Seagate vs Western digital? Im thinking of buying an external 500gb hard drive (portable) but im not sure which is better? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
629558
I have had two LaCie portable HDs go out on me. One was brand new. Lacie won't respond.
629559
I just had a Western Digital 2TB My Book fail miserably (miserably!!! Dead!) after two months. I've never had any other drive fail (and I've used much smaller capacity WD external drives w/out issue in the past). But i'm now a Seagate (1TB Freeagent) user because I won't trust the larger WD's any longer. Once bitten! ;) Since the failure, many of my colleagues have admitted the same type of failure from their WD's and are using Seagates with good results. If you search online, you'll see very mixed reviews with similar negative views of the Seagates, but I can only speak from my own very frustrating experience with my WD. I just had a Western Digital 2TB My Book fail miserably (miserably!!! Dead!) after two months. I've never had any other drive fail (and I've used much smaller capacity WD external drives w/out issue in the past). But i'm now a Seagate (1TB Freeagent) user because I won't trust the larger WD's any longer. Once bitten! ;) Since the failure, many of my colleagues have admitted the same type of failure from their WD's and are using Seagates with good results. If you search online, you'll see very mixed reviews with similar negative views of the Seagates, but I can only speak from my own very... » Read More I just had a Western Digital 2TB My Book fail miserably (miserably!!! Dead!) after two months. I've never had any other drive fail (and I've used much smaller capacity WD external drives w/out issue in the past). But i'm now a Seagate (1TB Freeagent) user because I won't trust the larger WD's any longer. Once bitten! ;) Since the failure, many of my colleagues have admitted the same type of failure from their WD's and are using Seagates with good results. If you search online, you'll see very mixed reviews with similar negative views of the Seagates, but I can only speak from my own very frustrating experience with my WD. « Show Less
629560
Seagate vs WD. I've used them both over the years, along with Maxtor. For myself and some people Seagate=good and WD=bad, and for others, just the opposite. What's interesting in these comments is that the usage habits are not known, i.e., how intensely is the hard drive being accessed (applications, pro versus consumer, etc), and, in what environment is the hard drive being used (air quality, room temperature, humidity, appropriate case cooling, physical vibration, etc.). Those are the useful comparatives that would help in these reviews. Otherwise, it's just comparing one's FOTD (flavor of the day). Seagate vs WD. I've used them both over the years, along with Maxtor. For myself and some people Seagate=good and WD=bad, and for others, just the opposite. What's interesting in these comments is that the usage habits are not known, i.e., how intensely is the hard drive being accessed (applications, pro versus consumer, etc), and, in what environment is the hard drive being used (air quality, room temperature, humidity, appropriate case cooling, physical vibration, etc.). Those are the useful comparatives that would help in these reviews. Otherwise, it's just comparing one's FOTD (flavor... » Read More Seagate vs WD. I've used them both over the years, along with Maxtor. For myself and some people Seagate=good and WD=bad, and for others, just the opposite. What's interesting in these comments is that the usage habits are not known, i.e., how intensely is the hard drive being accessed (applications, pro versus consumer, etc), and, in what environment is the hard drive being used (air quality, room temperature, humidity, appropriate case cooling, physical vibration, etc.). Those are the useful comparatives that would help in these reviews. Otherwise, it's just comparing one's FOTD (flavor of the day). « Show Less
629561
I've just had my 4th large (>1TB) WD drive failure in less than 2 years. I've had more drives fail in the last 2 years than in the last 20. All of them large WD drives. I'm done with WD. All these failures were with drives less than 3 years old. Just absolutely unacceptable.
629562
Agreed superrabbit, my Passport died after 8 months. Thank god I have backed up everything to my other Seagate drive that I use as a secondary backup to my mac. I am looking to get either Iomega or Seagate 500G drive soon for my primary backup unit.
104434
I have 4 Western Digital Red 3TB drives in mine. It has been running non-stop since I bought it. The best investment I've made in computer hardware in long time. Segate and Western digital will both work in it. Not sure if differnt size drives will work though.
732129
I'd like to add a little additional information to the excellent explanation from Jaygyver. I have both drives, an older WD1002FAEX and a newer WD1003FZEX. When I purchased the WD1002 model it was priced about the same as the newer model is today. I believe the current price disparity is due to two factors: the differences in suppliers as described by Jaygver, and also a design change. I noticed that my WD1002 was slightly heavier than the WD1003, and after some research discovered that was due to the WD1002 having two magnetic platters while the WD1003 was a newer single platter design. Evidently the WD engineers were able to simplify and hopefully improve the design. For me, both drives perform excellently and I'm equally pleased with both. However, I have seen discussions on certain tech forums in which intense gaming purists believe the older two platter design is better, and that WD changed the design simply to cut manufacturing costs. Thus the high prices for the WD1002 is due to it's scarcity (since it's now discontinued) and their belief that it's slightly better in both performance and ruggedness. As I said above, however, both perform equally well for me, and they're both Western Digital Black Series with 5 year warranties, so it's a no brainer to go with the best deal price wise.
892179
Most welcome. You might consider getting the 64 GB version of this drive instead of the 16 GB. It will give you a lot more flexibility, and at $24.99 you'll be paying 39 cents/GB instead of 63 cents/GB for the 16 GB drive. Just a thought.
1101710
As J.C. says, any brand will work. I would first find the storage capacity you need in a SATA 3.5" then look at reviews of the hard drives. I have used Seagate, Western Digital, and Hitachi. I don't stick to any one brand anymore, they all have good and bad models/batches.
691901
Unfortunately, there probably are those occasions where items just malfunction. I have not had that experience to date (fingers crossed), but these external hard drives all seem to eventually die. The best back-up is to have two and to also use some type of internet or Cloud back up for important files and documents.
96349
Dr. Bozarth, I take all reviews with a grain of salt of course. I also noticed the disparity in the ratings between the two sites. I usually frequent thehomeservershow.com. Many of the forum members are I.T. Professionals, or like myself, a medical professional with a keen interest in technology. The Western Digital Green Drives were the go to drives in the past, but were not ideal for NAS/RAID situations. Many of the members have had good luck with the RED drives, but still recommend a program such as SpinRite or HD Tune Pro to evaluate the drive before putting it into service. I can only recall one situation where a member reported a DOA Red Drive, and many more situations where the Green drives presented problems. The recommended drives for your scenario would be the WD Red drives or the Seagate NAS drives. RAID-1 would be a good solution, and a cloud backup such as CrashPlan on top of that. I have personally purchased two 3TB Red drives and have had no problems with them in the 6-12 months I have owned them. Hope this helps.
482504
That may be true, but I've noticed that Seagate gives you a five-year warranty while Western Digital gives you only one. As long as you don't keep your ONLY copy of something important on the drive, I would go with the Seagate knowing that you'll have at least five years of replacements in case it fails.
1128739
They are both very good drives., and have the same 2 year warranty. About the only difference that I know of, is that the seagate drive is said to be an "energy saving" drive, where the western digital is said to be designed as a primary drive. If your going to use it as a storage only drive, and not for an operating system, then either one would be great. If you are going to load an operating system, I'd say go with the western digital. Unless one is way cheaper than the other. But really, you can't lose, and won't be disappointed with either drive. Good luck! ;)P.s, I just replaces my seagate 1TB, which lasted about 5years of continuous use, with another seagate, but a big ol' 2TB! They are both very good drives., and have the same 2 year warranty. About the only difference that I know of, is that the seagate drive is said to be an "energy saving" drive, where the western digital is said to be designed as a primary drive. If your going to use it as a storage only drive, and not for an operating system, then either one would be great. If you are going to load an operating system, I'd say go with the western digital. Unless one is way cheaper than the other. But really, you can't lose, and won't be disappointed with either drive. Good luck! ;)P.s,... » Read More They are both very good drives., and have the same 2 year warranty. About the only difference that I know of, is that the seagate drive is said to be an "energy saving" drive, where the western digital is said to be designed as a primary drive. If your going to use it as a storage only drive, and not for an operating system, then either one would be great. If you are going to load an operating system, I'd say go with the western digital. Unless one is way cheaper than the other. But really, you can't lose, and won't be disappointed with either drive. Good luck! ;)P.s, I just replaces my seagate 1TB, which lasted about 5years of continuous use, with another seagate, but a big ol' 2TB! « Show Less
1761415
Others (per forum postings elsewhere) have replaced the 500mb standard drive upon purchase to avoid the hassles. You *can* un-mount the OS drive. Most users just probably *shouldn't* go through that. I just left it in there and added 2 1TB drives. Heck Seagate 1.5TB drives are now well under $200 each.Regardless, you can back up the server software (and backup the backup) via the external ports (4 USB/1 eSATA). I recommend doing so and backing up your backup and then taking that to an off-site location such as your work office, safety deposit box, friend's house, etc.
386221
No. FYI---I had problems using two Seagate 3 TB drives that were on the recommended drive list, support got them working but they stopped after 1 day of use. I know that this unit has gotten good reviews and is an inexpensive unit. Not like other NAS, you'll need to install the software that's included on each computer that you want to use the storage with. Buy the way, Iomega support said Western Digital drives worked more consistently with it than Seagates.
2084772
Use the USB and a USB external hard drive. WD has one with 2TB I picked up during Black Friday sales.
1352569
I have the WDE1UBK10000N and it is a solid well built external! I don't think you can go wrong with the elements terabyte hdd!
2046261
Regardless - Go with WD or even Seagate. I have 5 portable drives (2 WD, 2 Seagate, 1 Toshiba) the Toshiba is the newest. I treat them all the same but the Toshiba is the only one crapping out on me in less than a year. Their laptops are KILLER though. It's possible that I just got a dud, but that's my current experience.
1766296
I contacted my external hard drive mfg. (Seagate) via web & then called. They researched the item, gave me the model # for the item and recommended Amazon for best price!Received it quickly and am very happy!
1071855
Buy a hard drive with a LAN port built into it. Western digital makes several at decent rates. Also do a search for "LAN external hard drive"
1377703
This is my third WD Black drive in the last five years, and they have always been top quality performance-driven drives. I have bought these since I have not yet taken the plunge on the SSDs (Solid State Drive) yet. I do some gaming and most of my most important documents and such are on a couple of these drives. Western Digital makes some of the best drives out there, and the one time I helped a friend return a drive under warranty, it was as good an experience as one could ask for. I also buy these drives only from Amazon as the other person commented on, and the warranty on these drives is one of the best in the industry. This is my third WD Black drive in the last five years, and they have always been top quality performance-driven drives. I have bought these since I have not yet taken the plunge on the SSDs (Solid State Drive) yet. I do some gaming and most of my most important documents and such are on a couple of these drives. Western Digital makes some of the best drives out there, and the one time I helped a friend return a drive under warranty, it was as good an experience as one could ask for. I also buy these drives only from Amazon as the other person commented on, and the warranty on these drives... » Read More This is my third WD Black drive in the last five years, and they have always been top quality performance-driven drives. I have bought these since I have not yet taken the plunge on the SSDs (Solid State Drive) yet. I do some gaming and most of my most important documents and such are on a couple of these drives. Western Digital makes some of the best drives out there, and the one time I helped a friend return a drive under warranty, it was as good an experience as one could ask for. I also buy these drives only from Amazon as the other person commented on, and the warranty on these drives is one of the best in the industry. « Show Less