Most Popular Internal Hard Drive Review Guide For 2022-2023

Most Popular Internal Hard Drive Review Guide For 2023-2024

February 28, 2023

Most Popular Internal Hard Drive Review Guide For 2023-2024 – Extra storage is becoming a bigger issue for consumers, because there’s simply an enormous amount of data on the average computer today.

With the intense volume of music, videos, and photos, it seems like even the newest computer models don’t have enough space, and certainly with the ultra lite Notebooks that are so popular, a good hard drive is in high demand.

When shopping for an internal hard drive, the consumer can become quite overwhelmed because there are so many to choose from, and the credentials that make for a great drive are rather confusing.

Questions regarding how many terabytes you need, or what’s the best rotational speed can be quite confounding.

In general, adding any new terabyte of space is pretty voluminous, but if you have a tremendous amount of data, then 1TB isn’t going to be enough.

Reading reviews is a great way to feel-out which brand of drive is best for you, as some are much more user-friendly and intuitive than others. To find out even more keep reading our Most Popular Internal Hard Drive Review Guide For 2023-2024.

Most Popular Internal Hard Drive – Seagate

Seagate’s Barracuda is ideal for desktop RAID, gaming PCs, workstations, as well as luxury and mainstream PCs. The durability and quality of the Barracuda are what make it lasts for years, performing with efficiency and speed.

Seagate is a pioneer when it comes to research and development of their products. One of their greatest innovations is perpendicular recording, after it being discovered that storing data vertically, as opposed to horizontally, increases the capacity.

It should also be noted that Seagate is environmentally conscious, and their Barracuda boasts of lower power consumption than most other hard drives on the market.

In fact, if you’re looking for the highest storage capacity, accompanied by the smallest eco footprint, then this drive might be what you’re looking for.

It’s backed by a 2 year warranty, which is a nice added bonus. You would think that a drives using so little energy would be lacking in performance, but the Barracuda proves otherwise.

Product Details:

Make sure this fits by entering your model number.
Ideal for everyday desktop and computing storage
3TB capacity stores 360 HD video, or 600,000 photos, or 750,000 songs
7200 RPM
Store data faster with SATA 6GB/s interface
2 year warranty. 64MB cache

Benefits:

A whopping 3TB storage capacity
Optimized burst performance with SATA 6GB/s interface
Dependable performance with Seagate AcuTrac technology
Seagate OptiCache technology improves performance by 45% over past models
Works great with all-in-one PCs, game systems, home servers, Desktop RAID, DAD and NAS storage devices

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Best Overall Internal Hard Drive – Western Digital Red 4TB

The WD Red SATA is at the forefront of the industry right now, and is made to expand the storage capacity of your home or small office computer. With its compact 2.5″ size, this little drive packs a powerful punch when you need more space for your digital data and large files.

Thanks to NASware 2.0, this drive has a massive capacity, and is incredibly reliable for instances such as disruption or power loss. Losing your data is the scariest thing you can imagine, and the Red SATA provides some of the best protection from this catastrophe that you can find.

The 3D Active Balance Plus technology makes the performance of this drive superior to others, as well as making it balanced and incredibly quiet, with little vibration. The life span and durability are other key components that set the WD Red out from the rest.

It operates with efficiency 24/7, and features a 35% MTBF improvement. Overall, this is a fantastic addition to the WD brand, and consumers are really getting great performance from it.

Product Details:

Available in capacities ranging from 1-14TB with support for up to 8 bays
5400RPM performance class
Supports up to 180 TB/yr workload rate*| * Workload Rate is defined as the amount of user data transferred to or from the hard drive. Workload Rate is annualized (TB transferred ✕ (8760 / recorded power-on hours))
NASware firmware for compatibility
Small or medium business NAS systems in a 24×7 environment
3-year limited warranty
This model uses CMR technology and is being renamed “WD Red Plus” to distinguish it from the current “WD Red” product, which uses SMR technology
During this transition period, WD Red Plus devices may be delivered with a ”WD Red” label, but rest assured the device you are receiving will be the CMR-version of WD Red and can be confirmed by the model number

Benefits:

Enormous 4TB capacity with NASware 2.0
3.5 inch and 2.5 inch form factors with NAS solutions
Increased drive reliability and data protection from disruptions
Reliable 24/7 support
Next Generation, innovative design

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Best Budget Internal Hard Drive – Western Digital Blue 2TB

If there’s one thing that WD does well, it’s offering a lot of options. Their Blue hard drives comes with a high-performance SATA interface with a variety of features and cache sizes to choose from.

The WD Blue is becoming popular on the market thanks to its dependable performance and quiet operation. Keep in mind, if you’re looking for a huge amount of storage, you may need to find a different version of the WD.

However, with its modest capacity ranging from 80 GB to 1 TB, the average computer-user will find the Blue Caviar to be sufficient for their data needs.

The original WD desktop hard drives have won all sorts of awards for their high-performance technology, and this latest version is designed and manufactured with this same original version in mind.

This drive is ideal for standard home and office computing, and thanks to all the custom options it provides, there’s a very good chance that the Blue is going to be just right for your computer.

Product Details:

Reliable everyday computing
WD quality and reliability
Free Acronis True Image WD Edition cloning software
Massive capacities up to 6 TB available
2-year manufacturer’s limited warranty

Benefits:

Third genertion SATA interface (cable not included with item)
WhisperDrive technology makes it virtually silent
Efficient operation with streamlining SoftSleek Technology
1TB capacity allowing for great, high-volume storage
2 year limited warranty

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Most Popular Internal Hard Drive Buying Guide For 2023-2024

An internal hard drive is a storage device built directly into a computer case and attached to the motherboard or interface card using a parallel advanced technology attachment (PATA) or a serial ATA (SATA). Recent advances in hard drive technology has been such that consumers have a wide range of choices available at inexpensive prices.

If you want to expand you computer’s current storage capacity, a larger capacity internal hard drive can be purchased to replace the original one.

When looking for an internal hard drive, there are a few important factors to consider. The most important things you’ll need to consider when purchasing a new hard drive are capacity, speed, the interface used, and the level of noise.

Factors to Consider When Buying an Internal Hard Drive

Internal Hard Drive Capacity:

Hard drives of varying capacity are available – anywhere from a few hundred gigabytes (GB) to one terabyte (TB). Hard drives measured in terabytes offer 100 gigabytes of storage, and are becoming increasingly popular for the ample storage capacity they provide. Below, you’ll find a list of the different units of storage and their equivalent capacity:

Kilobyte (KB) – 1,000 bytes

Megabyte (MB) – 1,000 kilobytes

Gigabyte (GB) – 1,000 megabytes

Terabyte (TB) – 1,000 gigabytes

Consider how much data you’ll need to store on your hard drive. If you don’t use your computer for much more than business tasks like checking email and surfing the internet, you may find an internal hard drive with a capacity of 250 GB to be more than sufficient.

Heavier users who do things like edit photos, audio, or video, on the other hand, may find 1TB to be barely enough. Larger files and multimedia applications require more hard drive resources. When in doubt, go with the larger capacity hard drive. You’re better off having more space than you need than not having enough.

Large capacity internal hard drives can be fairly expensive, for obvious reasons. Of you don’t need a whole lot of space right now, consider buying a smaller drive in the interim and adding more storage as needed. Many computers will allow you to add more than one internal drive. You can also add an external drive if you need more storage space.

Internal Hard Drive Speed:

Most internal hard drives created for desktop computers run at a speed of 7,200 revolutions per minute, or RPM. High-speed models can spin as high as 10,000 RPM.

The speed of the internal hard disk determines how fast data is written and retrieved. If you only use your computer for surfing and basic tasks, you may not require a high-speed drive. Gamers and professionals, however, may want to consider the more expensive, faster hard drive.

Seek speed refers to how fast a hard drive finds specific data. Seek speed is measured in milliseconds, and tends to increase with the hard drive size.

Internal Hard Drive Interface:

Computers either use a PATA or a SATA interface. Most newer computers use a SATA interface, which is able to support data transfer rates of 150 or 300 MB per second. PATA drives are still available however, but offer maximum data transfer rates of only 100 or 133 MB per second.

While PATA-to-SATA adapters exist, it’s better to match the internal hard drive’s interface to that of the computer. This will ensure the best performance, especially in the case of SATA drives, which only work with a SATA interface.

A PCI Express card or PCI add-in card can help you add a SATA interface to a machine without one. These cards are expensive and easy to find.

Internal Hard Drive Noise Level:

Some internal hard drive models are noisier than others. This can cause problems if you use your computer as a media center. Not many drives, however, are loud enough to drown our audio or music. Some manufacturers make specialty drives with low noise levels. Choose one of these types if noise is a concern.

Other Factors to Consider When buying an Internal Hard Drive:

While it’s important to think of the speed, capacity, and interface of the hard drive, there are a few other additional features to consider when choosing a internal hard drive:

Does the PC case have enough space to accommodate the drive?
Do you have all of the internal drive bays and other components necessary to install it?
Do you have a spare plug for the separate power supply of the internal hard drive?
Is it powerful enough to run the drive?

Make sure there is enough space in the computer case to allow for the installation of a new hard drive. The power supply should have a free plug, and should be able to power an additional device. If cost is a concern, consider the more inexpensive option of buying a smaller internal hard drive alongside a large external drive.

To make installation of your internal hard drive easier, look for one that comes with all necessary mounting hardware, cables, instructions, and software.

Another thing you may want to consider is investing in a separate external hard drive for backing up your data. This will free up space on your internal hard drive, and gives you a safety net in case anything goes wrong with your computer.

When buying an internal hard drive, the most important things you’ll need to check are the capacity, speed, and interface.

Casual computer users can opt for lower capacity hard drives to save money, while heavier users will want to focus on speed and performance. Think about your specific needs and what type of data you’ll need to store on the internal hard drive before making your final choice.