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General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: Easyscor on April 27, 2017, 11:32:10 AM

Title: WD Black?
Post by: Easyscor on April 27, 2017, 11:32:10 AM
Is Western Digital Black still the gold standard in regular hard drives or is there something better now?
I'm about to pull the trigger on a 2TB drive and wonder if the premium is worth it.

Thanks
Title: Re: WD Black?
Post by: Infidelz on April 28, 2017, 07:19:15 AM
Samsung SSD.  960 PRO for OS, Sata SSD for everything else.
Title: Re: WD Black?
Post by: Chalenge on May 04, 2017, 04:23:47 AM
I have two out of twenty WD Black drives that are still operational. I prefer HGST Deskstar NAS (7200). The larger the cache the better.
Title: Re: WD Black?
Post by: Spikes on May 04, 2017, 07:05:35 AM
Yes I'd say WD Blacks are still the premium regular HDD.
Title: Re: WD Black?
Post by: Skuzzy on May 04, 2017, 08:42:48 AM
There is a reason why we do not use any WD drives in our systems (servers or desktops).  Just saying.
Title: Re: WD Black?
Post by: ACE on May 05, 2017, 12:11:52 PM
There is a reason why we do not use any WD drives in our systems (servers or desktops).  Just saying.

Is that reason due to the price of what you guys prefer?
Title: Re: WD Black?
Post by: Skuzzy on May 05, 2017, 02:03:09 PM
Price has nothing to do with it.
Title: Re: WD Black?
Post by: ACE on May 05, 2017, 04:51:45 PM
Price has nothing to do with it.

Can you elaborate on why you don't use WD. I'm in the market for a HD
Title: Re: WD Black?
Post by: TequilaChaser on May 06, 2017, 03:49:28 AM
I have two out of twenty WD Black drives that are still operational. I prefer HGST Deskstar NAS (7200). The larger the cache the better.

I agree with Chalenge and Skuzzy

As for the Hitachi (HGST) DeskStar HDD platter Hard Drives, I wouldn't go lower than the 73000/74000 series 7200 rpm ... I also like and prefer the UltraStar  enterprise HD models, too...(is early morning and no coffee yet, hope I typed that right)

As for WD drives, I have only 2 in use out of 12 desktop computers, a home server and (2) LG model# N2B1 NAS systems that have built in Blu-ray DL RE-Writers and (2) 2 TB Hitachi HDs, that have ran non stop since April of 2016 (I have one of these each hooked to the TV's in the Den and in my bedroom)

I have the ability to access any computer from any other computer as well as from any TV in the house... including the ability to access any of the NAS' and the Home Network Server...

After witnessing my Mom's computer brick (2) WD Black platter Hard Drive's and (1) WD Blue platter Hard Drive...then having a WD Raptor 450 GB 10,000 rpm HD fail on me, I personally will not allow another WD Drive be installed in to any family members computers ever again...

The 2 WD drives that are still in use are (1) 320 GB HD on an old Windows XP system, with a 250 GB data storage drive on the same system ( and each of them have bad sectors problems )

There was a pretty good discussion/debate in this forum about which manufacturer made the better Hard Drive/most reliable drive....

Maybe someone can research it and repost the link to that discussion/debate...

TC
Title: Re: WD Black?
Post by: wrench on May 06, 2017, 07:18:44 AM
HGST is now owned by...wait for it...Western Digital
Title: Re: WD Black?
Post by: Bizman on May 06, 2017, 09:14:14 AM
I wonder if they sell different patches in different countries. I've been very happy with the WD Blue HDD's I've installed, both for myself and for my customers. My current ones have been in use for about four and eight years now.

Might be just luck.
Title: Re: WD Black?
Post by: TequilaChaser on May 06, 2017, 09:28:32 AM
HGST is now owned by...wait for it...Western Digital

Yep, Western Digital bought them out a few years back.... Hitachi/ HGST were the only Hard Drive Manufacturer's that were not affect by the flooding that swamped and flooded out the region

that, and the accepted conclusion by WD that Hitachi's product was Superior to WD's product, it benefited them in numerous ways to buy them out,  like  having all the Hitachi / Hitachi - HGST / HGST products  stamped with "A Western-Digital Company" tag , using Hitachi's knowledgebase and design parameters/circuitry to create the RED/RED Pro, Green and Purple WD Drives for specific uses similar to what Hitachi had already been doing with their Enterprise and Server class HD's ( not referring to NAS Drives here, which is a completely different line of HGST HD's )... as well as help control the market price on Hard Drives, just to name a few things...

if my memory recalls correctly, Bizman, before WD bought out Hitachi........ WD only had the WD-Black, WD-Blue and WD-Raptor drives....going back further the WD-Blue drives were called the WD- Cavalier

with all that said: their is always a Lemon here and there, regardless of whichever Brand one might be talking about

Title: Re: WD Black?
Post by: Bizman on May 06, 2017, 01:56:05 PM
Yepp, TC, there's lemons in every basket. I have a friend who used to be in the IT business. He said that every single Hitachi (or was it IBM, or IBM-Hitachi) drive of the tens he had used had failed prematurely which is why he won't buy an HGST drive "ever".
Title: Re: WD Black?
Post by: Easyscor on May 06, 2017, 04:29:02 PM
This is all very bad news for me now. I've been using Seagate (7200rpm 12-2012) and Hitachi (7200rpm 8-2011) drives up until now. They're both getting a bit long in the tooth so I want a reliable backup. So yes, I pulled the trigger on the WD a week ago with same day delivery after no negative comments. Next month I'll be adding a Seagate external drive for future backup.

After mounting the drive and beginning transfers, I discovered problems right away with incomplete transfers of folder content. I've chalked this up to a bus or interrupt conflict but now I'm worried it may be more serious. After a week, the drive appears to be a bit nosier then my other two drives, hence my plan for a new Seagate.

In the meantime, I'm hoping it lasts long enough for temporary storage while I clean out the multiple, unorganized, backups on the other drives. If it bricks after that, it goes back as I won't put any personal info on it.
Title: Re: WD Black?
Post by: Bizman on May 07, 2017, 09:20:17 AM
WD drives make some rattle, it's a feature mentioned even on their website.
Title: Re: WD Black?
Post by: Spikes on May 07, 2017, 12:35:00 PM
This is all very bad news for me now. I've been using Seagate (7200rpm 12-2012) and Hitachi (7200rpm 8-2011) drives up until now. They're both getting a bit long in the tooth so I want a reliable backup. So yes, I pulled the trigger on the WD a week ago with same day delivery after no negative comments. Next month I'll be adding a Seagate external drive for future backup.

After mounting the drive and beginning transfers, I discovered problems right away with incomplete transfers of folder content. I've chalked this up to a bus or interrupt conflict but now I'm worried it may be more serious. After a week, the drive appears to be a bit nosier then my other two drives, hence my plan for a new Seagate.

In the meantime, I'm hoping it lasts long enough for temporary storage while I clean out the multiple, unorganized, backups on the other drives. If it bricks after that, it goes back as I won't put any personal info on it.
I have 3 or 4 various WD drives (Black, Blue, and Green) that I've been using for 4-5 years now, no issues.
Title: Re: WD Black?
Post by: Easyscor on May 07, 2017, 01:11:30 PM
Thanks Bizman, Spikes.
Title: Re: WD Black?
Post by: Gman on May 08, 2017, 03:21:17 AM
Same as Spikes, I've have 6 WD Blacks from 1 to 4 gb, from 5 years old to almost new, none have died or had noticeable decreases in performance.  I have a number of Seagate spinners too, a couple internal and at least a dozen external/backups.  Large number of Samsung Evo/Pros from 250 to 1gb, and a 950 and 960 m.2.  None have failed, but I've read reports of each and every one of those models failing.  Obviously some fail at rates higher than others.  IMO you should always have your important data backed up several times anyway, so even if "the best" drive dies, it's only a small financial hit, as the drives are pretty cheap now.

Title: Re: WD Black?
Post by: wrench on May 08, 2017, 08:49:57 AM
Glanced back through the last 15 years of RMAs for customers and myself.

For HDs only found WD (6 failed before the warranty expired).

One hard drive had valuable data on it so I ordered identical drive and swapped platters to get data back. Only do this in a clean room environment or on a laminar flow bench and wear your clean room garments!