Toshiba v Seagate v Hitachi v Western Digital (WD) what drive is supposedly the best?

RepoDraghon · Apr 7, 2015

OK, here's the lowdown.

Searching for a Sata 6 drive at = to or > 7200rpm and = to or > 128 cache on pcpartpicker.
Well Toshiba has the best price per GB holding the top 2 spots with a 5TB and a 4TB respectively then a Seagate with a 4TB and rounding out the top 5 are 2 Hitachi's at 5 and 6TB respectively... No WD's were listed at all for this particular search requirements however if it's crucial that WD is in the mix, suggest one please...

With that said, I know the arguments are that they all are pretty much the same but what brand would you suggest? I know factory installed, most computer companies go with either Seagate or WD, but that's probably a price thing, not a reliability thing... I know Toshiba has been around a lot longer and I have heard of the Hitachi brand, so all of them have their foothold in the market...

just a personal thought... I like free warranties but to be honest, if you have to have one then that means the company isn't too confident in their own product lasting... (though I know it applies for defectiveness)

i7Baby · Apr 7, 2015

Is this the best regardless of price?

Is best for speed or reliability or cost or quietness or reliability?

Is the best the most popular?

I use and recommend Seagate Barracuda. But WD drives are just as good - just a bit more pricey.

Solandri · Apr 7, 2015

Toshiba's 3.5" drives are Hitachis. Toshiba used to only make 2.5" HDDs. Regulators were concerned the WD+Hitachi merger would leave only two 3.5" HDD manufacturers, so they required Hitachi's 3.5" HDD assets be sold to Toshiba before they'd approve the merger.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5635/western-digital-to-sell-hitachis-35-hard-drive-business-to-toshiba-complete-hitachi-buyout

As for reliability, the manufacturer of the drive doesn't matter as much as the model. StorageReview has run a reliability database for over 15 years. It never became big because they required you to submit your experience with a HDD before you could access the database. But during its heyday 10-15 years ago it got enough samples. And pretty much all manufacturers make really good model drives and real stinker model drives. IBM (which became Hitachi, which became Toshiba) made some of the most reliable drive models. Then they made the 75GXP aka "Deathstar" which was one of the worst and many people swore they'd never buy another IBM drive. Then they followed it up with the 180GXP which was again once of the best.

So swearing by or against a manufacturer isn't really a good way to get a reliable drive. If you were considering the exact models in Blackblaze study, then that'd be a good guide. Unfortunately the drives you're looking at (4-6 TB) haven't been on the market long enough for any good statistical data on long-term reliability. Basically it's get something with a good warranty and hope for the best.

photonboy · Apr 7, 2015

*Please note that not all drives from the same company are the same reliability. Use feedback from places like PCPartpicker.

THIS drive is the one I bought well over a year ago. Anyway, it's 3TB but only $86:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st3000dm001

It's also important to note that HDD's that are fairly new may have issues that require a slight retooling of manufacturing whereas older drives may have most of the manufacturing bugs ironed out.

(Not sure if it's SATA6 Gbps however that's not really relevent for an HDD. 3Gbps is plenty)

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Toshiba v Seagate v Hitachi v Western Digital (WD) what drive is supposedly the best?

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