This 3 tb hdd is too cheap to be true

omar.ahmed.eltammamy · Oct 5, 2017

Hello guys! this Hamatchi HGST Ultrastar 3tb hdd is soo cheap but I don't know if it runs slower than a WD Blue 3 tb ssd or the failure rate is higher. I just want the difference between the two and only 60$ for 3 tb hdd?!? This is kinda sketchy for its price.

LINKS:
HGST ULTRASTAR:https://www.amazon.com/HGST-Ultrastar-HUS724030ALE641-Enterprise-Refurbished/dp/B01LYVD7ME/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1507203662&sr=8-3&keywords=3+tb+hdd

WD BLUE:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013HNYV42/ref=twister_B01MU9EG5O?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

superninja12 · Oct 5, 2017

It is, I find it fishy as well.
better get something reliable from for instance seagate or wd.

omar.ahmed.eltammamy · Oct 5, 2017

I just want something that works :/

birne · Oct 5, 2017

The reason for the low prize is that it is a refurbished drive; basically meaning it is used, but has passed some quality control test. (you can read it in the amazon post)
theoretically it shouldnt be a problem buying the ultrastar one, but be aware it is no new drive.
I actually never bought refurbished hardware so i cant really say if it is worth the bucks you would save.

omar.ahmed.eltammamy · Oct 5, 2017

birne :

will is still have the warranty? Will it increase the chances of failing? So basically it might have a lot of scratches and the 2 million hours mtbf will decrease due to past usage? Will it be 100% 3tb or it might be less because it is used? So many questions ask, can anyone at least answer any of them

?

morpheas768 · Oct 5, 2017

Quote from Product Description of the HGST Ultrastar link on Amazon you provided:
"Backed by a five-year warranty, the Ultrastar platform has earned Hitachi a reputation among server and storage vendors as a global partner dedicated to delivering the highest quality and reliability in the industry."

5-year warranty, vs WD's 2, is a no-brainer for me. It doesnt matter if the drive is refurbished, if the warranty is indeed 5 years.
However, do make sure its 5 years and that this indeed applies to this specific drive.

I have had terrible experience with WD hard disk drives, they fail more often than not.
Even if I am wrong about WD's, HDD's are not a particularly reliable form of storage, so you want as a hefty warranty as you can get.
I have had drives failing 1 month after their 2-year warranty expired, and its just really frustrating, especially if we are talking about 3tb or higher drives, since its a lot of data.

HGST, all the way, provided its 5 years warranty and not 2.

4745454b · Oct 5, 2017

They usually have a 1yr warranty, but you'll need to double check before you buy. If you think that one is cheap...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07591S3D7?psc=1

I know the one I linked is an older drive, and I suspect the one you linked is as well. Modern large capacity drives like this usually have a 128MB buffer, and the one you linked is 64MB. So between the older model and refurbed I'm not surprised by the price at all.

morpheas768 · Oct 5, 2017

omar.ahmed.eltammamy :

Hitachi gives a 5-year warranty for this drive. If something goes wrong, you're covered.
https://www.hgst.com/sites/default/files/resources/US7K4000_ds.pdf

However, you should go ahead and contact amazon asking them about this particular refurbished drive, to make sure this applies to refurbished models as well. Since they are the seller, they have to provide you that information, and I'm sure Amazon staff will help you there.

I dont know why you are worried about scratches, if the disk is scratched, it will be DOA, you'll know immediately.
If not DOA, then at least with serious errors (bad sectors etc).
Scratches on the metal cover are basically irrelevant, no one really cares, but I doubt its scratched...they wouldnt even bother to sell it.

The chances of failing and the MTBF are irrelevant, if the drive is covered for 5 years by warranty. Again, its the most important thing for HDD's, go ahead and find out how long the warranty is.

OF COURSE it will be 3 TB and not less, if it was less than 3TB, then they are guilty of false advertising, and you have to return the product asap.
Amazon just wouldnt do this, but hey, I could be wrong.
In any case, you can return it and get your money back.
If I sell you an iPhone 5 telling you its an iPhone 6, wouldnt that be deceitful and wrong? Same goes for stores like Amazon.

If you really are that extremely worried, just spend some more money and sleep well without worries.

morpheas768 · Oct 5, 2017

4745454b :

Actually, 3TB drives almost always have 64MB, not 128. Even the newest models have 64.
128MB for 3TB is pretty damn rare.

omar.ahmed.eltammamy · Oct 5, 2017

Thanks, I think I will go with a Western Digital new one

I am spending a lot of money on my build and might have a heart attack if something goes falty, I don't live in the US and it takes like 1 month for something to arrive via amazon. I just wanted to see how cheap I can get but I think I am going to spend the extra 20 bucks cause I am the worst at resending stuff to amazon, I don't even think I am allowed to send a falty hardware back because of where I live. It would be a nightmare if my hdd didn't work. I heard Seagate is the worst company for hdds because of how much they fail, so I am going with a WD one.

4745454b · Oct 5, 2017

I've been looking at a replacement 4TB drive, all the newest models have 128MB. I assumed the new 3TB drives would be the same. The one I linked for sure is an older one, 32MB cache drives were all the rage a decade (?) ago.

You won't get 3TBs of space out of any 3TB drive. That's the difference between decimal numbering and 8 bit per byte. This happens with all drives. Not just refurbed ones.

https://www.lifewire.com/drive-storage-capacities-833435

So if you need a full 3TB, you'll need to step up to a 4TB drive or larger. If you are ok with a couple hundred GB missing, the 3TB are fine.

morpheas768 · Oct 5, 2017

omar.ahmed.eltammamy :

I would recommend Toshiba over Seagate and WD, but anyway.

I'm pretty sure you can send a faulty item back to amazon, since it would technically be DOA, provided that you are within the time limit for DOA.
However, depending on where you live they might charge you for shipping, so that is something to consider.

Anyway, worrying about stuff like that isnt worth saving 10 or 20 bucks, unless you desperately need that money, IMHO.

morpheas768 · Oct 5, 2017

4745454b :

I assumed the OP already knows the difference between TB and TiB.
In any case, here's a useful link for those that might need it: http://www.dr-lex.be/info-stuff/bytecalc.html

I checked Amazon, and in order to find a 3TB drive with 128MB cache, you need to spend something like $200+
Seagate HDD ST3000NM0015 3TB SATA3 6Gb/s Enterprise 7200RPM 128MB 3.5 inch 512e SED Bare

Really its not an option, considering you can easily go to 4TB (and more) with that amount of cash.

photonboy · Oct 5, 2017

Hitachi makes good drives, though that doesn't mean EVERY drive model is good.

*Please note that AMAZON REVIEW SCORES are not accurate. They often mix up scores for SIMILAR items.

NEWEGG is much better to compare results.

Some REFURBISHED products are actually MORE RELIABLE than straight from the assembly line since they've been run through more tests, though you don't know how much it's been used either.

morpheas768 · Oct 5, 2017

photonboy :

You actually can find out how much its been used, by using programs like Crystal Disk Info and other similar ones that will tell you approximately how many hours the drive has been operational.
What they cant tell you, is HOW exactly the drive was used.

4745454b · Oct 5, 2017

Exactly. Powered on hours != number of GB read/wrote.

omar.ahmed.eltammamy · Oct 5, 2017

https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-BarraCuda-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST4000DM006/dp/B01MSW4MNS/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1507226334&sr=8-14&keywords=4%2Btb%2Bhard%2Bdrive&th=1 the cheapest 128 4tb hdd I found on the market :/. But will it be like 2.3 tb not 3 tb? Is it that big of a difference?

4745454b · Oct 5, 2017

Really? There are cheaper ones, though this is a 5TB drive.

https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-ST5000DM000-3-5-Inch-Internal/dp/B00KIVMRWU

A 4TB drive formats to 3.726TB of space.

photonboy · Oct 5, 2017

morpheas768 :

photonboy :

You actually can find out how much its been used, by using programs like Crystal Disk Info and other similar ones that will tell you approximately how many hours the drive has been operational.
What they cant tell you, is HOW exactly the drive was used.

I meant how much it was used PRIOR to buying the HDD.

photonboy · Oct 5, 2017

omar.ahmed.eltammamy :

A larger cache doesn't necessarily make the drive any faster, especially for desktop usage.

In fact, a larger cache can even SLOW DOWN things especially since it's likely to be a non-OS drive so statistically you are likely to see more cache misses than hits as the cache size increases (though it may be insignificant compared to the seek time bottleneck). There's really no benefit to a desktop user to get a large cache.

If reliability is a concern, maybe get two of the $60 Hitachi 3TB drives and setup a hardware RAID1 (so 3TB usable) in the BIOS. If a drive dies the data would still be on the other drive, so you could RMA it if under Warranty then put the returned unit back in and rebuild the array.

4745454b · Oct 5, 2017

I really dislike RAID1. It has no purpose in a home build. A USB 3TB drive which you hook up once a week to back up important data is a much better idea.

USAFRet · Oct 5, 2017

morpheas768 :

I wouldn't count on that "5 year"
That text is simply copy/paste from the original.

If you click on "warranty information", you get:
"Please contact the seller directly for warranty information for this product. You may also be able to find warranty information on the manufacturer’s website. "

This 3 tb hdd is too cheap to be true

Prominent

Glorious

Prominent

Reputable

Prominent

Distinguished

Titan

Distinguished

Distinguished

Prominent

Titan

Distinguished

Distinguished

Titan

Distinguished

Titan

Prominent

Titan

Titan

Titan

Titan

Titan

Share this page