Need good 2TB - 4TB HDD solution to replace current drive

[tankman1989]

My WD 4TB red looks like it is in it's death throws (PLEASE allow me to recover some data!!!!) so I need to figure out a plan for replacement. I'm sticking with WD drives, I have many other WD Red's that are great but I think another model/color might be more appropriate. My other Reds are in an NAS that is rarely accessed (used for archival) so they don't see a lot of action. The 4TB drive that is dying is my main drive in my computer for storage (gets about 80-90% of the "action" on my system - downloads, transfers, editing, etc).

I was thinking that I could go to 2 2TB drives in RAID 1 and then offload data to my NAS as needed to free up space, not a bad idea IMO. I run Linux and would need to use software RAID unless my PERC5i or 6 card (from poweredge server) would allow me to use SAS drives as it is a hardware RAID controller - or buy a newer model that can handle 4TB drives.

I looked at the different models of WD drives and there is some really odd specs vs pricing for the drives. Here is a list of them and current pricing:

WD Gold Enterprise Edition - 7200rpm, 128MB cache, (built for 24/7/365 operation) 5yr limited Warranty - $175 WD4002FYYZ
WD RE Datacenter (Gold) SAS - 7200rpm, 32mb cache, $141 WD4001FYYG
WD SE Datacenter (black or gold color label), 7200RPM - 64MB cache, 5year warranty $178 WD4000F9YZ
WD Black - 7200rpm, 256mb cache, 5 year limited warranty- $185 WD4005FZBX
WD Black - 7200rpm, 128mb cache, 5 year limited warranty - $215 WD4004FZWX
WD Red Pro - 7200rpm, 256mb cache, 5 year limited warranty - $190 WD4003FFBX
WD Red (NAS) - 5400rpm, 64mb cache, 3 year limited waranty - $125 (promo for tax rebate) WD40EFRX
WD Purple - 5400rpm, 64MB cache, 3 year warr - $115 WD40PURZ
WD Blue - 5400rpm, 64mb cache, 2yr lim warranty, $100 WD40EZRZ

What I'm wondering is how much the cache size effects these drives. From what I am looking at it seems that there are 3 that stand out all have 5 year warranty, 7200 rpm, 128 - 256MB cache and an expected high level of operation time.

WD Gold Enterprise Edition - 7200rpm, 128MB cache, (built for 24/7/365 operation) 5yr limited Warranty - $175 WD4002FYYZ
WD Black - 7200rpm, 256mb cache, 5 year limited warranty- $185 WD4005FZBX
WD Red Pro - 7200rpm, 256mb cache, 5 year limited warranty - $190 WD4003FFBX

Does anyone have any thoughts on this situation? I really am not interested in any other brands ATM, I've used them all extensively and have had massive problems with many other manufacturers and have always come back to WD for "consumer level" drives.

 

[PliotronX]

I just have a hard time trusting reds but every other drive (aside from early Green models) is good to go. If you really want the outstanding reliability that I also know WD for, I would choose the Gold or Black. Cache does not matter much. I would much rather "cache" them with a SSD..

 

[tankman1989]

I just have a hard time trusting reds but every other drive (aside from early Green models) is good to go. If you really want the outstanding reliability that I also know WD for, I would choose the Gold or Black. Cache does not matter much. I would much rather "cache" them with a SSD..

HMM. I had great luck with the Red's until now and I think this one was my fault. Actually had good luck with about 90-95% of WD's. Would you take a blue or purple over a red?

I too am leaning towards a black or gold.

 

[PliotronX]

Yeah, I know there are lots of bullet proof reds but the scary stories I never really see of say Black drives. Purples are terrific but are 5400 RPM and favor write speeds a tad over read so they do well in NAS as they also support TLER but you mentioned that this is to be your main drive so 7200 RPM is what you should stick with. Blues are meh and I believe they are rebadged greens as the original greens received a poor reputation.

 

[Zepher]

Yeah, I know there are lots of bullet proof reds but the scary stories I never really see of say Black drives. Purples are terrific but are 5400 RPM and favor write speeds a tad over read so they do well in NAS as they also support TLER but you mentioned that this is to be your main drive so 7200 RPM is what you should stick with.

It's his main drive for storage, not main drive as in boot drive.
I like the Blacks as well, have a pair of 4TB ones in my gaming machine. They are a bit loud and get pretty warm, as well as pricey, $180-240 for a 4TB. I paid $240 for my first one almost 4 years ago and snagged one from Amazon for $57 almost 2 years ago due to a price error, and they only had 1 available.

 

[Nathan_P]

I'd go with a Black only because I haven't used a Gold yet. I have a 2 and 4TB in my daily rig and i can't hear them of the noise of the fans etc. Having said that my Blue's have given years of good service. Indeed i only just retired my 320gb blue after 10 years of daily use

Don't buy from amazon - the way they pack a HDD for shipping is appalling with hardly any protection for the drive.

 

[Kardonxt]

We use red for NAS, Black for PCs that an SSD isn't feasible for, and Gold for servers at our office.

To be honest the failure rate is pretty low on all of them. I think the black is probably your best bet for a balance of speed, reliability, and price.

 

[PliotronX]

It's his main drive for storage, not main drive as in boot drive.
I like the Blacks as well, have a pair of 4TB ones in my gaming machine. They are a bit loud and get pretty warm, as well as pricey, $180-240 for a 4TB. I paid $240 for my first one almost 4 years ago and snagged one from Amazon for $57 almost 2 years ago due to a price error, and they only had 1 available.

True, but it was specified:

gets about 80-90% of the "action" on my system - downloads, transfers, editing, etc

For which the rotational latency may be noticeable but a SSD would likely be cost prohibitive.

 

[wareyore]

I used WD Blacks for my data drives for years.

Blues for "other peoples" systems and one NAS on my network.

HGST (Hitachi) drives, before and after WD purchased them, for RAID arrays and multiple single 2TB data drives for friends and family. Fast and dependable.