high-performance SSD from the “avant-garde” of the microelectronics market - Intel. With half the capacity of the previous model (960 GB), the device is twice as expensive. This is a noticeable drawback from the point of view of the average buyer, but there are very good reasons for this.

This model uses high-performance and fast memory type 3D XPoint, which was presented by Intel and Micron literally “yesterday” - in mid-2015. Operation speed: writing – 2.2 thousand MB/s, reading – 2.6 thousand MB/s. Random recording – as much as 550 thousand IOPS. The connection is made via PCI-E 3.0 x4. Compatible with NVMe standard. There is a built-in data encryption function.

The physical data of the drive is as follows. Dimensions - 17.2x68.9x168mm, weight - 230 g. On average, it consumes about 16.40 W of electricity during operation. The safe operating temperature limit is 85 °C. The shock resistance of the device is the lowest in this group - 50 G in static conditions and in operation, but this indicator is still incomparably better than that of any mechanical disk.

Intel engineers even paid serious attention to the appearance of the drive. It has a spectacular and slightly “predatory” design with LED backlighting. Therefore, the model is perfect for gamers, although it is not directly positioned by the manufacturer as a gaming one.

Advantages

highest speed and performance;

spectacular design;

exceptional durability;

innovative type of memory;

the highest write/read speed in the group.

Flaws

• high price.

The final point in the first group of the rating is an inexpensive, and at the same time definitely worthy of attention, drive from Western Digital. Despite the very “budget” cost, the hard drive is positioned by the manufacturer as a gaming one, and quite objectively.

The drive is made in a 2.5" form factor, which allows it to be installed both in desktop PCs (possibly via an adapter) and in laptops. Its capacity is 500 GB, TLC 3D NAND memory is used. It is controlled by a high-performance Marvell 88SS1074 controller. Reading is carried out with a speed of 560 MB/s, write - 530 MB/s, random write - 84 thousand IOPS Connected via SATA 6Gbit/s interface Supports NCQ and TRIM command. Shared resource recorded information - 200 TB.

The linear dimensions of the device are 69.85x7x100.2 mm, the minimum weight is only 37 g. The safe operating temperature limit is 70 °C. The hard drive has high shock resistance in static and operation - 1500 G. In operating mode it consumes about 3.35 W.

The warranty period established by the manufacturer is 36 months.

Advantages

• minimal energy consumption;

  powerful controller;

  affordable price.

Flaws

• not noted.

The best HDD hard drives for a desktop computer

Now let's look at the drives traditional type– mechanical HDDs with revolving magnetic plates. Expertology analysts ranked three notable models from the world's most famous companies - Seagate, Western Digital and Toshiba.

All three hard drives have a number of common characteristics: support for extended format (4 KB sectors), 3.5" form factor, connection via SATA 6Gbit/s interface, 600 MB per second - external data flow rate.

Opening the top three HDDs for PCs is the “Winchester” manufactured by the famous American company, which has been associated exclusively with this class of components for decades.

This is the largest drive in this group - 4 thousand GB. In addition, it is also distinguished by an impressive amount of space allocated for buffer memory - 256 MB, which has a very positive effect on the speed of working with data.

The hard drive is designed and manufactured in a 3.5" form factor and contains two magnetic platters and four heads. The spindle speed is 5400 rpm. The nominal data transfer speed is 190 MB/s. It is connected via the common SATAIII interface (6 Gbit/s). Hardware command queuing (NCQ) is supported. According to user observations, the actual reading speed of large sectors fully corresponds to the declared speed.

The physical parameters of the device are as follows. Dimensions - 101.6x20.17x146.99 mm, weight - 490 g. In operating mode, consumes about 5 W. The temperature limit in operating mode is 60 °C. The maximum declared noise level is 27 dB, and according to numerous reviews from real users, this figure is completely true.

The manufacturer provides a 24-month warranty for this model.

Advantages

favorable combination of cost and volume;

• minimal heating;

  large amount of cache memory.

Flaws

• low speed (partly compensated by a large cache).

Further in the rating we present another worthy model from an equally worthy manufacturer. This hard drive has half the capacity of the previous one - 2 thousand GB, but is also much cheaper. In addition, it has some important advantages.

The hard drive is made in a 3.5" form factor with dimensions of 101.6x26.1x147 mm and a weight of 600 g. The nominal declared read speed is equal to the write speed - 147 MB/s. 64 MB of disk space is allocated for the buffer. The spindle rotates at a speed of 5400 rpm. Connected via SATA III port (6.0 Gb/s)

The physical characteristics of the device are noteworthy. If Seagate, in relation to the above-described model, tries not to particularly advertise its shock resistance, here this parameter is even emphasized - 30 G during operation and 250 G in static storage. Nominal noise does not exceed 27 dB at fully loaded and 23 dB at idle. The safe operating temperature limit is 60 °C. Average power consumption - 4.10 W.

Despite all the visible advantages, this model is not without its drawback; fortunately, it can be easily cured. By default, the hard drive is too zealous with head parking - the count can amount to thousands of parking times per day, and this is a direct path to rapid failure. Therefore, it is recommended to adjust this setting through a special utility.

Advantages

• does not overheat;

  shock resistant;

  affordable price.

Flaws

• head parking frequency.

And the ranking of the best HDDs for PCs, according to Expertology, is completed by a hard drive produced by the super-reputable Japanese old-timer in the electronics market, Toshiba. Here it is necessary to clarify that the presented model was developed within the walls of Hitachi and produced on their own equipment, which after the sale of the business to Western Digital went to Toshiba Corporation. In this particular case, such a “multi-pass” only benefited the product.

The hard drive capacity is 3 thousand GB. 54 MB of disk space is allocated for the buffer. The average reading and writing speed is quite high due to the accelerated spindle rotation - 7200 rpm. A very good track to track access speed is 0.5 ms.

The dimensions of the drive are 101.6x26.1x147mm, weight. Like the previous described model, this hard drive is characterized by increased mechanical resistance - 70 G in operating mode and 300 G in static storage. The nominal noise level in operating mode should not exceed 28 dB. Some users note a noticeable “crunch” when working, but there are no obvious complaints at this point. The rated idle noise is almost the same - 27 dB.

On the network you can find a suspiciously noticeable percentage of reports of rapid failure, but upon in-depth analysis it turns out that these cases are mostly associated with improper operation of the device. Therefore, our experts did not consider this circumstance to be an obvious shortcoming.

Advantages

favorable “price per megabyte”;

quite quiet;

high speed;

does not overheat without external airflow (if there is no overload).

Flaws

• increased sensitivity to power outages.

The best SSD hard drives for a laptop

Now, as part of our rating, we will consider a group of solid-state drives suitable for installation in laptops and all-in-one computers. The main requirement for such devices is compactness. That's why our experts selected the best SSDs exclusively from the minimum 2280 form factor.

We will look at three models from different brands - Samsung, ADATA and Plextor. All of them support the extended format (4 KB sectors) and are connected via the M.2 connector.

Let's start with solid state drive produced by South Korean technology giant Samsung. This is the most expensive model in this group, but due to a number of characteristics, its purchase is quite advisable for solving certain problems.

The storage capacity is 500 GB on TLC 3D NAND flash memory. The device is notable for its high write speed – 1800 MB/s. The reading speed is almost twice as high - 3200 MB/s. Random write – 330 thousand IOPS. Connection interface – high-speed PCI-E 3.0 x4. NVMe and TRIM command are supported. Built-in data encryption function.

The physical characteristics of the device are as follows. Dimensions - 22x2.3x80 mm, weight - 8 g. High impact resistance - 1500 G in static and operating mode. The maximum safe operating temperature is limited to 70 °C. On average, the drive consumes up to 5.4 W of electricity.

In order for the drive to show maximum performance, in a number of laptop models it is necessary to make changes to the BIOS settings. This point often becomes a factor in false and unfounded claims to speed. work hard disk.

This model is covered by a 36 month manufacturer's warranty.

Advantages

high read and write speed;

one of the best price-quality-performance ratios;

high resistance to mechanical stress;

TRIM command.

Flaws

there may be problems with RAPID Mode working with AMD processors;

high cost.

Now let’s look at the second position in this rating group – an SSD drive manufactured by ADATA (Taiwan). The model is notable for its miniature size, almost zero power consumption and more than decent performance.

The storage capacity is 480 GB. High operating speed (1.7 thousand MB/s – write, 3.05 thousand MB/s – read) is ensured by innovative TLC 3D NAND memory and a Silicon Motion controller. Random recording – 280 thousand IOPS. The device is connected via the PCI-E 3.0 x4 interface, there is NVMe support. The total recording resource is 320 TB.

Now a few words about the physical parameters of the drive. Its dimensions are 22x3.5x80 mm, weight - only 8 g. On average, it consumes extremely little electricity - 0.33 W. The maximum safe operating temperature limit is 70 °C. Impact resistance in static conditions and in operation - 1500 G.

The tiny dimensions of the drive did not stop the developers from creating an attractive “gaming” appearance for it, and the manufacturer itself positions it as a gaming one.

ADATA provides a record 60-month warranty for this model.

Advantages

"gaming" performance;

durability;

slight heating;

microscopic energy consumption;

five year warranty.

Flaws

• not noted.

The storage capacity is 256 GB. The memory used is TLC type (three bits per cell). Data flows are controlled by the Silicon Motion controller. This combination provides speeds of 510/550 MB/s (sequential write/read). Random write – 71 thousand IOPS.

The model is notable for its more than impressive space allocated for buffer memory - as much as 512 MB, due to which overall performance significantly increases. TRIM command and NCQ technology are supported. The drive is connected via the SATA 6Gbit/s interface. The total resource of recorded information is 70 TB.

This model is even more miniature than the previous one - 22x2.3x80 mm, weighs 10 g. The maximum safe temperature limit is the same - 70 °C.

Plextor provides a 3-year warranty on this model.

Advantages

reliability and durability;

slight heating;

high speed;

minimum sizes;

affordable price.

Flaws

• no clear deficiencies were identified.

The best HDD hard drives for a laptop

Now, in the rating from Expertology, we will pay attention to another three hard drives for laptops, only these will be classic HDDs with mechanics and magnetic plates inside. All proposed models support the extended format (4 kilobyte sectors), are made in a compact 2.5" form factor, are connected via a high-speed SATA 6Gbit/s interface, and have exceptionally high shock resistance - 400 G in operation and 1000 G in static storage.

First, let's look at a high-performance hard drive made by Seagate. In addition to excellent key characteristics, this model is also the most affordable compared to neighboring solutions in the group. The device is part of the Laptop Thin HHD series, and the nomenclature itself hints at its compact size.

The total capacity of the hard drive is 500 GB, 32 MB of memory is allocated for the buffer. The main working component is one magnetic disk and two heads. The spindle operates at a speed of 7200 rpm, which ensures a high average data exchange speed of about 135 MB/s (independent testing shows full compliance of this parameter with reality). The average latency is about 11 ms.

Physical hard data disk are as follows. Dimensions - 70.1x7x100.55 mm, weight - 95 g. Nominal noise in operation - 24 dB, in idle a little less - 23 dB. In operation, it consumes about 1.8 W of electricity.

Seagate provides a 24 month warranty on this model.

Advantages

high speed;

• quiet operation;

  affordable price.

Flaws

• there are reasons to doubt the declared impact resistance.

Next in our rating is a compact “laptop” hard drive from Western Digital. The form factor of the device is the same as the previous drive, but its thickness is noticeably greater, which imposes some restrictions on the possibility of installing it in a particular laptop model.

The hard drive capacity is twice as large as the first model in the group – 1 thousand GB. A similar amount of memory is allocated for the buffer - 32 MB. The spindle rotates at a speed of 7200 rpm. Independent testing shows data transfer speeds of 127 MB/s (write) and 123.5 MB/s (read).

This model uses a proprietary dynamic caching algorithm developed by Western Digital specialists, which minimizes operating delays and optimally distributes buffer memory between write and read operations.

The physical characteristics of the device are as follows. Dimensions - 69.85x9.5x100.2 mm, weight - 115 g. In operating mode, consumes about 1.8 W of electricity. Nominal noise level in operation is 27 dB, in idle mode - 25 dB.

Due to the fact that the hard drive case is noticeably thicker than the first model in the group, it is not suitable for installation in every laptop and is not suitable for ultrabooks.

The manufacturing company provides a serious warranty period of 60 months for this model.

Advantages

high speed;

reliability;

five year warranty.

Flaws

• noticeable heating and noise.

And the last model in this rating group is a compact mechanical hard drive manufactured by Toshiba. This is the most voluminous model in the group and, expectedly, the most expensive. The device is part of the L200 series, which Toshiba specialists developed specifically for laptop computers, game consoles and various peripherals.

The capacity of the device is 2 thousand GB. 128 MB of memory is allocated for the buffer. The spindle rotates at a speed of 5400 rpm. NCQ technology is supported. The average latency is about 5.56 ms. The manufacturer managed to qualitatively optimize all processes, due to which it was possible to achieve high data exchange rates even at low spindle speeds. At the same time, heating and noise are minimal.

This model has the following physical parameters. Dimensions - 69.85x9.5x100 mm, weight - 117 g. Energy consumption in operating mode - about 1.65 W. In operation, the nominal noise level should not exceed 24 dB, in idle mode - 23 dB. The maximum safe operating temperature is limited to 65 °C.

The shock resistance of the device during operation is nominally 400 G, in static storage - 1000 G.

Advantages

capacity;

sufficiently high speed of data exchange due to optimization of all processes;

security of data safety during transportation (ramp loading technology).

Flaws

• not identified.

The best hard drives for a server

Now let's move on to the rating of hard drives, the technical characteristics of which allow them to be used as part of servers. Our experts included five models in the review, including three mechanical ones manufactured by HGST, Seagate and Intel; and two solid-state manufacturers Western Digital and HGST.

Since server stations can use entire arrays of hard drives, such a parameter as time between failures begins to gain weight, therefore this characteristic experts added to the device descriptions. All listed samples support the extended format (4 KB sectors).

Let's start this part of the review with a solid-state SSD drive manufactured by the American company HGST (owned by Western Digital). Direct assembly of finished products is carried out in Malaysia.

The disk capacity is 400 GB and uses innovative MLC 3D NAND memory. Write speed is 2050 MB/s, read speed is 2100 MB/s. Random write – 200 thousand IOPS, random read – 400 thousand IOPS. Connects via SAS interface. The estimated time between failures is 2.5 million hours. Built-in Secure Erase function. External data transfer - 1200 MB/s. There is no built-in data encryption.

The hard drive is made in a compact 2.5" form factor. Its dimensions are 70.1x15x100.6 mm, weight - 140 g. Shock resistance in operating mode - 500 G, in static storage - 1000 G. Safe operating temperature limit - 60 ° C .

The manufacturer provides a warranty for this model for a period of 60 months.

Advantages

reliability;

high speed of writing and reading;

durability;

five year warranty.

Flaws

• overpriced.

This model is significantly more spacious than the previous one - 960 GB. Memory type used is eMLC. Sequential write speed – 490 MB/s write and 560 MB/s read; random write - 16800 IOPS. The device is connected via a high-speed SATA 6Gbit/s interface. TRIM command and NCQ technology are supported. External data transfer speed - 600 MB/s. The estimated time between failures is 2 million hours.

The hard drive is made in a 2.5" form factor with linear dimensions of 70.1x7x100.25 mm. The device weighs 85 g. Average power consumption is 4.20 W. The safe operating temperature limit is 70 °C. Shock resistance in operation and in static conditions is 1500 G.

An important advantage of this model is the optimal combination of reliability and performance with the full ability not to disrupt legacy data storage infrastructure. This allows the company to save maximum money when upgrading server systems.

Advantages

ease of deployment as part of legacy storage infrastructure;

Optimal IOPS performance matching to maximize random access speeds;

favorable “price per megabyte”;

increased reliability and protection of the safety of enterprise data.

Flaws

• no obvious deficiencies were found.

The disk capacity is 1024 GB. High-performance innovative TLC 3D NAND memory is used. Sequential write speed – 450 MB/s, read speed – 550 MB/s. The device is connected via a SATA 6Gbit/s port. The estimated time between failures is 1.6 million hours. There is a built-in data encryption function.

The drive is manufactured in a compact 2.5" form factor with linear dimensions of 100x70x7 mm. The device weighs 82 g. Rated power consumption is 2.3 W. Shock resistance in operation and in static conditions is 1500 G. The maximum operating temperature is limited to 70 °C.

Intel provides a 3-year warranty for this model.

Advantages

increased reliability;

favorable “price per megabyte”;

renowned brand;

durability;

built-in data encryption.

Flaws

• not found.

The penultimate model in this rating group from Expertology is a mechanical HDD from Western Digital. The model is clearly positioned by the manufacturer as a server model, and its characteristics directly indicate this. With all this, this model is the most affordable in this review group.

The storage capacity is 1000 GB. 128 MB are allocated for the buffer. Read and write speeds are identical - 184 MB/s. The spindle rotates at a speed of 7200 rpm. The device is connected via a SATA 6Gbit/s port. NCQ technology is supported. The estimated time between failures is about 2 million hours.

The hard drive is manufactured in a 3.5" form factor with linear dimensions of 101.6x26.1x147 mm. The device weighs 641 g. During operation, it consumes an average of 8.10 W. It contains one magnetic plate and two heads. Shock resistance in operating mode is 65 G, during storage in static conditions – up to 300 G. Nominal declared noise during operation – up to 28 dB, during idle – no more than 25 dB.

Advantages

increased reliability and durability;

HelioSeal technology;

the most affordable price in the group.

Flaws

• not identified.

And closing the top five best server hard drives in the Expertology rating is another drive from HGST, this time mechanical. This is the most capacious disk in this group with the most favorable “price per megabyte”.

The hard drive capacity is 4 thousand GB. 128 MB of memory is allocated for the buffer. The average access time for reading is 7.6 ms, for writing - 8 ms. The average latency is 4.16 ms. The spindle rotates at a speed of 7200 rpm. The device is connected via a SATA 6Gbit/s port. The estimated time between failures is about 2 million hours. Secure Erase and NCQ technology are supported.

The drive is manufactured in a 3.5" form factor with dimensions of 101.6x26.1x147 mm and a weight of 715 g. In operating mode, it consumes about 9.10 W of electricity. Shock resistance in operation is 70 G, in static conditions - up to 300 G. The declared operating noise level should not exceed 36 dB, in idle mode - 29 dB. The working space of the device consists of as many as five plates and ten heads.

This model comes with a 60 month warranty.

Advantages

Advantages

durability;

five-year warranty;

reliability;

large volume;

favorable price for such volume.

Flaws

• a bit noisy

The best external hard drives

Now let's move on to another important category of our rating - portable hard drives. Here, our experts have identified as many as six models as the best, which can vary significantly in parameters, but each of them has certain key advantages. All presented models support the extended format with 4 KB sectors.

Let's start with a simple and concise solution from Samsung, which, due to its remarkable qualities, has won serious market demand. This is a solid-state drive, manufactured in a 1.8" form factor with dimensions of 57.3x10.5x74 mm and a weight of 51 g. The design of the device is as minimalist as its dimensions.

The storage capacity is 500 GB. Uses high-performance TLC 3D NAND memory and supports TRIM command. There are integrated data encryption tools - this feature is not convenient for every user, and you can easily disable it if desired. The media is highly resistant to shock loads - 1500 G, which is important for a portable device.

The data exchange speed (both writing and reading), declared by the manufacturer, reaches 540 MB/s. Reviews from real users indicate full compliance of the nominal indicator with the actual capabilities of the device.

This hard drive is notable for its advanced configuration. Thus, the package includes two additional cables for connecting to the USB Type C port and an adapter from Type C to Type A. The hard drive itself is optimized for connecting to a PC via the new generation USB - 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C.

The South Korean company provides a three-year warranty for this model.

Advantages

minimum dimensions and weight;

integrated data encryption tools;

equipment;

data exchange speed.

Flaws

• very limited connection cable length.

Next, as part of our rating, we will consider another solid-state external drive from the well-known brand Transcend (Taiwan). This is an extremely interesting product item, since in fact it is not even just an external hard drive, but a whole functional set for upgrading Apple computers. Thus, the disk can be used as an external one, or can be installed permanently as an internal one.

Storage capacity is 240 GB, reliable memory is used type MLC. Read speed reaches 570 MB/s, write speed – 460 MB/s. TRIM command, NCQ and ECC technologies are supported. The device is connected via USB 3.0.

The device is extremely compact - 37.2x10.8x110.9 mm, weighs only 65 g (the whole set weighs 250 g). The appearance of the drive fully corresponds to its “specialization” - an elegant, elongated case of snow-white color.

Now a few words about the configuration. The delivery set includes the drive itself, an external aluminum case, installation tools (T5 and P5 screwdrivers), a USB cable, screws for the case, a rubber backing, a transport case, a USB cable, installation instructions, and documentation for the device.

The developers have emphasized that the disc is 100% compatible with the MacBook Pro (Retina) 15". The manufacturer's warranty is provided for a period of 24 months.

Advantages

exceptional reliability and performance;

Full compatibility with MacBook Pro (Retina) 15";

Can be used as a stationary system drive;

exceptionally rich equipment.

Flaws

• not identified.

The third position in this group of the rating of the best external drives from Expertology is an extremely interesting solution from ADATA. This is a solid state SSD drive, and it is notable for its design and shape. It is made in a non-standard form factor with a bright “gaming” appearance.

The storage capacity is 256 GB and uses high-performance innovative TLC 3D NAND memory. Sequential write speed is 430 MB/s, read speed is MB/s. ECC technology is supported, NCQ and TRIM commands are not supported.

The dimensions of the device are 80x15.2x80 mm, weight - 90 g. The device is characterized by the same high impact resistance as previous models - permissible load up to 1500 G in operation and in static conditions. The permissible operating temperature range is from 5 to 50 °C. Connects to USB 3.1 Gen 1 interface.

The manufacturer's warranty for this hard drive is 36 months.

Advantages

impact resistance;

high-performance memory;

spectacular design.

Flaws

• no TRIM command support.

The group of ratings of the best external media continues with a mechanical hard drive produced by the famous company Western Digital. Along with the model from ADATA, which we will look at next, this is the most spacious external drive in this group.

The device is designed for 2 TB of information, 32 MB of memory is allocated for the buffer. The spindle rotates at a speed of 5400 rpm. The average latency is 5.6 ms. There are integrated 256-bit AES data encryption tools.

The hard drive is made in a 2.5" form factor with dimensions of 81.5x21.5x110 mm and a weight of 250 g. The working parts are one magnetic plate and two heads. The appearance of the device deserves special praise - an impressive case, visually consisting of two halves with different textures, high-quality plastic , deep anthracite shade (other bright colors are also available). A long rigid cord of 35 cm is included in the package.

The drive is connected and powered via USB port 3.0. External data throughput is 500 Mb/s. Safe operating temperature ranges from 5 to 35 degrees.

In addition to the basic package, there is a set of convenient proprietary “software” for backup, security, data safety, maintenance and other tasks.

Advantages

bright, effective and at the same time practical design;

slight heating;

increased reliability;

a set of convenient working utilities.

Flaws

• There are cases of imbalance that causes increased vibration.

The penultimate position in the external drive rating group is a mechanical hard drive made by Toshiba. In some respects, this solution is inferior to other models in the group, but has an important advantage - extremely affordable cost.

The storage capacity is 500 GB. 8 MB are allocated for the buffer. Spindle rotation - 5400 rpm. The working parts are one magnetic disk and two heads. NCQ support is not implemented. The external data transfer speed reaches 500 MB/s, the nominal latency is up to 12 ms. The declared direct data exchange speed is up to 112 Mb/s. Independent testing has shown that the real figure is only slightly lower than the nominal value, almost within the statistical error.

The drive is made in a 2.5" form factor with linear dimensions of 79x15x119 mm and a weight of 230 g. The body is made of aluminum coated in black. The design is minimalistic, but elegant and attractive.

The package includes a useful backup utility, NTI Backup Now EZ.

Advantages

• high build quality;
• low noise level;

the most affordable price in the group;

reliability.

Flaws

• There may be problems with installing the disk as a boot disk.

The disk capacity is 2 TB. The buffer memory is small and similar to the previous model - 8 MB. The working area consists of three magnetic plates and six heads. The spindle rotates at a speed of 5400 rpm. Data exchange speed on the port is up to 500 MB/sec. Not compatible with NCQ.

The hard drive is made in a 2.5" form factor with dimensions of 78x21x115 mm and a weight of 230 g. It is connected via a USB 3.0 port. The case is made of high-quality black plastic. The mirror surface adds advantages to its attractiveness appearance devices, but automatically implies increased soilability. Comes with supporting software – Quick Start Guide utility.

Advantages

high-quality assembly;

attractive design;

large volume.

Flaws

• very easily soiled case.

The best hard drives - HDD + SSD hybrids

Finally, the last group of devices in the rating-review from Expertology. These are hybrid media that combine both types of drives in one device - mechanical HDDs and solid-state SSDs. Many analysts agree that the near future of hard drives lies in such technological solutions. Our experts have identified two models from the current market offer - produced by Seagate and LENOVO. Both solutions support the extended format.

Seagate marketers position this hybrid media as a gaming one. Actually, the very idea of ​​​​creating such hybrids was largely caused by the desire to maximally satisfy the requirements of “professional” gamers.

The device is made in a 2.5" form factor, which allows it to be used to equip not only desktop PCs, but also portable ones. Its dimensions are 69.85x7x100.35 mm, weight - 96 g.

The mechanical part consists of two magnetic plates and four heads. The mechanical capacity is 2 TB. As much as 128 MB are allocated for the buffer. Spindle speed - 5400 rpm. The track to track access parameter is 1.5 ms. The average latency is 5.6 ms.

The solid-state part of the device has a capacity of 8 GB and is formed from reliable MLC type memory (two bits per cell). Compatibility with NCQ is provided.

The device is connected via a high-speed SATA 6Gbit/s port. The intensity of data exchange on the port is up to 600 MB/s. The disk has very good “physics” - high shock resistance at 400 G in operating mode and 1000 G in static storage. The nominal noise level in operation does not exceed 24 dB, in standby mode - 22 dB. The safe operating temperature limit is 60 °C.

The memory capacity parameters in this case are completely similar to the previous model - 2 GB mechanical disk and 8 GB solid-state part. There is a significant difference in the spindle rotation speed - here it is significantly higher and amounts to 7200 rpm. The device is connected via a SATA 6Gbit/s port with a throughput of 600 MB/s.

The form factor in which the device is manufactured is 3.5", hinting at the possibility of its use only in desktop PCs. The dimensions of the model are 101.6x26.1x146.99 mm.

Advantages

reliability;

high-quality service (warranty service);

increased productivity.

Flaws

• no pronounced deficiencies were noted.

Choosing an SSD is an exciting experience, given the relative novelty of this type of drive, the variety of characteristics and performance test results, etc. For all their undoubted advantages, solid-state drives have (hopefully for now) one significant drawback - they are not cheap, especially high-capacity models. If you need somewhere to store accumulated collections of music, films, photographs and other information that requires space, then you cannot do without a regular hard drive.

Hard drive requirements

Now the Internet is full of comparative tests of SSD drives. About 5-10-15 years ago, a similar situation was with traditional hard drives, when the results of various models were compared, a certain rating was compiled, which drives were the fastest, which were the coldest, and which were the quietest.

Currently, the performance of hard drives has somehow faded into the background. The fact is that it’s already difficult to squeeze more out of this technology, and you still won’t be able to compete with solid-state drives. This means that you need to “take” with other qualities. Which ones? Capacity, and, most importantly, the cost of this capacity. There is such a concept - price per gigabyte, i.e. how much does one gigabyte of the capacity of a particular disk cost.

For example, the cheapest 4 TB HDD with a 3.5-inch form factor will cost approximately 7,500 rubles, i.e. 1 GB costs 1.88 rubles. SSD drives of this capacity are only in the plans for now, and of what is available, the most capacious models are 2 TB. Moreover, their cost is (the cheapest) about 50,000 rubles. How much does 1 GB cost in this case? Calculate for yourself.

Hence the conclusion - if you need to store a large amount of data, and do it for reasonable money, then the choice is definitely for HDD. But how do you choose a hard drive, what size should you prefer, and at what rotation speed?

HDD parameters

Still, we cannot ignore the basic parameters of hard drives. This:

• Form factor. Available in 3.5 and 2.5 inches. The first are for stationary PCs, the second are for laptops, all-in-one PCs, etc. In this case, the larger physical size of the drives can provide greater capacity. Among the 2.5-inch models there are both 4 and 5 TB models, but their thickness does not allow them to be installed in laptops, but they are suitable for stationary PCs, network storage, etc. At the same time, their cost is higher than that of larger ones 3.5-inch brothers. There are also 1.8-inch models, but their prevalence tends to zero.
• Capacity. Actually, it shows how much of everything necessary and important can be stored on the disk.
• Interface. Everything is simple here. SATA-3, practically no options. Server drives with a SAS interface are usually not used at home.
• Rotation speed. There are two main options - 5400 and 7200 rpm. There are also options with 5900 rpm or, as is the case with some drive models, for example, Western Digital, the speed is not indicated at all, and the specifications contain the word “IntelliPower”, i.e. the drive somehow controls the speed itself. Well, God bless him, let him rule. Naturally, the higher the rotation speed, the faster the drive should be.
• Buffer memory size. It’s similar here, the more, the faster (in theory) the disk should work. In my opinion, this parameter should be the last thing you look at. At home, it does not have a significant effect on the “rate of fire” of the drive.

What else?

Agree, it’s unpleasant when some component in the computer suddenly fails. Just now (yesterday, an hour ago, etc.) everything worked, but now it doesn’t. The soul, if it could be in the motherboard, memory module, power supply, etc., can fly off to its computer paradise quietly, or with special effects such as sparks, smoke, or a burning smell.

Trouble? No, this is a disappointment. Motherboard, memory module, power supply, video card can be repaired, in the end, replaced with a new one, even better than it was, and after some minor manipulations continue to work.

And if the hard drive fails, is it a disappointment? But in some situations this may well lead to trouble. Especially if this drive contained a home photo archive, the results of many days of work, an almost written diploma and something else important that existed in a single copy.

Now I don’t mean options with a faulty interface wire, problems with the power supply, “loss” of the disk by the operating system, etc. We are talking about the failure of the disk itself, be it a mechanical failure or an electronics failure. Restoring information from such a disk can be expensive, and it may not be possible to recover the data.

This raises another requirement for a disk – reliability. A parameter such as “mean time between failures,” which every drive has, is not empirical, but is based on some kind of calculations. I wouldn't recommend looking at it. It is better to pay attention to the warranty period for a specific hard drive model and the possibility of exchange if a breakdown occurs during this period.

Reliability

How to determine which drive is more reliable and which is not? To be honest, almost nothing. Verbal battles on forums and in comments in the style of “Seagate sucks, WD rules” only confuse, without giving any useful information. For some, one thing works, and another breaks, and for others, it’s exactly the opposite.

Personally, I have my own preferences, and for many years I have been using Hitachi drives (now it is more correct to call them HGST), which have never let me down, but this is a purely subjective opinion. Although I also have several WD Green drives (one of which is already dying) and an 8-terabyte Seagate.

More or less adequate statistics on disk reliability can only be shown by comparative testing, which requires the nth number of disks of each model and a lot of time. Who is doing this? Almost no one, unfortunately. Although you can still find some information.

Thus, interesting reports on the number of hard drives used and detailed failure statistics are published by Backblaze, a company that provides cloud storage services. Reports are regularly issued on the number of drives used, models, and the number of failures.

They have been keeping their statistics since the beginning of 2015. I will not present graphs and calculations here; they can be easily found on the Internet. According to the information they publish, HGST drives have the fewest failures. Seagate is doing worse, but there is a trend toward fewer failures and longer drive life.

How to treat this information? How to “food for thought”. In this case, the question is not when the drive will fail (sooner or later “all dogs hard drives go to heaven”), but what is the likelihood of this sad event occurring. Any manufacturer has successful and not so successful models, some last a long time, others have many complaints.

No one can guarantee one hundred percent failure-free operation. Therefore, you need to take care of the safety of information yourself. Really important files should be stored on several different physical media, or backed up to cloud storage. In the end, assemble a RAID array from several disks.

Hard drive series

For each manufacturer, all produced models are in one way or another divided into several series, each of which is positioned for a specific application. So, Hitachi... sorry, HGST, divides its drives into the Deskstar and Ultrastar series. The former are aimed at use in home/office computers, the latter - for use with more serious loads and are designed for round-the-clock operation.

Other brands do much the same. Seagate has several series:

• Barracuda and Barracuda Pro - for everyday use. The capacity range is from 1 to 10 TB. In general, may fans of the brand forgive me, this is consumer goods for all occasions. This is also evidenced by such an interesting parameter indicated in the characteristics as “Workload limit, TB/year”. For all modifications of the Barracuda series it is 55 TB, and for Barracuda Pro it is 300 TB. For heavier loads, it is recommended to choose enterprise-class drives. Warranty – 2 years and 5 years respectively.
• FireCuda is a hybrid model (with a small 8 GB cache on an MLC NAND memory chip). Focused on productive computers, workstations or gaming stations. Only 2 capacities are offered – 1 and 2 TB. There are no workload restrictions.
• IronWolf and IronWolf Pro are a special series for working in network-attached storage (NAS). Available capacities range from 1 to 10 TB. The annual load is limited for IronWolf to 180 TB, and for the IronWolf Pro version to 300 TB. The number of head parking operations is 600,000 times. Warranty – 3 years and 5 years respectively.
• SkyHawk - designed for use in video surveillance systems and can receive streaming data from a large number of video cameras at once at high speed. The capacity range is from 1 to 10 TB. The load limit is the same 300 TB/year.

WD usually divides drives into the following series:

• Blue – disks for office or home computers that are not critical to the speed of the disk subsystem. Capacities up to 6 TB are available. The rotation speed of almost all models is 5400 rpm. Warranty – 2 years. About the same as Seagate's Barracuda series.
• Black – more powerful drives for demanding users. Capacities – up to 6 TB, rotation speed – 7200 rpm. Warranty – 5 years.
• Purple – models for video surveillance. Capacities up to 10 TB are available, rotation speed is 5400 rpm. Workload limits: 180 TB/year. Warranty - 3 years.
• Red – for network attached storage (NAS). Capacities – up to 10 TB, rotation speed – 5400 rpm. Warranty – 3 years. The declared number of head parking operations is 600,000 times.
• Gold is a corporate series of drives for servers and data centers. Capacities – up to 10 TB, rotation speed – 7200 rpm. Productive models with a 5-year warranty.

Models for use in network storage and servers usually incorporate systems that are not used in devices intended for general use. This includes, for example, rotational vibration sensors, optimization for use in RAID arrays, etc.

At the same time, it often happens that such drives can operate louder, and the heating can be higher, so cooling will definitely not be superfluous for them. At the same time, custom class drives (such as Seagate Barracuda or WD Blue) are less “nimble”, but work quieter, heat up less, although they are not equipped with any additional sensors, optimizations. But they are cheaper.

Which hard drive to choose.

I will express my thoughts, which do not necessarily have to coincide with yours. As for laptops, the optimal solution is a 1 TB hard drive, preferably with a rotation speed of 7200 rpm. Manufacturer? Choose which one you like. Personally, I prefer HGST. My laptop currently has a 1TB HGST HTE721010A9E630, purchased a few months ago.

For stationary PCs, that is, when choosing a 3.5-inch hard drive, there are much more opportunities to rack your brains. In any case, I would not consider hard drives smaller than 1 TB. Judge for yourself, the cheapest 500 GB drive (Toshiba DT01ACA050) costs about 2,500 rubles. The cheapest terabyte Seagate Barracuda (ST1000DM010) is only 300-400 rubles more expensive. Does it make sense to save?

It makes sense to take a terabyte if this is the only drive on which the system will be installed, and a lot of space is not required, since all that is needed is office work, surfing the Internet, etc. 7200 rpm model (any HGST, WD Black, Seagate Barracuda or, if you don’t mind the money, Seagate FireCuda will do).

If the drive is needed just to have it, if it serves as an add-on to the system SSD drive, then you can save a little and go with the Seagate Barracuda or WD Blue. Moreover, pay attention to capacities of about 4 TB. I'll explain why.

For example, let's choose the Seagate Barracuda series. To calculate the optimal costs per unit of disk capacity, let us recall the already mentioned “price per gigabyte”. Let's look at the price list:

• 1TB, model ST1000DM010 – price approximately 2800 rubles, each 1 GB “costs” 2.80 rubles.
• 2 TB, model ST2000DM006 – price approximately 4200 rubles, 1 GB “costs” 2.10 rubles.
• 3 TB, model ST3000DM008 – price approximately 5,700 rubles, 1 GB “costs” 1.90 rubles.
• 4 TB, model ST4000DM004 – price approximately 7,500 rubles, 1 GB “costs” 1.88 rubles.
• 6 TB, model ST6000DM004 – price approximately 14,500 rubles, 1 GB “costs” 2.42 rubles.
• 8 TB, model ST8000DM005 – price approximately 18,500 rubles, 1 GB “costs” 2.31 rubles.

As you can see, for this parameter, the optimal solution is a 4 TB disk, and the most unprofitable, if you do not take into account the model with the already “ridiculous” capacity of 1 TB, is the ST6000DM004 model. True, these are all calculations from the perspective of the cost of a data unit. If you just need a capacious disk with 6-8, or even more, TB, then it makes no difference how much 1 GB costs now. Although 2 ST4000DM004 drives will be cheaper than one ST8000DM005. Why not think about it?

The HGST disks stand somewhat separately. The company generally does not produce 3.5-inch models with rotation speeds less than 7200 rpm. True, their cost is higher. A 1 TB Ultrastar 7K2 drive costs more than 5,000 rubles. True, as the name implies, this is not a “desktop” series, but the Ultrastar series positioned above.

But models with larger capacities have a more reasonable price tag. Thus, the Ultrastar 7K6000 6 TB model costs about 13,000 rubles, which is quite consistent with the cost of competitors. And let's not forget about 7200 rpm and the Ultrastar series.

Naturally, the choice should be based on how much capacity you need and how much you are willing to spend on the drive.

If we are talking about the need to store large amounts of data (a collection of movies, music, photos, etc.), then I would not consider the cheapest options. Ideally, these should be series aimed at working in network storage, Seagate IronWolf (Pro) or WD Red. Even if you don’t have a NAS and don’t plan to build a RAID, these drives are still the best choice. Moreover, where is the guarantee that you will not decide to buy storage in the foreseeable future? Among HGST discs, it is better to give preference to the Ultrastar series.

Let's look at a few specific models for specific use cases.

System disk

Let's assume it will be a terabyte disk. I would highlight the following models:

• Seagate Barracuda (ST1000DM010) is the cheapest, approximately 2800 rubles. The only thing to consider is the warranty – only 2 years. Typical budget option.
• Western Digital Caviar Blue (WD10EZEX) is one of the few models in the “blue” series with 7200 rpm. A direct competitor to the Barracuda. Same 2 year warranty. Of these two drives, I would choose WD.
• Seagate FireCuda SSHD (ST1000DX002) – hybrid, the cost is already 5100 rubles. The warranty is the same - 2 years. Belonging to the FireCuda family implies more high performance than the Barracuda.
• Western Digital Black (WD1003FZEX) – price is about the same as FireCuda. They are generally direct competitors.
• HGST Ultrastar 7K2 (1W10001) - cost approximately 5200. There is a 7200 rpm, Ultrastar series, 128 MB cache (the rest have 64 MB each).

If you really have to overpay, then I would take the Ultrastar 7K2 model (as an alternative - WD Black), if not, then WD Blue.

Data storage disk

If with system disk everything has already been decided, and you need a drive, or maybe several, to store everything you need and important, then I would prefer to consider models starting with a capacity of 4 TB. If there are no serious requirements for the speed of disk operation, then it is quite possible to limit yourself to models with a rotation speed of 5400-5900 rpm.

I will highlight the following:

• Seagate Barracuda (ST4000DM004) is the cheapest of the 4 TB drives. The cost is about 7700 rubles.
• Western Digital Blue (WD40EZRZ) – slightly more expensive than the previous one, about 400-500 rubles. In my opinion, this model is preferable.
• HGST Deskstar NAS (0S04005) – costs about 8,500 rubles. Unlike the previous ones, it has a speed of 7200 rpm. A desktop series designed for use in NAS as well.
• Seagate IronWolf (ST4000VN008) – cost about 8900 rubles. RPM speed – 7200. Belonging to a series capable of working in disk storage means the presence of vibration protection systems, additional balancing and other “improvers”.
• Western Digital Red (WD40EFRX) – cost approximately 9,700 rubles. The exact number of revolutions is not indicated; it is managed by the IntelliPower system. A specialized series for storage, which does not negate the possibility of using them as a single disk. If it weren't for the price, it would be a great option.
• HGST Ultrastar 7K6000 (0F23025) – cost about 10,500 rubles. Ultrastar series, large buffer, 7200 rpm, good performance, 5-year warranty. But the price is rather high. It’s probably too good for a home “file dump.”

If the main purpose is to store data with a light load, mainly for reading, then why not also opt for models for video surveillance systems. Provided, of course, that no RAID will be built on them.

Of the above, WD Blue, HGST Deskstar NAS and Seagate IronWolf seem to be the best choices. The price difference between them is no more than 800 rubles, and the last 2 are also ready to work in disk storage and RAID. If you increase the amount a little, then a good solution is WD Red.

If you need a larger capacity, then there is option 2 - either take a drive of the appropriate volume, or take 2 (3, 4...) with a smaller volume, but in total you will get what you need. And you can even save money. Above we already compared the cost of an 8 TB disk with the cost of 2 4 TB disks. The question is how much space do you have in your case for drives and what are the prospects for further increasing disk space.

Conclusion. How to choose a hard drive

So how can we summarize all of the above? Let's start with the fact that there is no fundamental difference between manufacturers. Yes, some statistics show that HGST is somewhat more reliable and durable than Seagate, and WD is somewhere in the middle. However, this does not mean that Seagate should definitely be removed from the list of candidates for purchase. Let's not forget about the number of drives sold by this manufacturer, and if everything was so bad, who would buy them?

The choice may be influenced by personal preferences (like mine, for example), as well as some other, at first glance, insignificant characteristics. Thus, HGST hard drives are traditionally considered noisier, which does not prevent them from being considered more reliable.

You should also pay attention to the warranty period for the hard drive. Moreover, it is important to know where to go if problems arise. The ideal option is the possibility of exchanging a failed drive under the RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) program from the manufacturer itself. Unfortunately, in Russia this program is available only from Western Digital. Discs from other manufacturers will have to be exchanged through the store that sold you the product.

And the warranty period itself indirectly speaks about the “survivability” of the disk. It is probably clear that a 5 year warranty is better than 2 years. In the first case, it is assumed that the disk will not die in the next couple of years. But in the second case, anything can happen; it can die a week after the warranty expires, or it can last for many years.

It would be nice to be able to return or exchange a purchased hard drive if, when you first turn it on, you don’t like something about its operation. This could be a noticeable vibration or an excessively loud knock. It is also useful to check the disk, for example, with the HDTune program, including checking the surface of the disk for the presence of bad blocks.

The main thing, do not forget, is to guarantee the safety important information can only be timely and correct backup, i.e. backup. Storing the necessary data on different physical (namely different physical, and not on different partitions of the same disk) media is a guarantee that no problems with disks will lead to large expenses, loss of important files, time and nerves.

Happy shopping and safe storage!