Seagate vs Western Digital HDD's

CmdrJeffSinclair · Jul 6, 2015

For my friend, I'm currently looking at the
1) Seagate ST5000NM0024 http:// << link there
PERFORMANCE
Capacity 5TB
Buffer Size 128MB
Drive Transfer Rate 600 MBps
Internal Data Rate 216 MBps
Average Latency 4.16 ms
Spindle Speed 7200 rpm
SATA 6Gb/s

PROS
--Server graded for 24/7 use for 5 years
--+1TB over WD
--Faster overall

CONs
--Seagate is not really gaming oriented
--I've heard horror stories of their HDD failures
--It might be cheaper for a reason that I'm not seeing
--The drive itself is a little on the obscure side. I can't find performance reviews and specs aren't --always accurate to real-world performance

versus the

2) Western Digital BLACK SERIES WD4003FZEX http:// << link there
PERFORMANCE
Capacity 4TB
Buffer Size 64MB
Drive Transfer Rate 600 MBps
Internal Data Rate 171 MBps
Average Latency not listed
Spindle Speed 7200 rpm
SATA 6Gb/s

PROS/CONS
I don't know anything about Western Digital except that gamers love them

RCFProd · Jul 6, 2015

Lol gaming has nothing to do with them. They're the same for that purpose, both 7200 RPM.

However the WD Black series is super reliable. Get that one.

CmdrJeffSinclair · Jul 6, 2015

RCFProd :

even at the cost of 1TB? I wish I could find performance reviews of the Seagate. Its specs say it has 40MB/s higher sustained speed than the WD. That's a crap load for an HDD overall seeing how HDD's have not really changed in 7 years for speed.

I do already know I'll have to be careful for the warranty with the Seagate to buy it through Seagate itself on amazon or newegg. The WD HDD has a warranty that is honored by all major vendors (like newegg, amazon, etc) but the Seagate warranty is only through Seagate itself. That might explain the price difference however Seagate is awesome for its tech/warranty support so I feel like it's a moot point.

My friend knows nothing of computers and when he posed these questions I didn't know the answers for the two drives

digitaldoc · Jul 6, 2015

The WD is the more reliable drive, and I would recommend it over the Seagate. The Seagate 3 Tb capacity seems to be particularly unreliable in the data I have seen.

CmdrJeffSinclair · Jul 6, 2015

digitaldoc :

I believe you. I've simply had good luck with Seagate I think.
Do you have a link for me by chance regarding the WD drive? maybe a review comparing it to Seagate drives or something to help back up your opinion? Thanks man!

CmdrJeffSinclair · Jul 6, 2015

RCFProd :

even at the cost of 1TB and 40MB/s? Does the server grade mean anything either? I've never bought WD before so it's hard to explain why to my buddy. I have always had Seagate but then again I've never given HDD's much thought since they are so cheap

skit75 · Jul 6, 2015

CmdrJeffSinclair :

Honestly, you are unlikely to see any difference between these drives, while gaming. I chose my WD Black 640 GB for its relatively low seek times(only two 320GB platters) and it had one of the larger buffers at time of purchase. Dealing directly with WD and Seagate's warranty/return/CSR has always been a good experience for me.

Games just are not restricted by hard drives these days, unless the drive is bad. Maybe one drive loads you into a game 250ms faster than the other. Once you are in-game, or the map is loaded, the speed and capacity of storage device you are using makes no difference at all.

Also, I wouldn't say Seagate isn't gaming orientated. Their marketing department just isn't spending what WD is, to make such a claim. The performance numbers don't support such a claim for either manufacturer. The numbers are usually close enough to fall within a margin of error.

USAFRet · Jul 6, 2015

Do not stress over that theoretical 40Mbps transfer rate difference.
You're looking at and comparing two completely different use cases...server vs desktop.

WD Black, or Seagate Barracuda, in whatever size the budget allows and meets the needs.
Just don't get the 3GB Seagate.

CmdrJeffSinclair · Jul 6, 2015

USAFRet :

what's wrong with the 3GB? Does it have funky platters or weird firmware or something?

skit75 · Jul 6, 2015

CmdrJeffSinclair :

There have been flops over the years..... 80GB IBM DeskStar anyone?

CmdrJeffSinclair · Jul 6, 2015

so although the first couple comments said WD is better, later comments state that they are basically par give or take some bad experiences people may have (which happens). This was one of the reasons why I wanted benchmarks of both drives but I can't really find any on the Seagate so I can't make a comparison

USAFRet · Jul 6, 2015

CmdrJeffSinclair :

Tested configs from a couple of large hosting providers, spanning hundreds or thousands of drives...show those particular ones to be far more fail prone.

CmdrJeffSinclair · Jul 6, 2015

skit75 :

CmdrJeffSinclair :

There have been flops over the years..... 80GB IBM DeskStar anyone?

haha well 4TB is bare minimum and 5TB is definitely more ideal. He has 2,500GB of games already

USAFRet · Jul 6, 2015

CmdrJeffSinclair :

Multiple drives are recommended here.

CmdrJeffSinclair · Jul 6, 2015

USAFRet :

he already wants a 2-drive setup sadly with Intel SRT with his 128GB SSD. He has his games on disc and server backup but wants them all installed on his HDD now for obvious convenience reasons. He is considering an HDD backup in that mix as well later on so it'd be a pain to have a 4-drive setup. So SSD cache with main HDD and a simple manual HDD backup. The server fees he's ending will eventually pay for the HDD's

USAFRet · Jul 6, 2015

CmdrJeffSinclair :

That is not what I meant about 'multiple drives'.
I meant a few 2TB drives, with 'games' across them. A whole different drive for the OS and other applications.

And using a 128GB SSD for the ISRT is simply a waste of space and SSD.

CmdrJeffSinclair · Jul 6, 2015

USAFRet :

CmdrJeffSinclair :

That is not what I meant about 'multiple drives'.
I meant a few 2TB drives, with 'games' across them. A whole different drive for the OS and other applications.

And using a 128GB SSD for the ISRT is simply a waste of space and SSD.

What why? Intel SRT maxes out at 64GB so he has his OS and a 60GB of internet games like Path of Exile and WoW on it which are notoriously long to load. The big games and such will go on the HDD

CmdrJeffSinclair · Jul 6, 2015

ok so I did not get the kind of answers I was expecting and no proofs except majority opinion among 5 people, 3 of whom spoke and disappeared from the discussion.

Does anyone really have information between the reliability of Seagate vs Western Digital? I'd prefer WD because the opinions of gamers matter more than those of server owners on Seagates reviews, but I'd really like to know why

USAFRet · Jul 6, 2015

The ISRT maxing out at 64GB is exactly why using a 128GB drive is a waste for that.
The remaining 60GB is right on the edge of too small for the OS and a few applications.

Additionally, the ISRT does absolutely nothing if the use case is multiple games.
The way it works is...it caches the most used files (not programs) on that space. If the user is using different applications all the time, the same things are never retrieved from the SSD cache. Instead, they come directly off the HDD as usual.

Sucking up 1/2 the space of an already small drive, on a mostly useless pseudo performance boost, is just...well, I wouldn't bother.

USAFRet · Jul 6, 2015

Overall reliability?
Similar, except for the specific case of the Seagate 3TB drives.

WD Black has a longer warranty. Go for those.

CmdrJeffSinclair · Jul 6, 2015

USAFRet :

the warranty on both HDD's is 5 years...........................................................................................

CmdrJeffSinclair · Jul 6, 2015

USAFRet :

Windows is 4GB installed +64GB Intel SRT, leaving behind 60GB still for cache and some games with tedious load times (2minute + loads). I will tell him to leave 20GB free space for SSD-writing??

USAFRet · Jul 6, 2015

CmdrJeffSinclair :

"Windows is 4GB installed"
This is completely incorrect. A fresh install of Win 7 Home Premium x64, after all the updates are run, is around 40-45GB.
A Win 8.1 x64 is around 35GB once installed and updated.

You guys are chasing the wrong numbers.

CmdrJeffSinclair · Jul 6, 2015

USAFRet :

interesting. I guess the Windows ISO isntaller is 4GB but expands and also then updates tack onto it? Anyway, no worries about the SSD. The issue is just the HDD

USAFRet · Jul 6, 2015

IMO, the proposed use of that SSD is an issue as well.
But you guys go with that....

WD Black, or Seagate Barracuda.
Just don't put everything on one drive (the ISRT doesn't count as 'another drive')

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