# Advice on a new HDD



## WatEagle (Nov 4, 2020)

Hi all, my 2tb seagate constellation es has been going bad for quite some time and now I think it's time to change it.
Do you have any suggestion about a 7200rpm drive with at least 64mb cache?
I was watching some wd black and some toshiba p300


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## dragontamer5788 (Nov 4, 2020)

I'd go with the Toshiba x300 series.



> with at least 64mb cache



Higher levels of cache indicate an SMR drive, which is *very* slow on prolonged writes. Furthermore, the p300 series is known to have some SMR drives in them. I would suggest avoiding SMR, unless you are willing to put up with the much weaker performance. Its not like CMR / PMR drives are very expensive anyway, you're barely saving much money at all if you go SMR.


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## Rei (Nov 4, 2020)

WatEagle said:


> Hi all, my 2tb seagate constellation es has been going bad for quite some time and now I think it's time to change it.
> Do you have any suggestion about a 7200rpm drive with at least 64mb cache?
> I was watching some wd black and some toshiba p300


Going bad in what way? You should discuss it here first & find out if it can be fixed before you jump the gun on a new drive.

At this point, I think most well known brand has excellent HDD so you cant go wrong picking from any good manufacturer depending on your use case.
With that said, my recommendation would be either Seagate FireCuda, Seagate Barracuda or WD Black.


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## WatEagle (Nov 4, 2020)

Rei said:


> Going bad in what way? You should discuss it here first & find out if it can be fixed before you jump the gun on a new drive.
> 
> At this point, I think most well known brand has excellent HDD so you cant go wrong picking from any good manufacturer depending on your use case.
> With that said, my recommendation would be either Seagate FireCuda, Seagate Barracuda or WD Black.


It's going bad because it has every time I watch smart data more reallocated sectors and it does weird noises when Reading or writing data



dragontamer5788 said:


> I'd go with the Toshiba x300 series.
> 
> 
> 
> Higher levels of cache indicate an SMR drive, which is *very* slow on prolonged writes. Furthermore, the p300 series is known to have some SMR drives in them. I would suggest avoiding SMR, unless you are willing to put up with the much weaker performance. Its not like CMR / PMR drives are very expensive anyway, you're barely saving much money at all if you go SMR.


Yeah i also watched the x300 but i didn't take it in count


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## Ahhzz (Nov 4, 2020)

Personally very partial to the WD black series. I've had 6 in my server for about 3-6 years now, and my only issue is one at 6 years giving me a communication error these days, but no sector issues at all. I _did _just bring on a WD Red (good deal from Dell) to start migrating from my problem child, but I don't need the 7200 for this drive. I say WD Blacks.


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## WatEagle (Nov 5, 2020)

I have 1 wd blue since 2017 and I had 0 problems , reasonably fast and really quiet compared to the seagate. 
Instead I had one seagate momentum laptop drive and the constellation of my main rig. All of them started degrading after a bit of time.
The constellation was not new when I purchased it but was in great shape, no reallocated sectors
I feel disappointed by Seagate . Is it just bad luck?


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## NightOfChrist (Nov 5, 2020)

WatEagle said:


> my 2tb seagate constellation es


Constellation ES is an enterprise drive. Are you looking for another enterprise drive or just want to get another 2 TB 7200rpm drive with at least 64 MB?
Also you didn't mention the interface. Constellation drives are available in both SATA and SAS interface. But considering you mentioned Toshiba P series and WD Black, I think you're using SATA.

I'm using enterprise drives for both work (office) and home (studio), mainly from HGST/WD so I'm not really familiar with 2 TB drives especially the mainstream ones, 
but there is a 2 TB WD Black 7200rpm 64 MB SATA-3 (WD2003FZEX) if you just want a quick but decent replacement and don't mind using mainstream drives.




WatEagle said:


> Is it just bad luck?


Not sure. To be fair, you're using a used drive, not a new one, so please don't expect a lot from it.

Seagate has decent enterprise drives too. I'm using several IronWolf Pro drives in one of my studios in Osaka (all IronWolf and IronWolf Pro drives are CMR) and the last time I checked, there is a 2 TB variant of both IronWolf and IronWolf Pro too. I never had any problem with those drives.
The 2 TB IronWolf Pro drive is ST2000NE0025 (7200rpm, 128 MB cache, SATA-3).


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## Jetster (Nov 5, 2020)

I have both P300 and X300 Toshiba drives. Very cost effective reliable drives

Keep in mind it's normal for Constellation drives to make noises. Check it with Seagate's software.


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## WatEagle (Nov 5, 2020)

NightOfChrist said:


> To be fair, you're using a used drive, not a new one, so please don't expect a lot from it.


I know it was a bad decision but I was low on budget and needed more storage than 1tb. it still does its job but it definetly need to be changed



Jetster said:


> I have both P300 and X300 Toshiba drives. Very cost effective reliable drives
> 
> Keep in mind it's normal for Constellation drives to make noises. Check it with Seagate's software.


yeah I'm thinking of picking up one of these
I checked 2 years ago when I bought it and it was fine, only in the last 6 months started the degradation


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## R-T-B (Nov 5, 2020)

Jetster said:


> Keep in mind it's normal for Constellation drives to make noises. Check it with Seagate's software.



I would not bother if he's already confirmed via SMART that reallocations are rising.  That's telling you all you need to know.


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## Sithaer (Nov 5, 2020)

My 3TB Toshiba P300 can be quite loud sometimes, when I first started using it I almost sold it cause of that.

Bought it in 2018 May_ 'brand new'_, other than that its running fine but its still the loudest thing in my entire PC. _'well both hard drives really'_


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## WatEagle (Nov 5, 2020)

Sithaer said:


> My 3TB Toshiba P300 can be quite loud sometimes, when I first started using it I almost sold it cause of that.
> 
> Bought it in 2018 May_ 'brand new'_, other than that its running fine but its still the loudest thing in my entire PC. _'well both hard drives really'_


I know what you mean, my constrellation seems like a machine gun


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## kapone32 (Nov 5, 2020)

You could go with a 2TB SSHD. Even though the flash is limited it would still perform better than your old drive.


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## WatEagle (Nov 5, 2020)

kapone32 said:


> You could go with a 2TB SSHD. Even though the flash is limited it would still perform better than your old drive.


I really don't need that, i use the hard drive only for storing games. Also I had friends that trashed them, really unreliable


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## Rei (Nov 5, 2020)

WatEagle said:


> I really don't need that, i use the hard drive only for storing games. Also I had friends that trashed them, really unreliable


"Storing games"? But not playing from them right? If you are, then SSHD is a good option.
Reliability of SSHD depends on the brand and/or type. Your friend might have a shoddy one or just his back luck or usage on his SSHD's failure. I myself have a Seagate FireCuda SSHD running for 4 years now & still preforms normally.


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## WatEagle (Nov 5, 2020)

Rei said:


> "Storing games"? But not playing from them right? If you are, then SSHD is a good option.


What about their NAND size? From datasheet of the firecuda they have only 8gb of flash memory. How is it used?


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## Rei (Nov 5, 2020)

NAND size may typically be only 8GB but their usage is to provide SSD-like burst of speed for commonly used file. The SSHD controller detects what file or applications you use most often from the spinning disk portion then moves them to the NAND portion. I think this is a near-good compromise between HDD & SSD. Granted, the NAND portion isn't as fast as SSD & it's small capacity means only commonly executed programs that are under 8GB will get the speed benefit while new and/or applications that are rarely run won't. I don't think you will get any benefits from just using it ONLY as a regular file storage solutions. SSHD was & prolly still is meant to be used as a larger capacity alternative solution to SSD.


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## kapone32 (Nov 5, 2020)

WatEagle said:


> I really don't need that, i use the hard drive only for storing games. Also I had friends that trashed them, really unreliable


SSHDs are great just not for storing Games but also for loading them. They are also good as boot drives.


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## WatEagle (Nov 5, 2020)

Rei said:


> NAND size may typically be only 8GB but their usage is to provide SSD-like burst of speed for commonly used file. The SSHD controller detects what file or applications you use most often from the spinning disk portion then moves them to the NAND portion. I think this is a near-good compromise between HDD & SSD. Granted, the NAND portion isn't as fast as SSD & it's small capacity means only commonly executed programs that are under 8GB will get the speed benefit while new and/or applications that are rarely run won't. I don't think you will get any benefits from just using it ONLY as a regular file storatge solutions. SSHD was & prolly still is meant to be used as a larger capacity alternative solution to SSD.


ty for the explaination

Now i have more options to take count

Now let's see what will come up form the black friday


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## bonehead123 (Nov 5, 2020)

"once you go black, you'll never go back" 

YES, I know in some circles, this saying could be interpreted in a negative way, but that's *NOT * how I am using it....so all you naysayers out there can just B.m.A....

I have used ALOT of WD black drives in the past 7+ years or so, and NONE of them have ever given my any problems whatsoever...  I can't say the same for some other brands/models.....


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## WatEagle (Nov 5, 2020)

@bonehead123 I think I'll go with WD, my blue 1tb is running from 3+ years and atm i have never had a problem with it, reasonably fast despite being a 5400rpm drive and really quiet


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## Hachi_Roku256563 (Nov 5, 2020)

not related but i got a new 1tb wd purple a few years back and almost returned it
but then i realised one of its screws was lose and thats why it was so damn loud


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## JustAnEngineer (Nov 6, 2020)

If you need only 2 TB, then an SSD might be an option for $90-100 per TB.  Decent hard-drives are $22-24 per TB.


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## WatEagle (Nov 6, 2020)

Isaac` said:


> not related but i got a new 1tb wd purple a few years back and almost returned it
> but then i realised one of its screws was lose and thats why it was so damn loud


good to know... probably i'll check my seagate while I wait to change it



JustAnEngineer said:


> If you need only 2 TB, then an SSD might be an option for $90-100 per TB.  Decent hard-drives are $22-24 per TB.


Will see what we have on the black friday


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## lZKoce (Nov 6, 2020)

I quickly glanced through the topic. I didn't see a budget, and Black Friday is three weeks ahead, so not very urgent for now. I give another vote for the WD black. I've had trouble with the blue series for laptops, but OP says he was happy with his. As always it's the model, more than the company itself usually. When you see the "deal" just quickly check a few reviews anywhere really: amazon.it/com/uk, website and see if this particular model is OK.


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## WatEagle (Nov 6, 2020)

lZKoce said:


> I quickly glanced through the topic. I didn't see a budget, and Black Friday is three weeks ahead, so not very urgent for now. I give another vote for the WD black. I've had trouble with the blue series for laptops, but OP says he was happy with his. As always it's the model, more than the company itself usually. When you see the "deal" just quickly check a few reviews anywhere really: amazon.it/com/uk, website and see if this particular model is OK.


No it's not really urgent cause it contains only games, no big deal if it fails tomorrow but I would like to replace it if I see a good offer


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## WatEagle (Dec 1, 2020)

So guys quick update... I picked up a toshiba p300 2tb drive, making sure it’s a CMR drive and in 1 Or 2 days should arrive ( also i checked for wd Black but had crazy prices like 120€ for a 2tb one and hybrid drives were out of stock)

now my Seagate is a spare drive, what can I do with it while It’s still alive?


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## Rei (Dec 1, 2020)

WatEagle said:


> So guys quick update... I picked up a toshiba p300 2tb drive, making sure it’s a CMR drive and in 1 Or 2 days should arrive ( also i checked for wd Black but had crazy prices like 120€ for a 2tb one and hybrid drives were out of stock)
> 
> now my Seagate is a spare drive, what can I do with it while It’s still alive?


Good to know & congratulation on the new drive.

After you get your drive, make sure to sort of stress test & benchmark it before you do any long term storage in it to ensure that you are getting the performance & reliability that you paid for.

As for your spare drive, well... It's a spare... You could still use that drive to install low priority games so when the drive's time is up, you won't lose much other than install time.


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## WatEagle (Dec 1, 2020)

Rei said:


> Good to know & congratulation on the new drive.
> 
> After you get your drive, make sure to sort of stress test & benchmark it before you do any long term storage in it to ensure that you are getting the performance & reliability that you paid for.
> 
> As for your spare drive, well... It's a spare... You could still use that drive to install low priority games so when the drive's time is up, you won't lose much other than install time.


that's also what I thought. Ty


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## silentbogo (Dec 1, 2020)

WatEagle said:


> So guys quick update... I picked up a toshiba p300 2tb drive, making sure it’s a CMR drive and in 1 Or 2 days should arrive ( also i checked for wd Black but had crazy prices like 120€ for a 2tb one and hybrid drives were out of stock)


Got three P300's not too long ago, we'll see how long those last...   
I had really hard time picking a CMR drive this summer, almost went with 2.5" WD Black cause everything else was out of stock.


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## WatEagle (Dec 11, 2020)

A quick question
I filled almost 1Tb of 2 and now with crystal disk mark I see 150MB/s during reads and almost the same during writes.
I also defragmented it
Is it normal to drop the performance?
Checking on Amazon I see people getting 200 MB/s with only 200Gb occupied


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## silentbogo (Dec 11, 2020)

WatEagle said:


> Is it normal to drop the performance?


Yes, it's normal for any HDD. It's not the amount of filled data that makes it go slower, but the position of a head on a platter during benchmark. The closer it is to the center, the slower it gets (may get as low as 100MB/s). If you do a full surface scan in, let's say, Victoria HDD, you'll see what I'm talking about:





Defrag was really unnecessary, since this is a brand new drive.


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## Jetster (Dec 11, 2020)

Take reviews with a grain of salt 150MB/s  is fine


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## dragontamer5788 (Dec 11, 2020)

WatEagle said:


> A quick question
> I filled almost 1Tb of 2 and now with crystal disk mark I see 150MB/s during reads and almost the same during writes.
> I also defragmented it
> Is it normal to drop the performance?
> Checking on Amazon I see people getting 200 MB/s with only 200Gb occupied



The speed of the hard drive depends on the density.

A 5TB hard drive will be faster than a 2TB hard drive. Because you bought a smaller drive, there are fewer heads, fewer platters, and less bit density. All hard drives spin at specified speeds (either 5400 RPM or 7200 RPM), so the only thing that makes things go faster is "bits per inch", so to speak.

Bigger hard drives have more bits-per-inch and still spin at the same speed (7200RPM), and thus have faster performance. By buying a 2TB hard drive, you're naturally going to have less performance than a 3TB, 4TB, or 5TB drive. 200MB/s seems like a 4TB or 5TB drive speed, in my experience. 150MB/s is about right for a 2TB drive like yours.


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## WatEagle (Dec 11, 2020)

dragontamer5788 said:


> The speed of the hard drive depends on the density.
> 
> A 5TB hard drive will be faster than a 2TB hard drive. Because you bought a smaller drive, there are fewer heads, fewer platters, and less bit density. All hard drives spin at specified speeds (either 5400 RPM or 7200 RPM), so the only thing that makes things go faster is "bits per inch", so to speak.
> 
> Bigger hard drives have more bits-per-inch and still spin at the same speed (7200RPM), and thus have faster performance. By buying a 2TB hard drive, you're naturally going to have less performance than a 3TB, 4TB, or 5TB drive. 200MB/s seems like a 4TB or 5TB drive speed, in my experience. 150MB/s is about right for a 2TB drive like yours.


ty, you're right.... I should have remebered this thing from computer architecture course



silentbogo said:


> Victoria HDD, you'll see what I'm talking about:
> 
> Defrag was really unnecessary, since this is a brand new drive.


I'll try it, thanks


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