Seagate BarraCuda, 8TB, Internal Hard Drive, 3.5 Inch, SATA, 6GB/s,, 5,400 RPM, 256MB Cache, for Computer Desktop PC, FFP (ST8000DMZ04)

Product Information

The 3.5-inch form factor makes it compatible with most desktop computer configurations, ensuring easy installation and integration into my existing system. One of the aspects not mentioned in the above table is that the WD Red SMR drive is in the 5400 RPM class, while the other drives (including the Red Plus) are all 7200 RPM. Despite similar spindle speeds, the Red Plus firmware is optimized for a low noise profile across most capacity points. It might not win out on benchmarks, but possesses qualities that are important for some consumer use-cases. Another aspect to be kept in mind is that the WD Red line is now exclusively SMR-based, with the CMR drives moving to the WD Red Plus line. Unless the consumer is technically savvy enough to understand the pitfalls of SMR and its applicability to the desired use-case, the SMR-based WD Red line is best avoided. Hence, we do not include the WD Red lineup in our recommendatios. Pricing Matrix and Concluding Remarks Best of all, because this is an external hard drive, you can take all your favorite games on the go. Or, if you're working on a major project that requires a certain degree of portability, the Western Digital My Book is also a great work storage device in a pinch thanks to its large capacity. How to choose the best hard drive for you The IronWolf NAS models deliver slightly better performance compared to the WD Red / WD Red Plus, but, have correspondingly higher power consumption numbers. On the SMB / SME NAS front, the WD Red Pro has started reaching better price points compared to previous quarters, managing to undercut the IronWolf Pro across almost all capacities. However, a plus point for the IronWolf Pro is the inclusion of the Data Rescue Service for a 3-year period in addition to the usual warranty. It must also be kept in mind that the Segate Exos Enterprise and WD Gold are enterprise drives meant to be used in server rooms where noise and power consumption (to a large extent) are not as important as performance. As per the Exos 16TB and 18TB Exos Enterprise product manuals, the acoustics specifications are around 28-30 dB at idle, and 32-34 dB for performance seeks. Power consumption ranges from 1.31W at standby to 9.45W for high queue-depth random writes, with idling average being around 5.26W. The numbers for WD Gold are very similar. On the other hand, a drive like WD Red Pro has idle acoustics around 20 dB for the high-capacity models, though performance seeks are around 36 dB. Unless one is buying for a datacenter storage array, it is fair to expect that the drives are going to be idle for more time than doing performance seeks in SMB or SOHO NAS units. While WD doesn't break down power consumption by access trace type, the specifications indicate power numbers between 0.6W and 6.2W - considerably lower than the Exos / Gold. Price can be a key factor (which is the reason for shifting a number of our recommendations to the Exos series), but data hoarders with multi-bay NAS units or those in a SOHO setting may prefer thte NAS to be not as noisy or consume more power than needed.

Synology has introduced 8, 12, and 16TB enterprise hard drives (rebranded Toshiba Enterprise HDDs with custom firmware), but they are meant specifically for Synology NAS units (no warranties if used in other systems) and are not part of this buyer's guide. Toshiba's MG09 18TB HDDs based on FC-MAMR are quite new in the market, and will be added in a future update to this buyer's guide There are two important issues here that need to be confronted, in our opinion, those of redundancy and securing live data. Based on these metrics, it is clear that the enterprise drives (Seagate Exos Enterprise and WD Gold) are rated to be more reliable in the long run over a big sample set. However, most consumer use-cases do not need a 550 TB/yr workload rating. 180 - 300 TB/yr workload rating is plenty reasonable for most users when the drives are going to be used as part of RAID arrays. That’s about a half of what you might expect from a SATA SSD externally connected via USB 3.0, and about a fifth of the best NVMe SSD external drives connected via USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports. In our series of Hard Disk Drive guides, here’s the latest update to our list of recommended HDDs. All numbers in the text are updated to reflect pricing at the time of writing. Best Consumer Hard Drives: November 2022

The classic single-drive external storage gets an update

Testing hard drives isn't that much different than testing an SSD. Typically, this involves running file copy tests to measure the transfer times of very large files and folders, but it also includes testing the hard drives with benchmarking tools like CrystalDiskMark. It might not be anything groundbreaking, but if you need to dump 8TB, or more, of data from your computer and have it still accessible, the Western Digital My Book does this job admirably. The BarraCuda ST8000DM008 also benefits from Seagate's advanced management features, such as AcuTrac technology and SeaTools diagnostic software, which further enhance its performance and ensure data integrity. The price differential is so small that the Elements drive might only be for those who might be buying in bulk, but there are cheaper options available elsewhere. The BarraCuda Pro strikes a nice balance across many metrics, but it is rated only for 300K load / unload cycles. It also doesn't have the RV sensors present in the rest of the drives (other than the Toshiba X300 / X300 Pro).

We ran several synthetic tests on the My Book 8TB connected to a USB 3.0 port (USB 3.2 Gen 1), and they all pointed towards a plateau at around 190MB/s for reading and 180MB/s for writes. The Seagate BarraCuda ST8000DM008 is an exceptional 8TB internal hard drive that combines massive storage capacity with reliable performance, making it an ideal solution for all my data storage needs. With its 3.5-inch form factor, SATA 6Gb/s interface, and impressive RPM and cache size, this hard drive has far exceeded my expectations, providing ample space for my files and ensuring fast and consistent data access. Game consoles hard drives fill up fast with massive libraries. And, like laptops, the upgrade path for 2.5-inch hard drives isn’t all that great, but that’s where an external drive comes in. Seagate's BarraCuda series is well-known for its durability and performance, and the ST8000DM008 upholds that reputation. This hard drive is built with high-quality components, ensuring reliability and longevity.The standout feature of the Seagate BarraCuda ST8000DM008 is its generous 8TB storage capacity. This colossal amount of space allows me to store a vast collection of data, including games, multimedia, photos, and important documents, without worrying about running out of storage. So how do you know which hard drive is best for you? There are a lot of things to consider, so it's not as simple as just buying the "best" hard drive. Which hard drive is best? The most common use for hard drives, though, is simple file transfers. Our DiskBench test estimates transfer performance with a real-world workload that is useful for calculating how long a transfer could take. Hard drives have consistent performance and will hit their maximum sustained speed at QD1 with large enough I/O, which is illustrated in our ATTO benchmark results. This is particularly useful for showing differences in technology and capacity as drives get bigger and faster.

Mainstream hard drives of 8TB capacity generally can’t fit into a portable size, but the WD My Book is still a reasonably compact unit that houses a 3.5-inch hard disk drive (HDD). It stands upright and measures 6.7 inches tall, 1.9 inches wide, and 5.5 inches deep. You must plug it into the wall with a power adapter, so it’s not easy to tote around different places. With a 5400 RPM rotational speed and a spacious 256MB cache, the BarraCuda ST8000DM008 delivers reliable performance and smooth data access. This makes it a dependable choice for everyday computing tasks, media streaming, and storing large files. The matrix below shows the current pricing for each available capacity point in all the considered hard drive families. HDD Pricing Matrix (as of November 4, 2022)Traditional hard drives have a circular disk (platter) that stores your data - as the disk spins, the read-write arm reads data on the disc or writes data to it as it spins. Solid state drives (SSDs) have no moving parts, instead using NAND (Negative-AND) flash memory - the more memory chips an SSD has, the more storage capacity. One of the easiest ways to narrow down the search for a suitable hard drive is to look at the target market of each family. The table below lists the suggested target market for each hard drive family we are considering today. Hard Drive Families - Target Markets