Top 5 Most Reliable Hard Drives You Can Buy In 2022

With no less than 7 sizes available, the Barracuda can easily adapt to your needs while exhibiting excellent performance, especially when looking at its price. As a bonus, it is also findable in a mobile format. The real negative point comes rather from the warranty period, limited to a minimum of 2 years.

Competitor of WD Black in the world of performance hard drives, the X300 offers excellent results for a much lower price. It is available in several very high storage capacities which will allow you to store all your important games or documents. It also incorporates an internal shock detector and a vibration reduction system to protect your data.

This model has long been a benchmark in its field with a reputation for reliability and efficiency. However, its fairly high entry price means that users on a more limited budget often favor the Toshiba X300, which has slightly lower performance but for a much better price. Of course, the Black makes up for it by offering an advanced cache management system, allowing optimal use of the latter.

Available in capacities from 500 GB to 6 TB and in 2 formats (2.5 ”and 3.5”), it offers many possibilities that allow it to be easily adapted to your use and make it compatible with compact and compact configurations. the mobiles. It has advantages close to the Barracuda and only gets passed because of its slightly higher price for lower performance.

With its 8GB Flash memory, this disc allows, after a learning period, to quickly launch the programs you use regularly. It is also popular with gamers because it allows a much faster launch of games and heavier applications. It is more affordable than a combination of two drives, but still has less attractive performance.

Honorable Mentions

Seagate IronWolf: Designed for NAS. It offers many possibilities thanks to the different speeds available (5400/5900 and 7200 RPM) and the varied capacities (from 1 to 16 TB). The cache extends up to 256 MB and the standard model can support up to 8 bays (24 for the pro). It is also optimized with AgileArray technology and has prevention, intervention and recovery options to guarantee the security of your data, grouped together in the IronWolf Health Management software.

WD Red: A benchmark in the field of NAS hard drives. It is designed for server use and has a wide variety of capacities (1 to 14 TB) while relying on a high cache (up to 512 MB). It offers average performance while being equipped with intelligent systems minimizing vibrations and heating. The brand also includes a dedicated assistance system and NASware technology, which balances performance and reliability.

How To Choose The Most Reliable Hard Drive?

To find the most reliable hard drive, it is necessary to dwell on your needs and your means. Thus, a computer for office automation will not have the same requirements as a gaming computer, just as a NAS requires specific disks.

In this sense, it is therefore important to be based on certain criteria:

• Format: There are currently 2 formats: the 2.5”, more compact, and the 3.5” which is the more traditional. In parallel, there are 3 main types of hard disks: the SSD (to which we have dedicated an article), HDD (traditional disk) and SSHD which combines the two solutions. In the best-case scenario, we recommend going with the SSD + HDD combo for optimal performance, but if your means are limited, an SSHD can do the trick.
• Rotation Speeds: This influences the speed at which programs operate and interact with your disk. Typically you will have a choice between 5400/5900 RPM (revolutions / min) and 7200 RPM. The former is rather recommended for pure storage while the latter allows a decent operating speed.
• Data Transfers: They are the speed at which your disk can be read and written. The average of an HDD is between 150 and 200 MB / s. In the case of an SSHD, a part of flash memory is added. It is much faster to consult, which allows you to launch your favorite programs about twice as fast. However, this type of disc must “learn” your habits to detect which programs are launched regularly. This memory acts like a cache.
• Cache: This element makes it possible to “preload” part of the data which must be used in order to gain speed. It is therefore essential that it be as extensive as possible if you want maximum fluidity. It is on average 64MB in size.
• Available Capacity: Since a hard drive is a storage device, it is important to focus on its maximum capacity. A large number of possibilities therefore allow this component to be adapted to your needs. More storage allows you to place more files or games, but the price goes up as a result. To optimize the quality / price ratio, we therefore calculate the price per gigabyte: price / maximum capacity. A value below 0.07 € should be targeted.
• Connection: make sure you can connect this component to your computer with suitable connections. Traditionally, the SATA III standard is used for hard disks. This is especially important if you have an older computer because a SATA I or II standard greatly reduces transfer speeds.
• Guarantee and Reliability : in this case, it all depends on the brand. Indeed, each one has its positive reputation or not but the models that we offer are often acclaimed for their reliability. The warranty period also depends on the level of the range and can range from 2 to 5 years.

If you are looking for a solution for NAS servers, we recommend two very interesting models with honorable mention.