Updated: 07/15/2018 16:44:46
*Review of the best sites according to the editors. About the selection criteria. This material is subjective in nature, does not constitute advertising and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before purchasing, consultation with a specialist is required.
External hard drives are separate devices that serve as a very convenient means of storing and transporting large amounts of data. The modern market is replete with models with a variety of form factors, useful volumes, connection types and design solutions. Expertology specialists have prepared for you a rating of the best, in their opinion, external hard drives, dividing them into groups according to the main parameter - capacity. In this review, we did not focus on data exchange speed, so we did not group devices into mechanical (HDD) and solid-state (SSD).
Rating of the best external hard drives
| Nomination | place | Name of product | price |
| Best 500GB External Hard Drives | 1 | 10,694 RUR | |
| 2 | RUR 3,130 | ||
| 3 | RUR 3,290 | ||
| 4 | 2,960 ₽ | ||
| Best 1TB external hard drives | 1 | 24,900 ₽ | |
| 2 | RUB 3,980 | ||
| 3 | RUR 3,464 | ||
| Best 2TB External Hard Drives | 1 | 5,760 RUR | |
| 2 | 6,747 RUR | ||
| 3 | 5,290 RUR | ||
| The best 4TB external hard drives | 1 | 7,460 RUR | |
| 2 | 7,510 RUR |
Best 500GB External Hard Drives
Let's start with external hard drives of the most modest size - 500 GB. There are, of course, models with a smaller capacity, but for a number of reasons it is pointless to do any serious research on them, since they are rapidly being forced out of the market.
This rating group opens with a solid-state drive from the famous South Korean brand. Its linear dimensions are 57.3x10.5x74 mm, corresponding to a 1.8" form factor. Weight - 51 g. Made in a discreet minimalist design.
This is a very progressive technological solution in terms of innovation. For example, this model supports an extended format for marking the data area (4 KB sectors). The drive also supports the TRIM command - “cleaning up” unused data blocks, which eliminates one of the noticeable disadvantages of SSD drives associated with a drop in performance with active use.
The built-in encryption function is an advantage for those users who are comfortable with this approach to data protection. Otherwise, the function can simply be disabled.
The manufacturer in this case definitely pleased with the package - the standard set includes two cables: USB Type C and an adapter from Type C to Type A. The device itself is optimized for operation from the USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C interface.
The read speed declared by the manufacturer is 540 MB/s, and reviews from real users are generally comparable to this value.
Advantages
minimum dimensions and weight;
high read and write speed;
equipment;
Flaws
- short cord.
Next in the Expertology rating, we’ll look at an interesting model from the Taiwanese manufacturer ADATA. This is a “traditional” mechanical hard drive (HDD) of a 2.5" form factor. It contains one physical disk. Its dimensions are 78x15x115 mm and its weight is 165 g. Manufactured in China.
The body is made of high-quality plastic in black or white with a glossy finish. In the black “version” the surface of the case is quite easily soiled, in the white color version the effect is slightly less pronounced. There is a blue indicator on the case that is activated during data exchange. It should be noted the high build quality of the device - the non-separable case is well assembled, no creaks or play are observed even with strong squeezing.
The disk connection interface is USB 3.1 Gen 1 (SuperSpeed), a USB 3.0 cable is included in the package. The cable length is very modest, which causes complaints from those users whose computers have a USB 3.0 interface installed at the rear.
The technical parameters indicate a “blurred” term - external data transfer speed - 500 MB/s. In practice, real users talk about recording speeds of 90 MB/s.
Free downloads of the OStoGO and HDDtoGO applications are available for official buyers.
Advantages
Beautiful design;
almost silent;
high-quality assembly;
Flaws
short cable;
very easily soiled glossy case (if black).
Under the TRANSCEND brand there are many different storage devices, as well as external hard drives, namely the TS500GSJ25M3 model, which many experts quite rightly call a real masterpiece.
TS500GSJ25M3 is known for its “signature” shock resistance, protection against falls at any angle, and shock absorption in general.
Transcend presented its latest masterpiece - the StoreJet portable hard drive with professional protection against shocks and falls.
The compatibility of the device does not cause any complaints. The device communicates freely with the workstation via a high-speed USB 3.0 port. External data transfer rates are up to 600 Mbit/s.
This external hard drive is easy to use, but also includes built-in JetFlash elite software with backup, restore, write protection, compression and encryption functions.
Advantages
shockproof housing;
fast data transfer;
attractive design;
Flaws
- There are complaints about noise.
And this rating group is completed by a model of the Japanese external hard drive Toshiba CANVIO BASICS with a capacity of half a terabyte. The direct storage medium is a physical mechanical disk with a 2.5" form factor. The number of disks is 1. The same amount of space is allocated for buffer memory as in the previous model - 8 MB. In terms of rotation speed, the disk, as expected, is inferior to stationary models - it is 5400 rpm, same as TRANSCEND TS500GSJ25M3.
The connection interface is high-speed USB 3.0 (located on the back, side) with an external data transfer rate of 500 MB/s. Direct read speed from disk is 12 ms. Dimensions of the device - 79x15x119 mm, weight - 230 g.
The design of the device is a notable feature of the entire line. Compact but impressive aluminum case with a matte rough surface, supplied in a durable transparent blister in which a cardboard box is sealed. The delivery set includes the device itself, a connection cord, brief instructions and a warranty card.
The disk contains a useful backup utility, NTI Backup Now EZ.
Advantages
high build quality;
reliability;
renowned brand;
Flaws
short cord;
cannot be made bootable.
Best 1TB external hard drives
The terabyte group of reviewed external hard drives in our rating opens with an interesting model from the very well-known SanDisk brand, which is literally on everyone’s lips.
It's a solid-state drive, which means there are no moving parts or a physical spinning disk. This has the most positive effect on writing and reading speeds. One way or another, the physical compatibility of such devices and the “resemblance” to physical disks is still preserved, and this model is made in a 2.5-inch form factor.
A universal USB 3.0 port is used for connection. If you don’t have it, you can connect it to USB 2.0 - the device will still work. In addition to the terabyte modification, there are also 750 MB and 500 MB versions on the market.
The device uses a cache memory of 8 MB. The spindle rotates at a speed more or less standard for external drives - 5400 rpm (internal hard drives usually rotate faster).
The connection interface is the usual universal USB 3.0, compatibility with USB 2.0 is acceptable. The range of operating storage temperatures is from 5 to 55 degrees Celsius, as well as from -40 to +70 degrees.
Device dimensions – 129.5x82.4x20.4 mm, weight – 216 g. Powered by 5V voltage. The manufacturer provides a 24 month warranty.
On the front there is a button that launches the Transcend Elite utility in automatic mode for archiving data.
Advantages
spectacular design;
automatic archiving;
silicone inserts;
Flaws
- not noticed.
Next in the Expertology rating is an external drive from the Taiwanese brand ADATA. This is a portable device of increased strength - the body has additional reinforcement. The model was originally designed for use on the road, in open spaces and in adverse environmental conditions (meets the MIL-STD-810G 516.6 standard - resistance to shaking, shock, vibration). The drive can even be kept completely underwater at a depth of up to 2 meters. Impact resistance - about 800 G.
The disk is made in a 2.5" form factor and contains one physical disk. Operating temperature range (in accordance with official technical specifications) is 5 - 50 °C.
To connect to the “older” device, the usual universal USB 3.1 port is used. The linear dimensions of the terabyte version are 133.3 × 98.5 × 21.5 mm, weight – 270 g. Read/write speed is 440 and 400 MB per second.
The manufacturer provides a three-year warranty on the device.
Advantages
increased strength and impact resistance;
attractive design;
Flaws
- not noted.
The disk is made in a 2.5" form factor. Linear dimensions - 122.5 x 77.5 x 13.3 mm. Weight - 145 g. The data carriers are two internal plates. The spindle rotation speed is usual for external HDDs - 5400 rpm. 8 MB are allocated for cache.
To communicate with a PC or any other “older” devices, the USB 3.0 interface is used (USB 2.0 is also suitable, but the first is preferable due to its significantly higher data transfer speed). The device is powered by a voltage of 5V. The storage temperature declared by the manufacturer is in the range from -40 to +70 degrees. The operating range of safe temperatures is from 5 to 55 degrees Celsius.
The device and accessories come with specialized software from Silicon Power and SP Widget. The manufacturer provides a three-year warranty for this model.
Advantages
high-quality assembly;
elegant design;
reliability and continuity;
Flaws
- There are complaints about the body being soiled.
Best 2TB External Hard Drives
Next in the rating from Expertology are external hard drives of even larger capacity - 2 TB. These are media from the famous manufacturer Western Digital, the already reviewed company ADATA, and one product from the Japanese company Toshiba.
Western Digital's My Passport series of external hard drives come in a variety of casing colors, each corresponding to its capacity. The two-terabyte “version” is white with an elegant, slightly unusual design.
The linear dimensions of the device are 110x81.5x21.5 mm. The weight of the gadget is 250 g. The body material is durable plastic.
Western Digital is a manufacturer of information storage devices with a worldwide reputation and a deep history. I must say that during the production of this model of external drive, it also did not disappoint. This is a mechanical disk, made in a 2.5" form factor. 8 MB is allocated for cache memory. Contains one physical disk. Rotation speed - 5200 rpm. Operating temperature range - from 5 to 35 degrees. Can be stored at ambient temperatures from - 20 to +65 degrees.
For external communication, a standard USB 3.0 interface with a bandwidth of 5 Gbit/s is used. The delivery set includes the disk itself, a communication cable, a warranty card and short installation and configuration instructions.
The device contains built-in tools for password protection and automatic backup.
Advantages
reliability;
original design;
equipment;
Flaws
slightly soiled body;
short cord (subjective).
The rating from Expertology of two-terabyte external drives continues with a model from ADATA. The Taiwanese manufacturer in this case (as in many others) focused on an impressive design, not forgetting about the high-quality “filling” of the device. The disc is supplied in a package with a transparent slot, through which all the delights of the external design are clearly visible.
The linear dimensions of the device are 99x21.5x132 mm, weight - 220 g. For communication, a standard USB 3.0 port and cable are used, along with technical documentation included. The connector is equipped with a rubber plug that protects against moisture and dust. The cable fits conveniently into a groove along the body.
The impressive and slightly aggressive design of the device is not just an eye-catcher. The disk has passed many tests for performance and the ability to protect data in difficult physical conditions (including according to the “military” standard MIL-STD-810G 516.6).
Also, during its development, engineers placed emphasis on moisture resistance - it complies with the IPX68 standard and remains operational even when completely immersed in water to a depth of 1 meter for up to half an hour. As for rain or spilled tea, he is not at all afraid of such influences.
The entire body structure is based on hard plastic with rubberized inserts. The latter provide good shock absorption during falls.
An LED indicator is located on the outside of the device, signaling its activity. In addition to accessories and instructions, the kit includes specialized software.
Advantages
impact resistance;
spectacular design;
does not make noise, does not overheat;
moisture resistance;
Flaws
- a noticeable percentage of cases of sata-usb adapter burnout.
And the group of ratings of two-terabyte external drives is completed by an interesting model of mechanical media from Toshiba. Here, the Japanese manufacturer did everything to maximize the advantages of a mechanical disk over a solid-state one (filling the hermetic zone with helium, reducing energy consumption, increasing volume, etc.).
The dimensions of the device are 113.5 x 75 x 18 mm, weight - 240 g. Made in a 2.5-inch form factor. Inside contains 4 physical data storage plates. The spindle speed is 5.4 thousand revolutions per minute. 8 MB are allocated for cache memory.
For communication and power, a standard USB 3.0 port is used, soldered on the disk's printed circuit board. No additional power required. The delivery set is laconic, as in most cases - the disk itself, a 45 cm long communication cable, instructions, and a warranty card. In addition, the package includes standard software for data archiving - NTI Backup Now EZ.
Advantages
reliability;
strict aluminum body;
high data transfer rates;
Flaws
small scratches on the body are clearly visible;
Gets noticeably hot during intensive use.
The best 4TB external hard drives
And to conclude the rating-review from Expertology, we will consider two models of external hard drives from Western Digital and Seagate - both famous manufacturers. These are the most capacious data storages in our rating - 4 TB each. A common feature for most models of this size is that they are “not seen” by outdated operating systems such as Windows XP. But this can hardly be considered a serious drawback.
Let's start with the mechanical external drive model from Western Digital. Made in a 2.5" form factor. It contains one physical disk inside. The case has a very impressive design, which appeals to most real buyers.
The dimensions of the device are 81.5x21.5x110 mm, weight - 250 g. The case material is durable plastic of deep black color, divided into two parts with different textures. Other colors are also available in a range.
To connect and provide power to the device, a USB 3.0 interface with external data transfer capacity of 500 Mb/s is used. The average write/read speed, according to observations from real users, is about 90 MB per second and reaches 105 MB per second via USB 3. A 35 cm long cord is included.
The operating temperature set by the manufacturer ranges from 5 to 35 degrees.
Advantages
very effective and practical design;
continuity;
rigid cord (provides its advantage when connected from behind to the TV);
heats up within normal limits;
reliability;
Flaws
- a noticeable number of cases of imbalance (vibration).
And our rating is completed by an external drive model from Seagate. This is a mechanical device containing one SATA hard drive inside. Made in a 2.5" form factor. This series was specially developed for mass use, but is best optimized for working on Windows operating systems.
The dimensions of the device are 117 x 80 x 20.9 mm, weight - 238 g. The electronics and the media itself are enclosed in a durable plastic case of deep black color with a symmetrical texture that hides scratches, fingerprints and other marks well.
The USB 3.0 interface is used for communication. The communication cable (which also provides power to the device) is included in the package along with instructions and warranty documents. The warranty period provided by the manufacturer is 24 months.
Advantages
good read and write speed;
the texture of the body hides blots;
attractive price;
“honest” declared capacity;
quite quiet;
Flaws
- Speed may drop when transferring large files (1.5 GB or more).
Attention! This rating is subjective in nature, is not an advertisement and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before purchasing, consultation with a specialist is required.
To be honest, we had doubts whether it was worth summing up the development of hard drives this year. Mechanical drives themselves will not soon cease to exist even in home computers, not to mention storage of large volumes of information, but the general public has long lost interest in how HDD manufacturers are gradually increasing the density of magnetic recording and producing devices of ever larger volume. However, at least for now, it seems to us that the tradition is worth continuing. Over the past year, the industry has embraced one of the key technologies needed to conquer new frontiers of capacity, TDMR (Two Dimensional Magnetic Recording), and is now on the cusp of a major transformation with the introduction of thermomagnetic recording.
2018 allowed hard drives to reach a capacity of 15 TB using tile data recording (SMR - Shingled Magnetic Recording), and devices based on standard PMR (Perpendicular Magnetic Recording) are available in a 14 TB configuration. In addition, there has been renewed progress in thin 2.5-inch SATA HDDs, which have reached 2 TB without the help of SMR. At the same time, entire families of hard drives, which were produced earlier, but no longer meet the needs of the buyer, spoiled by solid-state memory, have retired. Let's take a closer look at what the magnetic storage market landscape looks like today.
⇡ Server HDDs of 3.5-inch form factor
Nearline hard drives are at the forefront of the fight for storage density and achieve new capacity levels year after year. At the end of 2017, Toshiba conquered the 14 TB mark with the MG07ACA drive series, but then its catalog was replenished only with similar models under the MG07SCA brand with a capacity of 12 and 14 TB, perhaps with a SAS interface instead of SATA. However, Toshiba has paved the way for the market with the latest Showa Denko platters with a usable capacity of 1.55 TB using standard perpendicular recording technology, which have already found their way into consumer devices.
Seagate and Western Digital took the baton of innovation this year. Thus, Seagate introduced the Exos X14 Nearline drive with a capacity of 14 TB. Unlike Toshiba's similar offering, the Exos X14's sealed helium-filled chassis houses eight platters with a capacity of 1.75TB each. Such a high data storage density was achieved through the use of so-called two-dimensional magnetic recording, although in this case it is more correct to talk about reading. TDMR (Two Dimensional Magnetic Recording) is one of the technologies that we have been waiting for for several years to be introduced into commercial hard drives. This technique in itself does not lead to an increase in recording density, but it makes it more reliable to read data from closely spaced tracks. TDMR increases the signal-to-noise ratio by using an array of heads that process one or more tracks simultaneously. In the new Seagate model, it works “on top” of standard perpendicular magnetic recording, and more sophisticated methods - SMR or HAMR (Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording) - are not used. The extremely high platter capacity combined with a spindle speed of 7200 rpm should make the Exos X14 not only Seagate's highest-capacity magnetic drive, but also the most productive among Nearline class offerings, although the manufacturer has not yet disclosed specific specifications of the new models.
Server HDDs manufactured by Western Digital underwent a complete rebranding last year as a result of the integration of the legacy of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies into the united corporation. The life of the mass of small-capacity Nearline models that used to appear on the HGST website has officially ended, and even the very mention of HGST has completely disappeared from the name of hard drives.
Thus, drives based on the HelioSeal platform with capacities from 8 to 12 TB are now concentrated under the new WD Ultrastar DC HD500 brand (with the exception of WD Gold, which still retains a separate brand). The company has expanded this series with the DC HC530 drive, which, like Seagate's Exos X14, contains eight 1.75 TB platters with a total capacity of 14 TB. This model also features TDMR technology combined with perpendicular magnetic recording. Unlike Seagate, Western Digital has published detailed specifications for its advanced drive. It is known that the new generation two-stage actuator in the Ultrastar DC HC530 carries two read heads, and the sustained linear read/write speed reaches 267 MB/s. To speed up random write operations, a 512 MB DRAM buffer and the so-called Media Cache are used - a system of reserve zones distributed over the platter area.
While Seagate has long lost interest in tiled magnetic recording (Seagate's most recent HDD has a capacity of 8 TB), and Toshiba has not produced drives with SMR at all, Western Digital continues to use this technology to conquer capacity boundaries not yet available within the standard perpendicular recording, albeit with TDMR support. The latest SMR drive bearing the HGST name (Ultrastar Hs14, 14 TB) is now sold under the Ultrastar DC HC620 brand, along with a new 15 TB drive. The younger model of this series is equipped with eight 1.75 TB platters, and the older one is equipped with the same number of 1.875 TB. Their maximum sustainable performance in linear read/write operations is 233 and 255 MB/s, respectively.
The 15TB Ultrastar DC HC620 is the "largest" hard drive the industry has produced to date, but let's not forget that SMR technology causes an extremely large performance hit when deleting and rewriting data due to the need to perform RMW (Read-Modify) -Write). However, in the latest Western Digital models this factor is compensated to some extent by the absence of test reading of a block of tracks during each RMW operation. In addition, the Ultrastar DC HC620 is a so-called host-managed drive (unlike older Seagate offerings). This means that the operating system must organize the command flow in such a way as to minimize the number of RMW operations, but most operating systems do not have such features.
Before WD got rid of the HGST name in the hard drive labeling, HGST Ultrastar 7K6 and Ultrastar 7K8 drives managed to hit the market, which were then assembled into the Ultrastar DC HC300 series. A distinctive feature of these HDDs is the extremely high recording density achieved using “pure” PRM without the help of SMR or TDMR technology. WD used four 1.5TB platters in the 6TB model and five such platters in the 8TB model, the top member of the family. Due to the relatively small number of plates, the Ultrastar DC HC300 developers did without a sealed case filled with helium, and the high recording density ensures a stable linear data access speed of 255 MB/s.
Western Digital has cleared its HGST catalog of many legacy small capacity models. Only the Ultrastar DC HC200 series, introduced in 2016 under the name Ultrastar 7K2, remains in service. It includes HDDs with a SATA interface of 1 and 2 TB with a sector size of 512 bytes - the latter characteristic is important for certain applications that are not adapted to modern 4 KB block layout.
⇡ Server HDDs of 2.5-inch form factor (SFF)
Hard drives with spindle speeds of 10-15 thousand rpm are gradually leaving the scene under the pressure of solid-state drives. The HGST Ultrastar C10K1800 and Ultrastar C15K600 drives have disappeared from Western Digital's list of current offerings, although some remnants can still be found on sale. Only Seagate and Toshiba remained in the game, but over the past year neither company has introduced new models of high-performance HDDs of the SFF form factor.
Seagate still offers Exos 10E2400 devices with a spindle speed of 10 thousand rpm and a maximum capacity of 2.4 TB, as well as 15 thousand-ton Exos 15E900 devices with a capacity of up to 900 GB. Nearline drives are constantly growing in capacity, but throughput per second is stagnant, which means that Seagate SFF models remain in demand, especially thanks to a complex buffer system that includes Flash memory for caching read operations and reserve areas on the surface of the platters to speed up recording. In addition, Seagate has a family of 2.5-inch entry-level server drives, the Exos 7E2000: these are devices up to 2 TB with a spindle speed of 7200 rpm, which come only with a SATA interface.
An alternative to the 2.5-inch Seagate server HDDs are new 2017 products from Toshiba from the AL15SEB (10.5 thousand rpm) and AL14SXB (15 thousand rpm) series with capacities up to 2.4 TB and 900 GB, respectively.
⇡ HDD for desktop PCs and NAS
Every year, consumer HDDs are becoming more and more similar to the Nearline models of the corresponding manufacturers. Desktop series are being discontinued or have not been updated for a long time, but NAS drives of various types are thriving and are not inferior in basic characteristics to their server prototypes.
Thus, most Seagate consumer models are now available in 14 TB capacity. Among them, the BarraCuda Pro, IronWolf (models from 6 to 14 TB), IronWolf Pro and SkyHawk Pro have a spindle speed of 7200 rpm, and only SkyHawk drives without the word Pro in the name are content with a speed of 5900 rpm. It is not difficult to guess that the debutants are based on a hardware platform first tested in the Exos X14 corporate hard drive. They are made in a sealed case filled with helium and contain eight magnetic plates with a useful capacity of 1.75 TB with TDMR technology. Despite the increased recording density (compared to last year's 12 TB new products), the maximum sustainable linear read/write speed has not increased and is 255 MB/s. Seagate drives for NAS and workstations differ from the server prototype in the type of host interface (SATA instead of SAS), buffer capacity (256 instead of 512 MB) and the absence of specific functions, such as internal encryption. Despite the common platform, Seagate consumer drive series are designed for specific use cases with different load intensities and are characterized by different fault tolerance data.
Basic level HDDs for desktop PCs (BarraCuda) from Seagate are still limited to 8 TB at a spindle speed of 5400 rpm, but the FireCuda hybrid drive is a clear candidate for departure: the manufacturer has removed all modifications of this SSHD (Solid State Hard Drive) from sale ) volume above 2 TB.
In 2018, Western Digital introduced only one consumer-class hard drive - WD Purple for video surveillance systems with a capacity of 12 TB (spindle speed 7200 rpm). It contains eight platters with a usable capacity of 1.5 TB in a sealed package and provides sequential data access at a speed of 235 MB/s. The remaining HDDs for NAS and DAS (WD Red at 5400 rpm and Red Pro at 7200 rpm) are still available in volumes of no more than 10 TB. The development of drives for desktop PCs in the WD Blue and WD Black series has long been frozen, stopping at 6 TB. Additionally, the reorganization of the lineup that was previously available under the HGST brand has resulted in the disappearance of Deskstar's boxed products, including the WD Red Pro-based Deskstar NAS series.
Toshiba has increased its presence in the retail internal storage market in recent years. Based on the MG07SCA series, which achieved the industry's first 14 TB capacity using standard PMR technology, the Japanese company first introduced two OEM models MN07ACA with a capacity of 12 and 14 TB with a spindle speed of 7200 rpm. Then similar devices appeared in the X300 and N300 families, designed for desktop PCs and NAS/DAS, respectively. HDDs under the MN07ACA and N300 brands, as well as server devices of the MG07SCA series, contain an unprecedentedly large stack of magnetic platters (up to nine platters with a usable capacity of 1.55 TB in the 14 TB model). Compared to corporate HDDs, they are not characterized by such high fault tolerance, but are still ready to work 24/7. The X300 series does not have this feature. The sustained data access speed in the N300 and X300 reaches 260 MB/s.
The retail name S300 was given to Toshiba hard drives for video surveillance systems of the MD06ACA-V series. This family includes models with capacities up to 10 TB, and, despite the large number of plates (up to seven, each with a useful capacity of 1429 GB), they all do without helium. Other parameters of this family of hard drives include a spindle speed of 7200 rpm and sustained throughput up to 248 MB/s.
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Simultaneously with the S300, the Japanese introduced the related Toshiba V300 series, which is designed for use in entry-level video surveillance servers and set-top boxes. It includes drives ranging from 500 GB to 3 TB on platters with a usable capacity of 1 TB, and the spindle speed does not exceed 5940 rpm. And finally, there are still Toshiba P300 devices that are ready to work as a boot disk for an office “typewriter”: the volume is within 3 TB and the spindle speed is 7200 rpm.
⇡ 2.5-inch HDDs with SATA interface
Advances in data density have been slowest to spread to hard drives for mobile PCs and portable storage. To achieve a capacity of 1 TB in “flat” HDDs with a thickness of 7 mm, it was previously necessary to use two plates, but in the L200 series devices (as well as their OEM counterparts under the code MQ04ABD200), Toshiba made do with one thanks to ninth-generation Showa Denko technologies. As a result, dual-platter models in 9.5 mm cases now reach capacities of 2 TB. The spindles in these drives rotate at a frequency of 5400 rpm, but speed data has not been published.
In the past, such recording densities were only possible using SMR technology. Devices that rely on this technology include 7mm Seagate BarraCuda, FireCuda hard drives, as well as an inconspicuous new product for 2018 - WD Blue. All these models contain two SMR plates with a useful capacity of 1 TB and are characterized by a spindle speed of 5400 rpm. The remaining HDDs on the market in 7 and 9.5 mm cases are based on 500 GB PMR platters and do not exceed 1 TB in nominal capacity.
2.5-inch hard drives with a thickness of 15 mm using standard perpendicular data recording exist in configurations up to 4 TB, and the largest model that can be purchased separately remains the Toshiba MQ03ABB series based on four platters with a usable capacity of 750 GB. A more capacious 5 TB HDD is offered only by Seagate in the BarraCuda family, but this is already a “tiled” hard drive. By the way, the manufacturer has already retired hybrid devices of this volume with a thickness of 15 mm under the FireCuda brand.
⇡ Plans for the near future
With the integration of TDMR into commercially available hard drives, we can tick yet another technology off the list of magnetic recording innovations that tech experts write about year after year. Extracting data from closely spaced tracks using multiple read heads has already allowed Seagate and WD to increase the usable platter capacity of a 3.5-inch HDD to 1.75 TB. Showa Denko, whose products Toshiba uses, is also currently capable of producing wafer sizes up to 1.8 TB. Toshiba has already demonstrated the ability to pack up to nine platters in a hard drive enclosure, theoretically allowing it to reach 16 TB in the near future (with TDMR support).
However, 2D reading alone cannot radically increase data density. This is just preparation for the introduction of more sophisticated recording methods on magnetic plates. The next big step in the development of HDDs is associated with the introduction of HAMR (Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording) technology, without mentioning which the final article on hard drives has not been complete since manufacturing companies first placed it on their road maps. As we have written many times, HAMR allows data to be stored on a substrate that better holds the charge of the magnetic grain compared to currently common alloys, and the laser beam makes a section of the platter more susceptible to magnetization as it passes the recording head. The theoretical data density limit using HAMR is estimated to be 50 Tbit/in. 2 , which gives a capacity of 80 TB per 3.5-inch hard drive platter.
In December 2018, Seagate announced the start of internal testing of drives with HAMR support. The experimental models have a capacity of 16 TB, but the company keeps other parameters (primarily the number of platters) secret. Contrary to concerns about the high power of devices that constantly use a laser, Seagate says they are interchangeable with typical HDDs. After internal tests yield satisfactory results, Seagate plans to begin commercial shipments in 2020, but by then HAMR will allow the drive to reach 20 TB. Further plans involve an annual increase in recording density by 30% - up to 6 Tbit/inch 2. For comparison: in modern HDDs with platters with a usable capacity of 1.5 TB, the recording density is 923 Gbit/inch 2.
At the same time, Western Digital is working on an alternative technology called MAMR (Microwave-Assisted Magnetic Recording). According to the company, its approach has several advantages over its competitor's solution: MAMR is cheaper to implement in production, and microwaves do not heat the wafer as much as a laser. By the way, the latter circumstance not only affects the energy consumption of disks with HAMR, but also necessitates the use of wear leveling mechanisms. According to the latest WD plans that we know about, the start of production of drives using MAMR is scheduled for 2019, and the recording density achievable in the foreseeable future is considered to be 4 Tbit/inch 2 .
- 1. Hard drive capacity
- 2. Connection interface
- 3. Rotation speed
- 4. Buffer memory
- 5. Dimensions
- 6. Manufacturer company
- 7. External screw selection
- 8. That's all well and good, but what about SSDs?
Sooner or later, each of us is faced with a situation when the internal memory of a personal computer is running out, and we don’t want to delete the existing information. In this case, there is only one thing left - to purchase a new, more capacious hard drive, but you want to do this in such a way that a similar problem does not loom on the horizon for the next five years. To help our readers make the best purchase, today we will talk about which hard drive to choose for your computer in 2019. First, let's discuss its most important parameters.
Hard drive capacity
Of course, the first thing any buyer thinks about is the capacity of the hard drive. By the standards of history, just recently, 20 gigabytes of internal memory space seemed luxury and excess, but today not every game can fit on such a modest hard drive. When discussing what size hard drive you should buy to make the purchase profitable and effective, you should first look at the current state of affairs on the market. 
In the segment of hard drives, as with other computer components, you can notice a trend - top options are much more expensive than competitors that are not so much inferior to them. In order not to overpay for the fleeting right to feel like the owner of the best toy, you should look towards the middle price range, and there, in turn, notice that a 500 gigabyte screw is not much different in price from its 2 terabyte counterpart - then why save a few percent of the cost getting four times less free space?
Connection interface
The hard drive is connected to the motherboard, and therefore to all other components of the system unit, via a cable. This cable can have one of two types of interface - current SATA and outdated IDE. If your current home computer was purchased not 15-20 years ago, but much later, then you don’t have to look at IDE, and SATA is divided into three types - SATA 1, SATA 2 and SATA 3, respectively. 
The first of them, like the IDE, cannot be found during the day, and the second and third generations differ in data transfer speed - 3 Gb/s and 6 Gb/s, respectively. By the way, these two types of interfaces are interchangeable, but if you want to insert a SATA 3 hard drive into the connector for the second one, it will work at SATA 2 speed. If you decide to purchase an external hard drive, then preference should be given to the USB 3.0 connector.
Rotational speed
The faster the spindle rotates, the higher the read/write speed of the hard drive will be, and therefore this aspect is also one of the main ones when choosing suitable hardware. In fact, this parameter has long reached its reasonable limit, which is at around 7200 rpm, and therefore choosing almost any screw regarding this characteristic will not be a mistake. 
However, if you are buying hardware for a gaming computer, we recommend choosing hard drives with a speed above 10,000 rpm, and the most preferable purchase will be a hard drive made using SSD technology, but such copies will be discussed later. By the way, the vast majority of external hard drives operate at a speed of 5400 rpm and this fact does not cause any special problems.
Buffer memory
Buffer memory, also known as cache memory, is a place in which data is localized that has already been read from the disk, but has not yet been transmitted through the interface, which means that the larger it is, the higher the overall performance of the system. External drives are content with 8 MB, but for an internal drive you should choose 32 MB or higher - 64 will be ideal. 
Dimensions
Hard drives, despite identical functions, can have very different sizes; the main ones are Small Form Factor of 2.5 inches and Large Form Factor of 3.5. The former, as a rule, have lower basic indicators, for example, the spindle rotates at a speed of 5400 rpm, but they are used in laptops due to their compactness. Large ones are suitable for familiar personal computers, but in recent years there has been a noticeable tendency to transfer even more powerful hard drives to a smaller format. 
Manufacturing company
Despite the fact that dozens of brand names appear in the price lists of computer hardware stores, only two giants produce them - Seagate and Western Digital. It is difficult to say anything unambiguously regarding the advantages of a particular manufacturer, but after sifting through hundreds of reviews on the Internet, we came to disappointing conclusions for Seagate - their screws are much less reliable. Yes, many of those reading these lines may well do this thanks to the use of a screw from this company that has been faithfully and faithfully for five years, but why hope that you will be lucky if you can choose a more stable option? 
By the way, we recommend that after purchasing a new disk, you immediately give it an increased load, this way you will test it under stressful conditions and if it was defective, then you will have time to take advantage of warranty service or replace a low-quality product, and if it survives this stress test without excesses, you can be almost 100% sure that it will last a long time. You need to understand that Russia is far from the main market for computer equipment manufacturers, and then the task of finding a service center often looks almost insurmountable; those who have encountered sending their components abroad for repairs know perfectly well how long and expensive it is. In general, in 2019 I personally would give my preference to WD, but this is not an advertisement and the choice is up to you.
External screw selection
In this case, a third is added to the two giant manufacturers - Transcend. The advantages of such gadgets are obvious - no fuss with mounting into a laptop case or system unit, you just need to connect it using one of the current connectors; we remind you that preference should be given to USB 3.0 - it is compatible with USB 2.0 and can be connected to absolutely any system. 
The form factors of portable hard drives are the same as those of their older brothers, but in this case the dimensions are even more important - a compact device is much more convenient to carry, so if you plan to use it often outside the home, take a closer look at the 2.5 inches. The speed, of course, will most likely be lower, but the ability to tuck a screw into a jacket pocket is priceless. By the way, since you are going to carry it with you, it would be nice to think about its durability - anything can happen. Such equipment often fails when dropped from a height of only 10-15 centimeters, and therefore a rubberized case or case is almost a must-have. 
In recent years, connecting conventional hard drives as external ones through special boxes that have a USB connection to a computer has become widely popular, and modern system units often already have such a compartment - very convenient.
This is all well and good, but what about SSDs?
In recent years, SSDs, also known as solid-state drives, which are sometimes mistakenly called hard drives, have become increasingly widespread when storing information. They are more like a large flash drive with microcircuits, because they do not have mechanical parts like the usual HDDs. All data here is transmitted electronically, and to connect such a device, SATA 2 or SATA 3 interfaces are used, but when buying such a powerful tool, you should get the most out of it, and therefore we recommend using a much faster PCI Express connection. 
Such drives are much more compact than their predecessors, and therefore they almost always go on sale together with an adapter that will help insert the device into the HDD slot. Despite the fact that SSDs are much more problematic to damage, they, unfortunately, still break, and therefore reliability can hardly be considered one of the undeniable advantages of these devices today. Another drawback is the significantly higher price, and therefore not everyone who is faced with an urgent need to purchase a new hard drive will be able to afford this option.
If only a very wealthy user can purchase an SSD drive with a capacity of several terabytes, then small solid state drives are available to almost everyone and this opportunity must be used. The fact is that the performance of the operating system very much depends on the physical object on which it is located, and therefore with the help of a small SSD, for example, 128 gigabytes, you can make incredible progress in the speed of the OS.
Just place Windows or another operating system on an expensive medium, as well as a number of the programs you most need, and store the rest of the information on the HDD and you will be happy at an affordable price. By the way, owners of older systems should remember that this media is supported by Windows seven and higher, so you won’t be able to overclock your XP with it.
We hope that this material was useful to you and now you can imagine the sequence of actions if you decide to update the hard drive in your personal computer. You shouldn’t overly trust sales assistants in an electronics store - they have their own goals and motives, which may be far from the desire to choose the best option for you, and then keep your finger on the pulse and constantly update your knowledge about the most important components of the system unit, good luck!