Western Digital has released the world's largest hard drive. The fastest hard drive: overview, specifications and features The hard drive is the largest

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A hard drive or hard drive is one of the main elements of any modern computer responsible for storing information. The device consists of magnetic disks - round aluminum or glass plates and an information read/write head. The main quality characteristics of a hard disk are capacity, read and read data speed, rotation speed, sector search time, noise level and shock resistance during operation (for HDD). In addition, for many users, when buying a hard drive, a very important characteristic is the reliability and durability of the device.

The best HDD hard drives for a desktop computer for 1-2 TB

HDD (Hard Drive Disk) is the most popular type of storage for a personal computer. Such hard drives have been on the market for a very long time and are still in high demand due to their large capacity, affordable price and relatively long service life. The main disadvantage of HDDs is their low resistance to mechanical damage. In particular, such devices are afraid of shock and shaking during operation. Therefore, when choosing a reliable HDD, it is important to look at parameters such as shock resistance during operation and storage.

The most popular manufacturers of HDD hard drives for desktop computers are Toshiba (Japan), Western Digital (USA) and Seagate (USA).

3 Western Digital WD10EZRZ

The best 1TB HDD in terms of price and quality
Country: USA
Average price: 3 449 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.6

Inexpensive model Western Digital WD10EZRZ takes the third place in the ranking of HDD hard drives for personal computers. The drive has a capacity of 1 TB, having a reasonable price, which makes it quite popular on the market. Thanks to the support of 4 KB sectors, the disk uses its usable space as efficiently as possible. The read speed and write speed are the same and are 150 Mbps.

Among the advantages in the reviews, buyers indicate fast operation, low noise level and low operating temperature. The device consumes a little, only 3.3 W, so there will be no need to replace the power supply when installing a disk. An important parameter of the drive is the jump time between different tracks, which here is 0.4 seconds, which ensures high speed. The disadvantages include only some difficulties with the setting.

2 Seagate ST1000DM010

Low price
Country: USA
Average price: 3 040 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.7

The silver medalist of the rating is a very affordable model from Seagate. In terms of its characteristics, it is very close to the WD representative, but at a slightly lower cost it offers higher performance. Volume - 1 TB - the best option for most home users. Claimed read and write speeds are 156 Mbps, but user reviews speak of even higher figures - up to 200 Mbps for sequential reading.

Also, the advantages include a relatively low noise level and minimal heating: under load, the disk heats up to 41 degrees, although the maximum allowable is almost a third higher. The only complaint about Seagate is that it controls power savings too strict. Yes, the hard drive consumes 5.3 watts, but due to factory settings, the drive goes to sleep very quickly, which causes a noticeable delay when switching music tracks, for example.

Today, three main types of hard drives are produced: HDD (Hard Drive Disk), SSD (Solid State Drive) and Hybrid (HDD + SSD). What type of hard drive is best? There is no single answer, since each has its own advantages and disadvantages:

Hard disk type	Advantages	Flaws
HDD (Hard Drive Disk)	Large capacity Low price Popularity (availability on store shelves) Good reliability	Not resistant to mechanical damage and shaking Slow reading speed Vibration during operation Low access speed
SSD (Solid State Drive)	Absolute noiselessness Low power consumption Resistance to mechanical damage Compact dimensions Higher data transfer rate	High price Limited memory (usually up to 1 TB) Sensitivity to voltage drops in the network
Hybrid (HDD +SSD)	High performance Low power consumption Reliability, resistance to damage and shaking	Limited memory poor assortment

1 Toshiba HDWD120UZSVA

The largest volume (2 TB)
A country:
Average price: 4 554 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.8

We will give leadership in the category to the most capacious hard drive. A 2 terabyte Toshiba model a few years ago might have seemed redundant and expensive, but today, due to increasing amounts of information and cheaper technology, it becomes quite relevant.

The device is made in 3.5' form factor. The disk rotation speed is 7200 rpm, which provides an acceptable speed of 150 MB / s for writing and reading. The manufacturer claims that during operation, the disk produces only 28 dB of noise, which is confirmed by users in the reviews. Among the shortcomings - high heating. Temperatures easily reach 50 degrees, with a critical level of 65 C. Of the pleasant features, we note the self-diagnosis function of the disk, which is designed to extend the life and maintain the speed at the initial level.

The manufacturer offers only a two-year warranty, but users talk about trouble-free operation for 4-5 years, and therefore there is no doubt about reliability.

Best desktop hard drives over 2TB

For most users, 1-2 terabytes of memory is enough for personal use. You can store all files, music and even a collection of your favorite movies. But sometimes much more memory is required. Videographers, editors and other professionals working with very large files need 3-4 or even 10 TB of memory. For such people, we have selected the four most capacious hard drives.

4 Western Digital WD Blue Desktop 4 TB (WD40EZRZ)

The best option for home archive
A country:
Average price: 8 200 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.6

Let's open the category with a fairly modest hard drive from the notorious Western Digital. The official disk capacity is 4 TB, in reality, users complain about the availability of only 3.63 TB. On the other hand, the average cost allows you to forgive many shortcomings.

Disk rotation speed is 5400 rpm, cache size is only 64 MB. Because of this, the overall speed is low - with sequential write / read speed is kept at 149-155 MB / s. But such modesty made it possible to make the WD Blue Desktop 4 Tb as quiet and cold as possible. During operation, the noise level does not exceed 28 dB, vibrations are almost completely absent, and the temperature, even at maximum load, does not step over 40 degrees. This allows you to assemble very quiet reliable computers with several disks at once - you have assembled a couple of such HDDs in RAID 1 and you don’t have to worry about data safety.

3 Seagate ST3000DM007

Affordable price
A country:
Average price: 6 690 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.7

The top three HDDs for desktop computers include the model of the BarraCuda line from Seagate. The price per terabyte is higher than that of the previous participant, but most ordinary users will probably be more interested in the bronze medalist. Capacity 3.5 'disc 3 TB. This is more than enough to store a personal archive of photos, music and TV shows.

The disk rotation speed is again only 5400 rpm, but due to the larger cache - 256 MB - slightly higher read / write speeds are provided - about 180-185 MB / s. Also, users will be pleased with the low noise level: 27 dB during operation and only 22 dB in idle time - it will not even interfere with sleep! Heating is also extremely negligible - users talk about 26-28 C under load. Finally, it consumes only 3.7 watts of disk power during operation.

There is practically no information from users about the reliability. Officially declared service life of 1800 days (5 years), a guarantee of 720 days.

2 Western Digital WD Black 6 TB (WD6003FZBX)

The highest operating speed
A country: USA (manufactured in China, Malaysia)
Average price: 19 480 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.8

If Western Digital's "Blue" line is intended for home use, then "WD Black" is positioned as a tool for professionals. The capacity of the model is 6TB. Such volumes will be useful, for example, to operators and editors who have to deal with "source files" of several tens or even hundreds of gigabytes.

The disk rotates at 7200 rpm, which, in combination with a 256 MB buffer, provides write and read speeds of 225-230 MB / s - these are record figures in the class. At the same time, you will have to put up with a fairly high noise level: during operation, the disk produces 36 dB, in idle mode - 29 dB. Also, the user will have to provide good ventilation in the PC case, because the operating temperature range is small (from 5 to 55 degrees), and the heating level is high due to the high speed. Power consumption - 9.1 W.

In addition to high speed, the manufacturer guarantees maximum storage reliability. Official guarantee of 1800 days. What are the disadvantages? High price. 1 TB of memory on this drive costs one and a half times more than competitors (~ 3250 rubles).

Top Hard Drive Manufacturers

As in any other field, there are clear leaders among storage manufacturers. Let's look at some of them.

WesternDigital. This American company, founded in 1970, began manufacturing its own hard drives back in 1988. Vast experience allows the company to always be on the crest of the wave, to produce the most technically advanced devices. WD was the first to release a 10,000 rpm HDD, the first to create a 10TB drive, and much more. Also, the company's products are famous for their very high reliability.
Seagate. Another company is from the USA. The company released its first "screw" in 1980. In 2009, Seagate's reputation was damaged by low-quality Barracuda11 hard drives, but in recent years, judging by reports from large companies and user reviews, product quality has improved significantly. The company's products are distinguished by the best operating speed on the market. Seagate is also the largest manufacturer of hybrid HDD+SSD hard drives.
HGST (Hitachi Global Storage Technologies). Formerly independent, and since 2012 a subsidiary of Western Digital. Products are also highly reliable, but the range is significantly different. HGST specializes in the production of 2.5' HDDs for laptops or all-in-ones.

1 Toshiba HDWR11AUZSVA

Best price for 1 TB
A country: Japan (made in China)
Average price: 20 228 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.8

In contrast to the previous participant, we offer a model with a minimum cost of memory. For 10 TB you will have to pay only 17-18 thousand rubles. The scope of the model is still the same - storage and processing of high quality video materials. Of course, you can also look at higher-capacity models - other manufacturers offer hard drives up to 14 TB for home use - but the cost of one terabyte of memory in this case will be much higher.

In addition, our leader can boast not only quantitative but also qualitative indicators. The disk rotates at a speed of 7200 rpm, the cache size is 256 MB - the read and write speeds are kept at 200 MB / s. The model undoubtedly belongs to the noisy - even in idle noise level reaches 34 dB. Unfortunately, due to the novelty of the HDD, there are no reviews about its reliability, but the manufacturer provides a 730-day warranty and claims 600,000 hours of MTBF - an excellent result.

Best HDD + SSD Hybrid Hard Drives

A hybrid hard drive is considered a superior storage device because it combines the positive aspects of HDD and SSD drives. The hybrid drive first saves data to flash memory and then transfers it to magnetic storage. This increases the speed of information transfer, increases the service life of the carrier and reduces energy costs. The only significant drawback of the "hybrid" is the high price.

3 Seagate ST1200MM0129

Server hybrid drive
Country: USA
Average price: 13 750 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.7

Let's start the review of hybrid hard drives with the "not for everyone" model. Model ST1200MM0129 from Seagate - in fact, the only manufacturer of hybrid drives at the moment - belongs to the class of server drives. At the same time, the device can be safely used in consumer desktops. The format is 2.5”, but due to the thickness of 15 mm, it will not work to use the disk in a laptop. The volume is not a record, only 1200 GB. But the amount of flash memory is 16 GB, which means that the vast majority of files will be transferred at maximum speed. The disk part is also amazing - the spindle speed is 10,000 rpm. An excellent result, to which most competitors do not even come close. Also worth noting is the work through the SAS interface, which provides a theoretical data transfer rate of 1200 MB / s. Finally, the advantages include low latency - only 2.9 s - one and a half times lower than other hard drives.

There are plenty of cons too. The most notable is the cost. For the bronze medalist will have to pay about 13.5 thousand rubles. Also pay attention to the fact that to connect this HDD you need a SAS or SAS / SATA basket. A regular SATA cable will not work! However, the shortcomings are more than offset by the high speed of operation and a five-year manufacturer's warranty.

2 Seagate ST2000LX001

The world's largest hybrid hard drive
Country: USA
Average price: 6 790 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.7

Quite recently, we were surprised at the presentations of hard drives with a capacity of 1-2 TB, and today we are looking at the ST2000LX015 model with a capacity of 2 TB and a thickness of only 7 mm! The form factor is 2.5”, which means that the hard drive can be used in all types of devices - desktop PCs, all-in-ones and compact laptops. Spindle speed, for the sake of silence and low power consumption, 5400 rpm. The manufacturer claims a data exchange rate of 140 MB/s. Real measurements are very close to this figure.

But in the future, the HDD should work even faster, because there is 8 GB of flash memory, into which the most popular files are automatically loaded for faster access. It is difficult to directly evaluate the effectiveness of this solution, but in the reviews, users note an improvement in performance after some time from the start of use. At the same time, the cost differs slightly from the classic competitors.

1 Seagate ST1000LX015

Best 2.5' hybrid disc
Country: USA
Average price: 4 333 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.8

The leader of the rating is another representative of the line of Seagate hybrid drives. Form factor 2.5'. This is suitable for installation not only in the desktop, but also in the laptop. The hard disk capacity is 1 TB, another 8 GB carries a flash drive. The disk rotation speed is only 5400 rpm, which can hardly be called a high result. Sequential read and write speeds are 140 and 110 Mb/s, respectively.

Acoustic comfort, according to the manufacturer, is simply excellent - only 22 dB during operation. However, some users note a slight noise when positioning the head. Although in everyday use you are unlikely to pay attention to it.

Best Laptop Hard Drives

3 Western Digital WD5000LPLX

Profitable price. Popular laptop HDD
A country: USA (manufactured in China, Malaysia)
Average price: 3 350 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.6

Opens the top three laptop hard drives of 2019 with the Western Digital WD5000LPLX. Thanks to the common 2.5” form factor, it will fit into the vast majority of laptops. The storage capacity is 500 GB, which is quite enough to store a large amount of documentation. HDD technology extends the life of the media and allows it to operate for several years without resorting to replacement.

The advantages of this model in the reviews of buyers include a good data exchange rate, a 5-year warranty and an acceptable amount of cache. The external data transfer rate is about 600 Mbps, which allows you to promptly display the requested documents. Among the weaknesses of this device are heating during intensive work and a fairly high noise level when reading from the drive.

2 Seagate ST1000LM048

Excellent price/capacity ratio. The quietest model
A country: USA (made in Thailand)
Average price: 3 590 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.7

The silver medal of the category will be given to models from Seagate. Winchester is located approximately in the middle between competitors both in terms of cost and performance. The capacity of a 2.5' drive is 1TB, which is the optimal solution for most users. Spindle speed 5400 rpm. Together with a cache of 128 MB, this provides a sequential read speed of 125 MB / s, writes - 88 MB / s.

Temperature and noise indicators, which are important for mobile computers, deserve special attention. If you believe the reviews, the disk heats up to a maximum of 27-28 degrees. It should be borne in mind that this indicator can vary greatly depending on the model of the laptop, namely, on its ventilation. Noise is just as good. During operation, the volume does not exceed 22 dB - hear only in the quietest room. Finally, shock resistance during operation - ST1000LM048 can withstand overloads up to 400G!

1 Western Digital WD Blue Mobile 2 TB (WD20SPZX)

Largest laptop hard drive
Country: USA
Average price: 5 800 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.8

For those who like to store all their files on a hard drive, the Blue model from Western Digital with a capacity of 2 TB is suitable. This is a series of mid-range drives. The WD20SPZX version is made in a 2.5” form factor and has a minimum thickness of only 7 mm. Due to this, it can be installed even in the most compact laptops or monoblocks, not to mention huge desktop PCs. Spindle speed 5400 rpm. Maximum performance is not achieved this way, but power consumption (1.8 W) and noise (up to 24 dB during operation) do not bother.

In terms of technical characteristics, nothing outstanding. For reading and writing, the disk gives out about 125-130 MB / s. When the space is completely filled, the speed drops by half, as it should be in theory. As a result, we have a simple, but high-quality, quiet and very voluminous hard drive for any task.

The best external hard drives

4 Seagate Expansion Portable Drive 5 TB

Largest external hard drive
Country: USA
Average price: 7 773 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.6

How big is your flash drive? What about computer storage? Whatever you answer, almost certainly all the information from them will fit on a single external hard drive from Seagate. The capacity of this monster is almost 5 TB. It communicates with HDD devices via USB 3.0 with a maximum bandwidth of 500 Mb / s. The real figures will be kept at the level of 120-140 Mb/s.

The design of the device is minimalistic - a rectangle with rounded corners dilutes only the polygonal pattern on the upper edge. The narrow strip of the status indicator pleases the eye - stylish and functional. We note a rather large thickness of the disk, 20 mm, but there is no other way with such a capacious storage. Also, users in the reviews complain about the thin flex case. Perhaps this is a consequence of the pursuit of weight reduction.

3 Toshiba Canvio Ready 1TB

Favorable cost
Country: Japan
Average price: 3 980 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.5

The third place in the ranking of the best external hard drives is Toshiba Canvio Ready 1TB. This model has the lowest cost among competitors in the TOP, but in terms of characteristics it is in no way inferior to them. As a drive, a 1TB HDD is used, which does an excellent job of storing large files. Thanks to the USB 3.0 interface, a good data transfer rate is achieved - up to 500 Mbps. The practical plastic case perfectly tolerates mechanical loads and securely stores the contents.

The advantages of this model in the reviews of users include small dimensions, light weight and high reliability. In addition, the drive has sufficient protection against bumps and falls. Competent software allows you to pair the media with a variety of multimedia devices. Among the shortcomings are a short cord and a non-standard connector for connecting it from the side of the hard drive.

2 Western Digital My Passport Wireless Pro 2 TB

The most versatile external HDD. WiFi support
Country: USA
Average price: 14 777 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.8

The silver medalist seems insanely expensive compared to competitors, but the cost is more than offset by a set of features. First of all, you should pay attention to the amount of storage - from 1 to 4 TB, depending on the version. In addition to the standard USB 3.0 interface for external HDDs, the device supports WiFi. With it, My Passport Wireless Pro can "communicate" simultaneously with multiple devices - computers on Windows, MacOS and Linux, as well as with popular mobile operating systems. Moreover, external power is not required - inside, among other things, there is a 6400 mAh battery that provides up to 10 hours of battery life. Finally, you can transfer information without connecting to a PC or mobile device - the case has slots for an SD card and a flash drive for automatic file transfer.

With all the richness of functionality, we have a fairly compact device with dimensions of 126x126x24 mm. Design for an amateur, but it does not turn out to be boring to call it boring. In conclusion, I would like to note that the model is perfect for photographers and cameramen.

1 ADATA DashDrive Durable HD650 USB 3.1 1 TB

The optimum ratio of price and quality
Country: China
Average price: 3 560 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.8

The ADATA DashDrive Durable HD650 1TB takes the first place in the ranking of the best external hard drives of 2019. This 1TB drive is one of the most popular drives on the market today. The USB 3.1 connection provides data transfer speeds up to 500 Mbps. The standard 2.5” form factor makes the drive quite compact (weight is only 201 grams.) 1 HDD is installed in the storage device.

Among the strengths of this model in the reviews, users highlight a pleasant appearance, good speed and a shock-resistant case. Engineers have paid special attention to the strength of the device, as external drives are often subject to physical impact. The drive is compatible with most modern devices, from laptops and smartphones to TVs. The disadvantages include a short cord and poor build quality.

Best Server Hard Drives

Hard drives for servers are characterized by increased reliability and speed of operation (rotation speed up to 15,000 rpm). To connect a server disk, a parallel (SCSI) and serial (SATA, SAS) interface is used. The uptime of such devices, as a rule, exceeds 1 million hours. The most common width (form factor) of hard drives for a server is 3.5 inches, but 2.5-inch devices have become increasingly popular. It is known that the smaller the width, the more economical is the hard drive.

3 Western Digital WD20EFRX

Excellent value for money and quality
Country: USA
Average price: 6 861 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.6

The third place in the ranking of the best server hard drives is occupied by the Western Digital WD20EFRX model. The drive has a capacity of 2 TB and, thanks to the SATA 6GB / s interface, provides a maximum information transfer rate of up to 600 Mbps. The uptime declared by the manufacturer is 1,000,000 hours, which indicates the high reliability of the device. Good engineering solutions allow you to store the disc at temperatures from -40 to 70 ° C.

In numerous reviews, users talk about quiet operation, extended warranty and the absence of vibrations as the strengths of this model. Thanks to the unique NCQ technology, the disk can process several commands at once, which has a positive effect on its performance. Relative to its neighbors in the TOP, it is the most economical - the consumption is only 4.4 watts. The disadvantages of this device include high cost and rather stringent requirements for ambient temperature during operation.

2 Seagate ST4000VN008

Excellent value for money
Country: USA
Average price: 8 113 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.7

This server hard drive from Seagate can be classified as ordinary. Nothing outstanding, but the device does its job perfectly. The cost of the disk is a little more than 8 thousand rubles, which, with a volume of 4 TB, gives an extremely "tasty" price per 1 GB of memory. Speeds are consistently good. About 130-140 MB/s. The spindle speed is slightly higher than the standard - 5900 rpm.

The reviews praise the hard drive for its low noise and vibration levels. The model is intended for use in a NAS, but it will also take root perfectly in a regular desktop computer. At the moment, there is no information about the experience of long-term use of the ST4000VN008, but according to users, no excesses have occurred over the year. Also, the claimed time to failure - 1,000,000 hours - gives confidence. Not a record for server technology, but the average user will have enough with his head.

1 Western Digital Ultrastar DC HC530 14 TB (WUH721414ALE6L4)

The best volume (14 TB). Record time between failures
Country: USA
Average price: 27 930 ₽
Rating (2019): 4.8

Finally, a record-breaking hard drive in many respects. First of all, the model flaunts 14 GB of internal space. This capacity was achieved by filling the case with helium. Speed characteristics are also encouraging. For reading and writing, the disk is given about 270 MB / s - an unattainable figure for most hard drives. Even when the space on the board runs out, the speed drops to only 130-140 MB / s. At the same time, temperatures outside the case reach 45 degrees - when placed in a desktop case, you should take care of good airflow.

Acoustic comfort is perceived differently by users. Some in the reviews complain about excessive noise, others praise for silence compared to competitors. There is little information about reliability, but there is no reason to doubt the security of the data, because the manufacturer even duplicated the microcircuit with the firmware for greater reliability. It is a pity that the official five-year warranty from the manufacturer does not work in our country.

How to choose the best hard drive

The hard drive, at first glance, is not the most important part of the computer. Yes, your PC will still work with the “wrong” model. But in order to choose a quality drive, pay attention to our tips.

Drive type. First, decide which type of drive is right for you: HDD, SSD or HDD+SSD. Detailed information about them in the summary table above.
Manufacturer. Information is the main value of the modern world. To keep your data for years to come, choose products from trusted manufacturers. For example, those we listed above.
Capacity. For OS and programs, 250 GB is enough. Store lots of photos and music - 1TB is your choice. A hand does not rise to delete your favorite TV shows and movies - look at the "screws" from 2 TB and above. The larger the volume, the higher the price.
Form Factor Laptops are equipped with 2.5 'hard drives, desktop PCs - 3.5'. Be sure to check which format is supported by your device.
Spindle speed. It happens from 5400 to 10000 rpm. The higher the score, the better the speed. The best option are models with a speed of 7200 rpm.
Noise. Many users collect the most silent cooling systems. Because of this, the cracking of the hard drive may become audible. It will not work to check this in advance - just know that such a situation takes place.

04.10.2017, Wed, 17:16, Moscow time , Text: Vladimir Bakhur

The new Ultrastar Hs14 3.5" SATA and SAS drives offer 14TB of storage capacity and lower power consumption per storage unit with updated HelioSeal and SMR technologies.

Record-breaking capacity for enterprise clouds

HGST, part of Western Digital Corporation, has officially unveiled the 14TB Ultrastar Hs14 enterprise-class hard drives. The drives are made in a 3.5-inch form factor and are designed for use in cloud data centers that are focused on processing large amounts of data. The previous capacity record for magnetic disk drives was also held by Western Digital and was 12 TB.

According to Western Digital, the new HGST Ultrastar Hs14 drives provide 40% more data storage at more than double the write speed of previous generation drives.

Thus, new drives provide more economical processing and storage of large amounts of data with lower TCO and less energy consumption per terabyte of stored information.

Features of Ultrastar Hs14 14TB Enterprise Drive

Ultrastar Hs14 hard drives support the fourth generation of HelioSeal technology, which involves the use of helium in a sealed zone, which has seven times less density than air. Thanks to HelioSeal technology, turbulence from the rotation of the plates in the drives is significantly reduced, energy consumption is reduced and the temperature inside the drive is reduced.

Ultrastar Hs14 drives also support the second generation of Seagate SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording) technology, providing a 16% increase in hard drive capacity while maintaining high performance and stability.

HDD Ultrastar Hs14 14TB Enterprise Drive

All drives in the Ultrastar Hs14 family are available in a standard 3.5-inch form factor and have a spindle speed of 7200 rpm. The declared speed of internal data exchange reaches 233 MB / s.

The recording density of the new Ultrastar Hs14 hard drives is 1034 gigabits per square inch. The drives are made on the basis of eight magnetic plates and are equipped with a 512 MB buffer.

The average latency is stated at 4.16 ms, the average seek time in read mode is 7.7 ms. The error rate for the Ultrastar Hs14 series is claimed to be no more than one per 1015 bytes (petabytes). It also announced round-the-clock (24x7) operation. The mean time between failures (MBTF) is stated at the level of 2.5 million hours.

Hard drives of the Ultrastar Hs14 family will be available to corporate customers in two versions: with Serial ATA 3.0 (SATA) interface, providing a bandwidth of up to 6 Gb / s, and Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) with a bandwidth of up to 12 Gb / s.

Power consumption of the Ultrastar Hs14 family does not exceed 6.4 W for SATA models and 8.3 W for SAS models in typical load mode, and 5.2 W / 6.2 W in standby mode, respectively. The dimensions of the hard drives are 101.6 x 147.0 x 27.1 mm, weight is about 660 g.

Start of deliveries

All Ultrastar Hs14 series drives come with a five-year limited manufacturer's warranty. At present, Western Digital has already begun deliveries of experimental batches of drives to major customers and partners.

A truck called Snowmobile is designed to transfer (or transport?) data from a client's server to Amazon Web Services cloud storage. Is it really necessary to move data to the “cloud” in such an archaic way? The fact is that with a volume of exabytes or, which often happens, hundreds of petabytes, downloading even through a high-bandwidth channel can take a very noticeable time.

For example, uploading one exabyte of data to cloud storage on a 10 gigabits per second connection will take ... about 26 years. That's why Amazon offers AWS customers a data trucking service. 10 of these "Snowmobiles" can transport an exabyte in less than six months, that is, the data transfer rate will be about 514 gigabits per second. Another thing!

Transferring data to cloud storage is quite simple. A truck arrives at the home or office of a customer ordering data transportation and connects to the network using a few cables. Each cable provides data transfer at speeds up to 40 gigabits per second, and the total bandwidth of data transfer to the "Snowmobile" can reach up to terabit per second. With such a connection, it will take about 10 days to fully load a container of 100 petabytes (about 100 thousand terabytes!)

Snowmobile is a waterproof refrigerated container 13.7 meters long and 2.9 meters high, which is mounted on a semi-trailer and moved by a truck tractor. The container requires a 350 kilowatt power source, it is protected from physical tampering, encrypts data, and is also equipped with a video surveillance system and GPS. If this is not enough for someone, for an additional fee, Amazon will provide armed guards during the transportation of data.

To determine the fastest hard drive, you need to understand the parameters of the hard drive:

capacity;
interface;
form factor;
random access time;
output and input operations;
rotation speed, etc.

All computer hard drives have a specific connection interface. Most modern devices work using SATA. Therefore, there should not be any difficulties in choosing.

Next, you need to choose the capacity of the hard drive. Depending on the needs, models from 200 GB are available to the user. The most capacious model is considered to be 10 TB. The form factor for a PC is represented by a 3.5-inch device, and for a laptop - 2.5 inches.

The following parameters directly affect the activity of the hard disk. The fastest hard drive can be determined by the indicator It is determined by the number of revolutions per minute.

For home systems, it is enough to choose models that have an indicator of 5400 and 7200 rpm. The fastest hard drives for a computer operate at 10 and 15 thousand rpm. But these options are often used in high-performance systems and server stations.

Random access time also affects device performance. The range of this characteristic is from 2.5 to 16 ms. By comparison, virtually all SSDs run at 1ms or less.

New: Specifications

Of course, you can try to find out which hard drive is the fastest by reviewing the parameters of each on the Internet. But in the spring of 2018, the record holder in this area was officially presented. At the exhibition, Seagate presented the fastest hard drive.

The multi-actuator drive has become a feature of the novelty. Mach.2 provided a different positioning of the magnetic heads. 480 MB / s is a new record for reading and writing data. For example, all modern PC models that have 7200 rpm work with a throughput of 235 MB / s.

Thanks to the new technologies that the hard drive received, it turned out to be 60% more productive than models operating at 15,000 rpm.

Peculiarities

What is the secret of the new railway? High productivity was obtained due to the fact that the head blocks are located on separate rods. Therefore, commands can be sent to specific sectors. From here it became possible to start simultaneously reading and writing data.

Thanks to its high performance, the fastest hard drive can be installed in high-performance data processing systems.

New technologies

The manufacturers did not stop there and introduced a new HAMR technology. This is a thermomagnetic record, which has special operating parameters. First you need to install a laser in the head. This is necessary in order to heat the disc plate point to 400 degrees. Thus, it will be possible to record up to 2 TB of data per square inch.

Other models

But until Seagate has launched its model on the market, we will have to look for an alternative to it. Here it is important to look closely at the parameters of the devices. If you set out to find a fast hard drive for your home PC, you can choose among models with 10,000 rpm characteristics.

You will also need to select the highest throughput. On average, this figure is 100-150 MB / s. You can find models in which this figure exceeds 200 MB / s.

For example, Western Digital WD4000FYYZ, which has 4 TB, is considered a good model. The model runs at 7200 rpm and a throughput of 171 MB/s. This version will cost 29 thousand rubles.

For laptops

The fastest hard drive for a laptop should be looked for among gaming models. For example, a good Seagate Laptop SSHD hard drive. It should be noted right away that this is a hybrid of SSD and HDD, and therefore, a priori, this HDD is fast and productive.

Adaptive Memory is a technology that affects the speed of the device. It also provides high reliability. Because it uses flash drive and disk technology, Seagate Laptop SSHD has a high level of data protection against damage.

Since it is a hybrid, it is most often installed in gaming laptops. Unlike a conventional hard drive, this one is 5 times faster. But among the shortcomings of this model is considered to be noise and energy consumption.

external HDs

Finding the fastest external hard drive is quite a challenge. Here it is not easy to look for a good option in online stores, but also to study reviews on the forums.

The SanDisk Extreme 900 turned out to be a good model. The peculiarity of this device is that not a large hard drive was placed inside, but two thin solid-state drives. The SSD works here using RAID 0.

Many users speak positively about this model, but call it a large size. This drive will be difficult to put in your pocket. Yes, and a handbag for him will need a rather big one. Nevertheless, such dimensions are justified by high speed and the use of technology.

The 2TB model writes and reads data at 600-800MB/s. For more comfortable operation, the device uses a USB 3.1 interface. Of course, such figures will surprise anyone who wants to buy the fastest external hard drive. But there is one catch - the cost. For speed and reliability, you will have to pay $ 800.

Alternative

In order not to spend $ 800 on the previous model, you can take a closer look at the T5 SSD. This is a product from Samsung that will cost just $350. Its advantage is the relatively high speed and compactness of the device.

The model is available in variations from 500 GB to 2 TB. Works with a USB 3.1 drive. Of course, this model is not as fast as the previous one, but even it manages to transfer 20 GB in 110 seconds.

If this model seems expensive to you, you can take a closer look at the Seagate Backup Plus Portable. Depending on the capacity, it can cost from 50 to 160 dollars. The model works with USB 3.1 Gen 1 interface (5 Gbps). You can purchase a drive for 1, 2 and 5 TB.

There is also an option that works with two built-in SSDs in a RAID array. This drive has 4 TB of free space. The advantage of this model is the speed of transferring large files, but the hard drive works more slowly with small documents.