[SOLVED] ISO HDD for Storing Games - Want WD, But Too Expensive

[Appletax]

Hi

I have a 256 GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD that I'll be using for storing the OS and all my programs (current HDD is using < 70 GB). I want to add a large capacity hard drive to store my video games (got a bunch from Steam Sales and other sales). This is going to gobble up a lot of space. I want them all installed so I can jump into a game whenever I want. I want the Western Digital Black 3 TB drive because it's fast, has a 5 year warranty, and WD has a good reputation. The problem is that it's nearly twice as much as SeaGate's 3 TB drive. My problem with SeaGate is that the drive has tons of horrible reviews - maybe because tons of people have bought them compared to the WDs so there's lots of people that have had drives go bad.

The other choice is a 3 TB WD Red NAS drive. It runs slower (5400 RPM), but should be very reliable. I will likely get it for storing my movies later on down the road.

So, at this point, if I were to purchase an HDD, I would go with the Seagate because it's only $114 vs WD's $200.

Thoughts

Edit: bought a SeaGate 3TB Barracuda in early 2014 and it still works greats late 2015. It's plenty fast for games that aren't enormous (e.g. GTA V and Battlefield 4).

 

[SpaceSquad]

I wouldn't really go for the Red, as you wouldn't be using it for what it's meant to do.

I have 4 3TB Barracudas with zero issues. I like them because they are cheaper and still have the cache and RPM I want. I also have three 500GB Barracudas spinning with no problems either.

Hard drives fail...make sure you have backups in place at all times.

 

[smashedbotatos]

You get what you pay for. All drives will eventually fail given a long enough time line. Seagate seems to have a shorter lifespan and could eventually end up costing you double the price of the drive anyway. 5 year warranty is a good deal. Only needed it a few times though.

I personally will only use WD Black for general use, and Red for my home server projects.

 

[Appletax]

I think I'll go with the SeaGate for storing my games and WD Red for storing movies in the future. The WD Black is overpriced IMO. The drive comes with a 2 year warranty so I will be fine for 2 years. I had to RMA my portable HDD I got from them a few years ago and it was a good experience similar to WDs RMAs. I'm buying it from Amazon so if there's any problems initially, they'll take the drive back and pay for the shipping

 

[LifelineIT]

I tend to buy most of my HDD's via amazon, I'm seeing the 3Tb WD's at $190 and the 3Tb Seagates at $120. I guess $70 is significant, BUT...

I'll never, EVER, EVER purchase another Seagate drive EVER after the way they handled the KNOWN bug in the 7200.11 firmwares.

My personal rig is a few-years-old 64Gb OCZ Agility 3 SSD (the fastest on the market the day I bought it...), a 2Tb dump drive and and a 1Tb installs drive. All WD's, all day long.

I also do a fair volume of HDD swaps/replacements/recoveries/etc, and the rae at which I see failed WD's is less than half of the rate I see anything else, although my sample size isn't probably scientific.

 

[Appletax]

From 2012:

"I've dealt almost exclusively with WD for the last 10 years....I had a string of bad luck with Seagate before that, and had sworn off of them. Well, times have changed, and I'm willing to see if Seagate has improved over the years. Post-flood WD seems to be sticking to the absurd prices after other makers are slowly going back down to reasonable prices. And I have to say price played a BIG part in these recent purchases...I REFUSE to pay more for a WD GREEN drive than I did for a Black drive twice the size a year ago...I just refuse.
In a non-raid environment, this 2TB drive seems to be snappy, worked out of the box, and has had no errors...so far so good. Just ordered 2 of the 3TB variety on the strength of this one.

I've been seeing A LOT of neg reviews lately for ALL manufactures in ALL price ranges, it's my belief that the many DOAs have more to do with how the drives are handled in transit, than quality control. I've SEEN the way carriers toss the packages around to get to others, and have even seen them STAND on packages....no bubble wrap is going to compensate for that kind of abuse. Still other complaints I've seen have more to do with ignorance than anything...who in their right mind expects to drop a 2TB-3TB drive in a 10 year old machine and expect it to work out of the box, without using the manufactureres tool? Or expects lightning speeds when a SATA 6GB drive is plugged into a SATA 1.5GB port? And if I read one more review where a clueless person can't understand why a 3 TB reports as less than 3TB in Windows...I'll scream!

I think it stinks that warrantys have been cut, and there is still the question in my mind if post-flood drives are being rushed out to meet demand before factorys are up-to-snuff, or if all that fresh new equipment means a better product....guess we'll see.
From a one week perspective, I have no complaints with this drive. In the weeks to come, if I DO....I'll let ya know."

2013:

"One year later, drive still in use and kicking. Also have 2 of the 3TB drives bought around the same time, still in use. So far, so good."

 

[Appletax]

I am now considering a Western Digital 1 TB Blue Caviar HDD. It's only $59.99. I only need it to store games (can't imagine using more than 1 TB for games).

I've read that HDDs aren't a bottleneck for gaming. Playing games on an SSD just decreases the load times a little bit. I'm not going to get reduced frame rates because I'm gaming with an HDD.

http://www.amazon.com/WD-Blue-Deskt...142&sr=8-4&keywords=western+digital+blue+2+tb

 

[Appletax]

I'll never, EVER, EVER purchase another Seagate drive EVER after the way they handled the KNOWN bug in the 7200.11 firmwares.

""I will come out and say that based on personal experience, hard drives are generally less reliable than they were 10 or 20 years ago. Not sure why, but they just seem to fail more than ever. I think this is common among most consumer electronics these days and is a direct result of much lower manufacturing costs.

As for Seagate, I am still quite confident in their product but it's very difficult to ascertain reliability data on something like a given model of hard drive, they don't tend to have a long service life for reasons I mentioned above, but aside from the few years ago problem with the 7200.11 series Seagate has been a very reputable storage vendor their entire lives""

I went with the 3 TB SeaGate so I have plenty of space. It's a steal at $114. I will update this if I have any problems with it. The reviews for the 3 TB model are pretty good, so I am optimistic

 

[bertie40]

If I recall correctly, the general consensus is that WD black and red drives are ok, the green ones have reliability issues. Then again, that was the state of play a few months ago.