I honestly do not remember the last time I used a hard drive as a means of storage on my computer. Sure, it does seem outlandish but between a computer and a laptop, I do not have a lot of data to store and a single 1TB NVMe SSD is more than enough for me, at least now. However, I know a lot of people who are actively using hard drives for the simplest reason that they are cheaper in terms of the storage you get and that allows you to store a lot of data for cheap.
But are hard drives still relevant? Well, yes. That is why, we are going to explore the best hard drives that are available in the market. I do understand that this might not be something that most people want but hey, you are getting a lot of storage without spending money.
If you want to store games, movies, or other important files on your computer locally without spending a lot of money, a hard drive is the way to go without having to worry about anything else.
Reviewing the Best Hard Drives
| Awards | Model | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Best Overall Hard Drive | Buy on Amazon |
|
| Best High Capacity Hard Drive | Buy on Amazon |
|
| Best Gaming Hard Drive | Buy on Amazon |
|
| Best Budget Hard Drive | Buy on Amazon |
|
| Best NAS Hard Drive | Buy on Amazon |
Now, finding the best hard drives was not at all difficult. For the simplest reason that HDDs have reached their peak, this means that all of the innovation that had to happen already did. So, you are not really getting anything new, to begin with.
Still, that does not stop from manufacturers to come out with some excellent hard drives that you can buy and that is what we are going to explore. Let’s not beat around the bush and have a look at what you can buy in the market.
Seagate BarraCuda
Specifications:
- Form Factor: 3.5-inch.
- Disk Speed: 7,200 RPM.
- Interface: SATA 6 Gbps.
- Capacity: Up to 14TB.
Now, it should not come as a surprise that Seagate has been around for as long as one can remember and the best part is that they are known for delivering some of the best storage devices that you can buy. I have already featured their NVMe SSDs in one of the lineups and this time around, we are looking at something different for those who are looking for a great overall experience.
The Seagate BarraCuda is perhaps the best hard drive that you can buy at the moment and that too, because of a lot of things that make it such a great offering. After all, for anyone who wants to have mass storage available to them, this is the way to go.
Now, Seagate as a company is not going to overlook or forget the experience because they think the price is low. The Seagate BarraCuda is one of the best value options that you can buy, bringing one of the lowest price per gigabyte that allows the user to spend less money but get a lot of storage available for their convenience, as well.
If you have been searching for a good platter drive, then the Seagate BarraCuda is perhaps one of the best as it does not really cause any issues in the overall working. Sure, you are paying a small premium but it definitely is something that is going to be worth it when you are using it for a longer time.
Another thing that I do love about the Seagate BarraCuda is the fact that you can buy the drive in up to 14TB of capacities and I am not sure if you can actually compute that but that is a lot of storage that you are getting and that too, by not paying a lot of money, making this one of the best storage drives that you can buy for the money.
Additionally, Seagate actually includes the software, connection cables, as well as screws for installation in the package and while this might not matter much, I believe this to be a really important and nice thought that makes these companies better than most of the other companies.
Another thing that I genuinely enjoyed during my time with the Seagate BarraCuda is the fact that you are getting a Disk Wizard, which might seem like something that is not important but allows you to keep a proper track of your hard drive.
If you are asking me about something that I do not like about the hard drive, then I only have to say that the limited cache is perhaps the only thing people might not find good about this drive.
Overall, the Seagate BarraCuda serves as an exceptional hard drive that you can get for your money. Sure, you might not be in need of a mass storage device but there is nothing wrong with having one that just performs really well.
- Unbeatable value for money.
- Fast spinning disks.
- Lots of storage capacities.
- The package has everything that you need to get started.
- The cache is limited at best.
Toshiba X300
Specifications:
- Form Factor: 3.5-inch.
- Disk Speed: 7,200 RPM.
- Interface: SATA 6 Gbps.
- Capacity: Up to 8TB.
Although we do not hear about Toshiba making storage devices that frequently, the fact that the company is actively producing some of the best hard drives is just something that you have to understand and while I have not had the chance to review a lot of Toshiba offerings in the past, I do know the company’s history and how they are committed to provide excellent and good quality products.
With that said, the Toshiba X300 is made for anyone who is looking to get some high quality offerings with great speed and value for money, too. Not just that, Toshiba is also committed to delivering a higher capacity than some of the other companies and that is the reason why the hard drive has made it to our list.
Right away, the thing that I love about the Toshiba X300 is the fact that the price per TB is a lot lower than what some other hard drive manufacturers are offering. If you have been looking for something that is going to allow you to store large amounts of data without ever running low, the X300 is the way to go as it can go as high as 8TB. Now, I do understand that for some, 8TB might not be high enough since some companies offer higher capacity drives too, but what’s better here is that the X300 has a faster cache, as well. Which makes it one of the more compelling options in the market aimed at great overall performance.
Speaking of performance, the Toshiba X300 does perform relatively fast. You get around 200 MB/s of transfer speed and while that is not the fastest and can certainly not match an SSD, it is not supposed to. Hard drives are built with the sole purpose of being storage devices for those who want to store as much data as possible.
The Toshiba X300 is available in up to 8TB storage, which is more than enough for a lot of people and the dual-stage actuator ensures that the drive keeps running reliably and longer without any negating issues that might ruin the experience.
About the downsides, I cannot really think of anything aside from the fact that the hard drive can get slow under load or when it heats up but then again, this is something that we all know about.
Overall, the Toshiba X300 is an excellent hard drive with some really nice features that are otherwise exclusive for enterprise or NAS drives. The performance is great and the value for money cannot be beaten.
- Brings an amazing value for money to the table.
- Available in various capacities across the board.
- Some really solid features such as advanced actuators.
- Speedy performance.
- Can slow down under load.
Western Digital Black
Specifications:
- Form Factor: 3.5-inch.
- Disk Speed: 7,200 RPM.
- Interface: SATA 6 Gbps.
- Capacity: Up to 10TB.
Another name that is synonymous with high-performance storage devices happens to be Western Digital and it has been around for a long, long time. As a matter of fact, my first hard drive was from Western Digital and it was one of the best decisions that I had made at that time. However, times have changed and so has Western Digital.
Oh, do not get me wrong, the Western Digital Black is built upon the same formula we all love but this time around, we are looking at a drive that looks better than before and gives us the same legendary performance that was responsible for putting Western Digital on the map. If you are looking for a fast, gaming-centric drive, this is the way to go.
Now, there is a lot to love about the Western Digital Black aside from the obvious fact that the hard drive has a black sticker on the front. If you have been searching for a reliable drive in the market that works as intended with a no-nonsense approach, then going for this one is honestly the right decision. I have been using the drive for some time and never really ran into any issues that would have ruined my experience. Needless to say, Western Digital has really perfected the formula.
Now, I would let you know something important right away that in terms of the performance or specs, you are getting something that has become the industry standard for some time. However, it is Western Digital and the execution that they have taken care of that makes this hard drive such a good offering.
Another thing that I love about the Western Digital Black is the fact that as compared to the previous Black drives from Western Digital, the overall quality has improved and you are getting up to 10 TB of options, too. Now, I do understand that for a lot of us, including myself, that is an overkill but hey, the option is available should you want to go with it.
My only concern with this otherwise excellent hard drive is that the hard drive carries a slightly higher premium over the normal hard drives you can find in the market.
Overall, the Western Digital Black is easily one of the best and high-performing drives available in the market. For anyone who is looking for a no-nonsense approach with a lot to love, this is the one that you should be going for.
- Top-tier performance.
- Excellent endurance.
- Great value for money.
- Variety of capacities available.
- Comes with a slight premium.
Western Digital Blue
Specifications:
- Form Factor: 3.5-inch.
- Disk Speed: 5,400 – 7,200 RPM.
- Interface: SATA 6 Gbps.
- Capacity: Up to 8TB.
The one thing that us PC builders love so much about Western Digital is the fact that they are known for delivering some of the finest storage solutions priced at various points. So, it does not matter if you have to spend more money or less money, for that matter. Western Digital has you covered and the hard drives or SSDs that they offer are all exceptional, to say the least.
With that said, there is simply a lot to love about Western Digital as a company, and the Western Digital Blue is something that you should be looking into if you are in the market building a budget oriented system or you just want to have a lot of storage and not pay a lot of money.
Now, for those who are not sure, Blue series is generally regarded as a budget option for the consumers who are not in the market to get the fastest possible storage. This, however, often results in the drives being available at a slower 5,400 RPM instead of a more traditional 7,200 RPM. However, if you do not mind paying the extra, you can go ahead and buy a faster RPM, too.
The performance of the Western Digital Blue is actually respectable, to say the least. Considering how I have stopped using hard drives for the longest time, it was a nice surprise to see that Western Digital has managed to keep even this budget drive kicking. For the price you are paying, performance is hardly something that you can complain about as it works perfectly fine without any hiccups that might come in the way.
Furthermore, another great thing is that the price per gigabyte also reduces significantly here, which allows you to get higher capacities at a much lower price. Now, I do understand that this is not something that is attractive to everyone but for those who are only looking to expand their storage with something that is reliable and good, this is great.
When I first heard that I will be checking out the 5,400 RPM variant, I was a bit taken back because I really did not want to run into a slug fest and be riddled with slow performance. However, after using the hard drive for some time, I have come to the conclusion that the speed is still good enough for almost every single use.
What does bother me is that you are looking at a reduced cache as opposed to some of the other variants in the same series and that can cause some issues for some users.
Overall, the Western Digital Blue is an excellent drive for anyone who has been looking to expand their storage but without the whole process of spending extra money. I do understand that this might not be something that you would want to do, but hey, a budget drive is not a bad idea, at all.
- Perhaps the greatest value for money.
- Loads of storage option.
- Same great durability.
- Very low price per gigabyte.
- Decreased cache.
Seagate IronWolf NAS
Specifications:
- Form Factor: 3.5-inch.
- Disk Speed: 7,200 RPM.
- Interface: SATA 6 Gbps.
- Capacity: Up to 12TB.
Over the past couple of years, as we have seen an increase in the data size of almost all the mediums we use, we have also seen people spending more and more money on storage. Especially network attached storage or NAS. Now, I do not have to go in deep detail about NAS but if you are living in a place where you would want all the internet users of that place to access a single place where they can get files from or put files as a safe way of storing them, NAS is the way to go. This has also caused an increase in the demand for high-capacity drives that are made specifically for NAS devices and well, Seagate is not the one to shy away.
The Seagate IronWolf NAS is a hard drive that is built specifically for the users of NAS and while it might seem like an overkill, there is a reason why you are spending a premium on such devices. Not only are these drives available in very high capacity going all the way up to 12TB, they are also known for being super reliable, and very enduring overall.
Now, it is safe to say that we are fully aware of the fact that the Seagate IronWolf NAS that we are looking at is class leading in terms of the storage that you can get. Sure, 12TB might not sound enough but when you actually start using it, you realize that you might never run out of the storage you have. Not just that, Seagate is using top-tier components as well, and if you are wondering, the drive brings 7,200 RPM of speed with 256MB cache and while on paper, this might not seem like much as it is a lot similar to what other drives are capable of doing, in reality, the story is different.
Furthermore, you are also getting excellent performance that you can expect from higher-end devices and what’s even better is that the endurance is great. This is something that I do love about the Seagate IronWolf NAS because after all, a drive that is made for NAS should be able to withstand some use, and this is the case here, too.
Seagate has also done something that so many other hard drive manufacturers choose not to and that is the fact that they have paid attention to the overall design and the quality that goes into the Seagate IronWolf NAS and that shows that there was some great care that was put into designing this hard drive and I am grateful that Seagate has done that.
Moving onto the things that I did not like. Honestly, it is hard to dislike anything about the Seagate IronWolf NAS, to begin with. However, the premium that you are paying is not worth it if you are only going to use this drive as standard drive and not pair it with a NAS.
Overall, the Seagate IronWolf NAS is an excellent hard drive that more than lives up to its name and while it is not readily built for the average consumer, the NAS performance is exceptional and the drive itself has great endurance, too. Definitely a strong drive for anyone looking for great experience.
- Available in a lot of capacities.
- Excellent NAS performance.
- 7,200 RPM coupled with a massive 256MB cache.
- Consistent performance.
- Great build quality and design.
- Not made for average users.
How to Choose the Best Hard Drive
Now that we have looked at the best hard drives that you can buy in the market. The next logical step is to start exploring the ways that you can buy the best hard drive. After all, for a lot of people, things can be confusing and that is never what we would suggest to anyone, in the first place.
Choosing a hard drive is not really that difficult but still, if you are finding yourself in some confusion, we are going to make things easier for you and talk about the best hard drives that you can buy and let’s not waste time and have a look, shall we?
- Buying the Right Capacity: In a day and age where we use hard drives primarily as mass storage, it is important to know that if you do want to use a hard drive, buy a larger capacity. I would suggest that you start with at least 2 TB or go even higher. Why? Well, you can easily get a 1TB SSD and that too, for not a lot of money. So, getting a 1TB HDD is not something that I would suggest. Start with 2 and then make your way from there, if you feel like it.
- Always Go for a Larger Cache: In hard drives, cache is something that a lot of people avoid all the time and while it might seem like something that one does not need, in the first place. Cache is something that can actually have an impact on the performance with lower cache being slower and less reliable. Now, you might be wondering how much you are going to spend for the sake of getting extra cache and to be honest, not a lot. The difference is barely there, but the performance is always better, to be honest.
- Noise Levels: Now this is something that most modern users have absolutely no idea about. Especially those who have been using SSDs for some time now but it is very important to know that hard drives do tend to make noise because of the moving parts being in the hard drive and while it might sound like a scary concept, in reality, it is just how these drives are built. Before you invest in a hard drive, I would suggest that you check the noise level.
- Warranty: Considering how hard drives are much more susceptible to failure, the warranty periods tend to be longer with some drives going as high as 5-year. I am not sure how important warranty is to you or how often you change a storage device but it is still important to pay attention to such details.
- MTBF and MTTR: Now here, things are about to get more technical. When you are buying a hard drive, you might encounter two terms that may not make sense right away but they are actually very important to pay attention to. The first one is MTBF, which stands for Mean Time Between Failure, this is a technical measure that helps gauge the expected reliability of a drive or any other device, for that matter. Modern hard drives have a really high MTBF, ensuring you that your hard drive is not going to die on you suddenly. The higher the MTBF, the better. The next one is MTTR, or Mean Time to Repair and as the name suggests, it refers to the average time it takes to repair the hard drive. You can ignore this because chances of a consumer repairing their own drive are rather low.
- What Your Purpose Is: The last thing that I would want to look into is just the purpose of a hard drive for you. I know this might sound strange but most of the time, people buy hard drives for all the different reasons. While some plan to make it a part of a network attached storage, others might connect the drives in RAID, and at the same time, some people just prefer using them as main drives. Considering how SSDs have overtaken almost every other storage device, the most common usage for hard drives is mass storage and if the same is the story with you, then you can simply go ahead and get the highest capacity that you can buy and you are good to go.
Conclusion
I am fully aware of the fact that for a lot of people, getting their hands on a hard drive might sound like something that is not as important. But it is important to understand that whenever you are in the market looking for a hard drive, buying something that is good is very, very important. You cannot just go ahead and buy something that is mediocre at best.
Thankfully, the entire list is all about the best hard drives that you can find right away. If you have been looking at storage devices that will deliver great performance, this roundup is for you. Simply put, we took the best hard drives and featured them here. Why? Well, there are hard drives that are for everyone; so, it does not matter if you want to get something that is for budget users or for something that is for higher-end users. You can even go for something that has a lot of storage and reliability that can go inside a NAS.
The point is that this round up takes care of you.
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I have been gaming for almost 24 years with extensive knowledge of all platforms and the gaming industry, in general. With interests in literature, art, gaming, and PC hardware.