Seagate Desktop HDD.15 ST4000DM000

[zir_blazer]

I'm looking for a new HD. So far, the contenders include:


Western Digital Green (3 TB) WD30EZRX
Western Digital Red (3 TB) WD30EFRX
Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 (2 TB) ST2000DM001
Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 (3 TB) ST3000DM001
Seagate Desktop HDD.15 (4 TB) ST4000DM000 (Review here and here)


Price ranges vary greatly, remember that I don't live in USA so the prices you pay aren't the same I do. But basically, I'm looking for a HD with good capacity/price ratio and decent performance and these seems to be the ones to choose from.
Western Digital drives are the slowest ones (Exclude the absurdily overpriced Black line), but they got local warranty in Argentina so I can RMA them easily in case something goes wrong. However, I HATE the brand, because they capitalized heavily with Thailand floods some years ago totally screwing the HD market prices while they were posting record profits.
Seagate 7200.14 drives are similarily priced to the WD parts but faster, however, I enjoy no local manufacturer warranty for those, just 6 months from the vendor. Also, I think that the 7200.14 series warranty from Seagate itself was just one year (Something that they capitalized on too with the aftermatch of the floods, they used to be 3 years if I recall correctly). Also, the 2 TB model got two versions, one with two platters that is substantially faster than the three platters versions, so they're pretty much different HDs masked under the same model number. So getting the two platter version requires handpicking the HD.

Finally, recently I saw a vendor here selling the new Seagate 4 TB model (Which is slower than the 3 TB model, being more storage-oriented) at a absurdily low price, 1/5 lower than all the other vendors I saw here got it for. Also, Seagate gives two years warranty for that one. It seems too good to be true, as it isn't that much expensive than the previous 3 TB models. I think it could be refurbished, but it is too temping.

Do anyone knows if that model is good and reliable, anyone had issues with it, etc? As things are, that will be my model of choice. As it gets filled with data, making backups of any non-critical data of a 4 TB HD will be hard if not impossible, so I want to minimize risk knowing that it has usually low RMA figures.
Another option would be two 2 TB 7200.14, assuming I could get the two platter version. They cost around the same than the 4 TB model. With two, I could have some redundacy by copying any important data on boths HDs (Or using them in RAID 1 for a full mirror, but it would be overkill).

 

[Virgorising]

For whatever it's worth, and, given only 20 mins ago, employing the excellent feedback I got on it right here, I got a new Seagate, Black Friday priced SDD....not long ago, I got a used but in perfect condition, WD Black, 500GBs on eBay here. 32 cache. And, it is by far, the fastest mechanical drive I ever owned.

I still prefer WDs.

 

[Emulex]

raid = use RE4 sas (Trust me here sas owns sata).

jbod = buy whatever you want but remember heat kills and 7200 rpm makes a lot of heat. If you can afford slow, do 5400/5900, but it is SLOW.

those new SMR 5/6/7/8 tb drives will be a great way to archive your nearline storage (2/3/4tb) drives. They are already being used by large datacenter folks (facebook,et all) and will be out in no time for consumer use in the smaller 5/6tb size

for JBOD, if feasible, use more than 1 big drive. 2 3tb, 3 2tb.

 

[zir_blazer]

Remember that my budget is not unlimited, any serious enterprise HD is out of price range. Also, I'm not intending to wait for a new product release, as Seagate themselves said that with SMR they were going to release 5 TB models next year, didn't hear anything bigger than that.

I could go for two 2 TB Seagate 7200.14 (Assuming I could get the two platter version, else I'm skipping them) or the single, big, 4 TB HDD.15. I just need to know if the HDD.15 has been user tested here and has proven to be dependable on, or just a time bomb, or with any particular quirck that I need to be aware of. For example, WD Greens that needed a Firmware upgrade due to the excessive head parking that could cause bad sectors over time or premature death, etc. If current owners of the Seagate 4 TB HDD.15 are mostly happy, I suppose I will be too.

 

[Charlie98]

I could go for two 2 TB Seagate 7200.14.

That's what I would do. They are proven, and if one drive dies you don't lose so much data. Reason I mention that is I just had one of my WD Red 2TB drives puke on me in my HTPC, thankfully it was the redundant storage drive... but you get the gist of what I mean.

 

[sub.mesa]

I'd recommend against the Seagate 7200.14. A friend of mine which owns these drives complains about regular clicking sounds due to background scanning looking for bad sectors. The power consumption is also much higher than that of competitor drives.

It also runs 7200rpm. Depending on your needs, if you want mass storage than lower rpm is virtually always better. You only sacrifice 25% IOps which you don't need for mass storage, maybe 5% sequential speeds but get back much more silent operation and less power consumption.

If you really do not like WD, you can opt for the newer Seagate drives. Not the HDD.15 but the newest ones.

Remember that if you're going to use old fashioned RAID under Windows OS, you need TLER bugfix to cope with timeouts or the drives will be dropped from the RAID array. If you use them without RAID, no special needs apply and you can get pretty much any drive you like.

 

[zir_blazer]

That's what I would do. They are proven, and if one drive dies you don't lose so much data. Reason I mention that is I just had one of my WD Red 2TB drives puke on me in my HTPC, thankfully it was the redundant storage drive... but you get the gist of what I mean.

The problem is that getting the two platter version of that Hard Disk is hard. I was looking for an HD 12 months ago and had choosed that one but ended up not purchasing anything because I couldn't get the version with the 1 TB platters.
Here, not all vendors got straight info about an specific model (For example, in price lists you see often "Western Digital 1 TB SATA 6 GBps 32 MB Cache", which can fit to different models from either the Green, Blue or Black line), so imagine if you have two different versions of the same unit model. Few would comply if I ask them for the serial number or physical inspection, which is the reason why that particular model gives me headaches.

If you really do not like WD, you can opt for the newer Seagate drives. Not the HDD.15 but the newest ones.

Actually, the HDD.15 is the newest one for consumer lines. I don't know if they released anything else after that one.

I don't really need that much performance out of the HD, for as long as it is around the performance of my current Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB, I'm satisfied. My issue is with reliability and quircks of that model that you notice after some months of usage and don't come up on your typical performance Review.

 

[sub.mesa]

The ST4000VN000 would appear to be a bit newer, and also sports 5400rpm-class which is preferable for mass storage.

Today, the regular Greens and Reds will get you 1000GB platter capacity. I believe the first 5TB drive with 4x 1250GB platters was also announced a while back. To lazy to google for it.

 

[Charlie98]

I don't really know why you are set on the 1TB platter drives... as I say, the other models are certainly proven. I have something like 6 Seagate drives of different flavors, including a 1TB .12 and 2TB 1TB-platter drive, and I can't tell the difference nor have I had any problems with them. I wouldn't give it another thought.

 

[Doomer]

I've had 2 ST4000DM000's running in a NAS 24/7 for about 4 months now without ant problems.

 

[zir_blazer]

The ST4000VN000 would appear to be a bit newer, and also sports 5400rpm-class which is preferable for mass storage.

Today, the regular Greens and Reds will get you 1000GB platter capacity. I believe the first 5TB drive with 4x 1250GB platters was also announced a while back. To lazy to google for it.

That NAS version is substantially more expensive than the HDD.15. Plus, I can get the HDD.15 available on tons of places here, for the NAS version I will have to ask someone to get me that unit and it will be even more expensive, add in two weeks wait time to get it shipped from USA. Not a choice.

Seagate did announce that they were going to use SMR with 1.25 TB platters somewhere in 2014. I'm intending to purchase the new HD this Monday.

I don't really know why you are set on the 1TB platter drives... as I say, the other models are certainly proven. I have something like 6 Seagate drives of different flavors, including a 1TB .12 and 2TB 1TB-platter drive, and I can't tell the difference nor have I had any problems with them. I wouldn't give it another thought.

Check this. There is a NOTORIOUS performance difference between the 2 platter and 3 platter version, they are marketed under the same unit model and cost the same. Why would I pay the same price for a version inferior to the one that was provided to reviewers? Add in that less mechanical parts should mean less chance to failure, and I guess you get the picture of why I want the 2 platter version.
Is not that I care about 1 TB platters themselves, is just for that particular model, because they're two entirely different HDs under the same model name.


Looks like I'm going for the ST4000DM000. Isn't that much more expensive than the 3 TB WD Green and Red HDs and it will be faster, and after tons of googling there doesn't seem to be many complaining about premature deaths or whatever else. And I don't have to handpick it like the 2 TB 7200.14.

 

[zir_blazer]

*BUMP*

Tomorrow as soon as the shops opens, I'm going to grab the ST4000DM000. I'm still suspicious due to the extremely low price of the shop that I'm intending to purchase it from (20% below everyone else).
Any ideas about what should I check when I get the HD? As far that I know, sometimes there are around refurbished units sold as new. Also, there are some vendors that sells new units but that if you check the warranty in the manufacturer site, it appears like if it was sold several months before, cutting your effective warranty period.
I suppose I will have to run it through several tests to make sure it has no bad sectors, SMART data about uptime, etc. Details on what I could check it with are much appreciated.

 

[Charlie98]

Refurbs are (SHOULD!) be labeled as such... both my WD Red and Samsung 840Pro SSD are.

Just make sure the model numbers are correct for what you want to buy.... but, just remember... if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I have four of the ST4000DM000 4 TB drives in a NAS and prior to that, one was in a USB disk enclosure. I haven't had any issues with them yet, but I am primarily using the NAS as a backup unit for my main server.

 

[aigomorla]

i have the best luck with seagates...
i have the worst luck with western digital...

I have yet to lose a seagate.. *knocking on wood*
I have lost 2 WD RE3's and 3 x WD Velociraptors.

:T

However im fairly confident i hammered the WD'd a lot harder then the seagates, so its not a fair result in my book.

 

[zir_blazer]

So now I have the ST4000DM000 in my hands. I have checked the warranty here and it says that it is covered until 28 August 2015, which means that the HD has been registered as sold 4 months ago. This seems to happen because they take the date that it gets in the hand of the distribuitor and NOT the end user.
Additionally, the following extra paragraph appears if I choose that my country is Argentina instead of United States:

Regional Warranty Restriction
This product is being returned from a country outside of the region where it was originally sold by Seagate. Warranty claims may not be accepted for products returned outside the region where the Product was first shipped by Seagate to an Authorized Seagate Distributor

I will check if I can use SeaTools from a Pendrive and give it a full test before putting it to use.

 

[Doomer]

Seagate is the worst for threatening not to honor the warranty.

 

[zir_blazer]

Seagate is the worst for threatening not to honor the warranty.

This is not new here. I have seen tons of people with the same complain with Western Digital drives when checking remaining warranty on their website, too.
I suppose we should all spam Seagate support until they say that they will honor warranties from the time that the end user purchased it as long as they have the purchase proof.

 

[ronbo613]

Amazon was selling that ST4000DM000 for $119 as one of their Cyber Week deals. I was going to buy one, but there was no stated warranty period on the product web page. I called Amazon and the customer service rep said there was no warranty information on that particular drive. According to customer comments, some claimed a three year warranty(which I believe is a mistake), some said two years, some said one year and a couple said there was no warranty when they entered the model and serial number on the Seagate website.
It's quite a value at that price, but with a questionable warranty, I had to pass. I'm surprised Amazon would would sell an item like that.

 

[zir_blazer]

I used SeaTools for DOS from a USB Pendrive following a guide to do so with XBoot. At first the HD wasn't recognized from SeaTools through the BIOS did see it. In the end it was because SeaTools for DOS doesn't sees HDs when the SATA Controller is running in AHCI mode, only IDE. It took 7 hours for the long test and it passes without errors.
Even I was using the HD in a open test bed, it didn't did much noise, only in HD Tune access time test I actually heared it doing hard work. I do hate the ocassional "click" noise through, but chances are that inside the case it will be inaudible. HD Tunes results were similar to these, through slighty slower on every metric. Could be because it was running on IDE mode, I suppose.