5400 RPM vs. 7200 RPM HDD - Mass Storage

[Jinn-Gon Qui]

I want to pick a 4 TB HDD for my parents so they can store all their stuff, but I'm not sure which type of HDD to go with. For reference, I looked at WD Blue that has a 256 MB cache, though it's 5400 RPM. Another HDD I found is the Toshiba N300; same storage capacity and cache, but labeled SATA 6 vs. SATA 3 that of WD's, and has the speed of 7200 RPM.

The WD is obviously a little cheaper.

[emoticorpse]

I would go with anything but WD. Pretty sure everyone will tell you different and label me a contrarian. I'd go with the Toshiba. In their case the speed doesn't matter, regardless of the brand.

[_I_]

avoid anything slower than 7200rpm

my 4tb 7200rpm can hit 500mb/s seq read on its outer rim

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dGHRsY/western-digital-black-4tb-35-7200rpm-internal-hard-drive-wd4005fzbx

[Jinn-Gon Qui]

Publicado originalmente por emoticorpse:

I would go with anything but WD. Pretty sure everyone will tell you different and label me a contrarian. I'd go with the Toshiba. In their case the speed doesn't matter, regardless of the brand.

Nah, don't worry about it. I'll consider Toshiba in the meantime. I found a NAS version vs. Performance version; two different HDDs; same price tag. Does it matter which one I go with since they both literally got the same spec?

Publicado originalmente por _I_:

avoid anything slower than 7200rpm

my 4tb 7200rpm can hit 500mb/s seq read on its outer rim

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dGHRsY/western-digital-black-4tb-35-7200rpm-internal-hard-drive-wd4005fzbx

The WD Black on Amazon is $20 than the Toshiba I found. Is the 20$ worth it for the quality? Isn't it overkill for the purpose I'm seeking?

[_I_]

its overkill but worth it when you need to copy things to/from it
4tb is big, the extra speed is a huge plus

[Jinn-Gon Qui]

Publicado originalmente por _I_:

its overkill but worth it when you need to copy things to/from it
4tb is big, the extra speed is a huge plus

I see. I suppose ANYTHING that the hard disk will associate itself with is worth it under usage, especially when downloading stuff and whatnot, moving files from one place to another?

[↑↑↓↓←→←→BASelect]

I only buy 7200 rpm drives anything less is junk.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

Never used slower then 7200 rpm even for mass storage, not worth it for small price difference imho.

[Andrius227]

I have a couple of wd blacks and they are extremely loud. Used them for backups but kept them powered off when not in use because i could not tolerate the noise.

I would personally buy wd blue instead, much quieter and the speed doesn't matter for media that isn't games.

[Jinn-Gon Qui]

I decided to go with this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099P9ZXVG/ref=emc_b_5_t?th=1

Thoughts?

[Illusion of Progress]

Publicado originalmente por Jinn-Gon Qui:

I decided to go with this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099P9ZXVG/ref=emc_b_5_t?th=1

Thoughts?

For a 7,200 RPM drive that is also CMR, that's a fantastic price for 4 TB worth presuming it's new.

That being said, I disagree with most others here. 5,400 RPM is typically fine for storage. I had a pair of 7,200 RPM drives for storage and needed something larger. My initial reaction was to want 7,200 RPM as going down felt like it would have been a downgrade. After researching my options, I was finding that 7,200 RPM drives were less common place at larger capacities, and often commanded a premium (the people saying it's a small price difference probably aren't comparing like for like; a number of drives are SMR for example, or they'll compare used/refurbished server drives to new ones). I ended up going with a pair of 5,400 RPM drives (Western Digital Blue, the CMR version) and they are fine for my uses. I even do some larger transfers, loads, or saves to them at times and it hasn't been a big deal. The lower noise, heat, and startup times are also a bonus. However, most of my reasoning came down to "like for like, stepping up to 7,200 RPM added a substantial price premium". If that doesn't apply and the price difference is small, obviously I'd suggest the faster drive. You seemed to have found one that offered 7,200 RPM and CMR at a good price.

Publicado originalmente por Andrius227:

I have a couple of wd blacks and they are extremely loud. Used them for backups but kept them powered off when not in use because i could not tolerate the noise.

I would personally buy wd blue instead, much quieter and the speed doesn't matter for media that isn't games.

I pretty much agree, but my Black doesn't seem that loud. I might change my mind with multiple ones, but even with multiple Blue drives I found the noise too much so that's less a function of the lone Black and more one of multiple drives. It does have about two to three times the wait on spin up compared to either of the Blues though, and runs a bit warmer.

[Jinn-Gon Qui]

Publicado originalmente por Illusion of Progress:

Publicado originalmente por Jinn-Gon Qui:

I decided to go with this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099P9ZXVG/ref=emc_b_5_t?th=1

Thoughts?

For a 7,200 RPM drive that is also CMR, that's a fantastic price for 4 TB worth presuming it's new.

That being said, I disagree with most others here. 5,400 RPM is typically fine for storage. I had a pair of 7,200 RPM drives for storage and needed something larger. My initial reaction was to want 7,200 RPM as going down felt like it would have been a downgrade. After researching my options, I was finding that 7,200 RPM drives were less common place at larger capacities, and often commanded a premium (the people saying it's a small price difference probably aren't comparing like for like; a number of drives are SMR for example, or they'll compare used/refurbished server drives to new ones). I ended up going with a pair of 5,400 RPM drives (Western Digital Blue, the CMR version) and they are fine for my uses. I even do some larger transfers, loads, or saves to them at times and it hasn't been a big deal. The lower noise, heat, and startup times are also a bonus. However, most of my reasoning came down to "like for like, stepping up to 7,200 RPM added a substantial price premium". If that doesn't apply and the price difference is small, obviously I'd suggest the faster drive. You seemed to have found one that offered 7,200 RPM and CMR at a good price.

Good to know! Thanks for the elaborate comment!

[76561198343548661]

Mine is 2TB WD Blue 5400RPM . It s fine . Windows 10 loads for 20 sec . Sequential read is around 125MB/s.

[_I_]

with any ssd windows will load in under 5 sec

[76561198343548661]

My laptop loading time from hdd was from 50 sec to 1 min 15 sec . So , i am pleased

[Pocahawtness]

I found in reality that there was little noticeable difference between 5400 and 7200 rpm.