21-30k Need inputs on WD Ultrastar HC320, HC330 vs Ironwolf

[Silent47Assassin]

I am looking to purchase a high capacity internal HDD for my PC and was looking at the 8 and 10 TB models from the Ultrastar series. Looking at th 5 year warranty, I am hoping that these drives will be reliable. Not planning to use in a NAS or 24*7 workloads.

Can anyone share any insight on how reliable they are and how do they compare to, say, the Ironwolf (non-pro) series from Seagate?

 

[iPwnz]

To be perfectly honest it will be difficult to tell the reliability. Storage reliability is almost luck based. I've had multiple hard disks from multiple companies, WD, Seagate, Hitachi and they've had at least one disk failed on me.
Usually you'd decide between them based on whether they are CMR or SMR and RPM's etc. but the models you listed are all similar on paper. You cannot really depend on reviews either as they are usually sponsored. For eg. LTT videos and servers are run by Seagate disks to promote to the world that their disks are reliable for very important tasks.
While the Ultrastar is based on the old reputed Hitachi. WD has always had the better reputation locally in India. Also if it matters, Seagate had to undergo a rebrand for their storage disks and use fancy names.

 

[Silent47Assassin]

Thanks for your input.
I agree that storage reliability is mostly luck. I have had a 4TB WD external drive fail me twice within the warranty period. However, I still have a 8+ year old 3 TB WD green running perfectly.

Having said that, enterprise class drives are typically built to be more reliable and hence carry more warranty. This is my personal way of justifying their higher cost...

Keeping that in mind, I have decided to go ahead and get the Ultrastar especially considering that it is much cheaper than a similar capacity Ironwolf. Only time will tell how it performs.

 

[avinandan012]

I had multiple Seagate barracuda drives die on me over the years. Currently trying to recover data from a 2TB seagate. Probably this is my last Seagate drive.
None of my WD, HGST, Hitachi drives die on me yet.

Ultrastar drives are very good, most are comparable to some enterprise drives. However they are kind of noisemaker drives, most of the time you can hear the arm move.

 

[Silent47Assassin]

I just got the Ultrastar yesterday and the everything looks fine except the temps. I have the TT Core V21 chassis which typically has a poor airflow in the HDD bay area. Initially the temps were around 56C but I was able to get them down to 49 C- 50C range by hooking up an 80MM fan on the backside of the chassis. This is way more than the 4TB Ironwolf that I have (around 37 - 40C).

Hopefully this will not pose a problem for the drive in the long run.

 

[avinandan012]

I just got the Ultrastar yesterday and the everything looks fine except the temps. I have the TT Core V21 chassis which typically has a poor airflow in the HDD bay area. Initially the temps were around 56C but I was able to get them down to 49 C- 50C range by hooking up an 80MM fan on the backside of the chassis. This is way more than the 4TB Ironwolf that I have (around 37 - 40C).

Hopefully this will not pose a problem for the drive in the long run.

High temps are bad for HDD. Ideally most HDDs are fine upto 45C. Ultrastar drives are rated upto 60C, so you should be fine. But try to keep good airflow.

 

[Silent47Assassin]

High temps are bad for HDD. Ideally most HDDs are fine upto 45C. Ultrastar drives are rated upto 60C, so you should be fine. But try to keep good airflow.

I agree with you even though most of the content I found from Google says otherwise. That is why I have (sort of) installed the fan. I wanted to use a 120mm but there is simply not enough space. Temps are somewhat better at 48 - 52 with 100% writes over a period of 2-3 hours. I don't think I can get better results than this with my current cabinet. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[b.life]

I agree with you even though most of the content I found from Google says otherwise. That is why I have (sort of) installed the fan. I wanted to use a 120mm but there is simply not enough space. Temps are somewhat better at 48 - 52 with 100% writes over a period of 2-3 hours. I don't think I can get better results than this with my current cabinet. Keeping my fingers crossed.

HDD temperature above 50c is considered bad, if 120mm fans are not possible I suggest using fans like these


They are 40mmx40mmx20mm, they move enough air and they generally run silent then 40mmx10mm fans. And to add to that they are 12v version if you run them on 5v they will stay silent too. These can be found in the 3d printer supplies store.

Regards

 

[Silent47Assassin]

Thanks! I was able to remove the hdd cage and install an 80mm exhaust behind it and screwed it from outside. Also moved the hottest drive in between the other two and now the worst temps are around 46C. The downside of this is that the cage is not really screwed in and can move if the case is carried around (highly unlikely). Another downside is that the other two drives are now a little warmer and operates around 40C whereas previously they were around 35C.

 

[b.life]

I guess you might already know that but I will add it just in case, hdd vibration is a problem, with 3 drives there is a real possibility that the unscrewed drive cage will act as an amplifier for the vibration, which I believe they might interfere in the hand movement during read/write cycles. If that continuous to happen there is a real chance that it will crash and start creating bad sectors, so If you do have double sided tape I suggest you stick it to all the base sections that will isolate not only the hdd vibration from the case but also will make sure the case stays put.

Info on hdd vibration: https://www.ept.ca/features/everything-need-know-hard-drive-vibration

Regards

Edit 1: Link Added