Top 5 Best 2TB Hard Drive For 2013

If you’re planning to build a powerful computer rig a hard disk drive is vital to your system. If you decide to use it as your primary drive you’ll definitely need a fast drive, on the other hand, if it serve as a secondary or backup it tend to lean on a more reliable drive that will store all your treasures files.

The following are the top 5 Best 2TB Hard Drive you can have; your part is to choose the most suitable for your needs.

The Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB is the all time best seller as it greatly improved its performance up to 45% compare to any of their previous 2TB versions. If a fast drive would be the first on your list this will surely meet your needs.

What Makes It Fast?

The drive spins at 7,200rpm and equipped with huge 64MB cache memory to speed up its data retrieval. In addition to that is the SATA 6GB/s interface for extra quickness, however, it is fully compatible with SATA 3GB/s if you still using the older system.

Seagate implement the Power of One technology in their new Barracuda drive having a 1TB per disc which greatly improve its performance with a highly dense platter. It also lessens its power consumption due to fewer disks that results in a lighter and slimmer drive.

Features

Seagate includes some of the best features that tremendously contribute to its blazing performance. If you’re having trouble with the Advance format 4K with your older drive the Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB drives is fully compatible with it, thanks to its SmartAlign technology that makes it possible for you to work on it.

The AcuTrac technology offers the most accurate read and writes result even at full speed. The drive is comes with a DiscWizzard software which is very handy when organize your system which is great if you’re still using an older PC.

Performance

The Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB shows an excellent result in Crystal Disk Mark benchmark. In sequential read it records 202.1MB/s while 198.8MB/s in its sequential write performance.

The Verdict

The Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB is one of the fastest 2TB hard drive out there making it an excellent choice if you’re using it as a primary drive on your PC. Fully compatible with Advanced Format 4K and the DiscWizzard tool is greatly adds to its value but, what makes you a real winner here is the price it offers, its unbelievably too low to pass on.

Performance: 10/10 Features: 10/10 Value: 10/10

If you’re looking for a backup drive, the Western Digital 2TB Caviar Green WD20EZRX could be your best choice. The drive is design for cool, quiet and low power consumption which is ideal for storage purposes.

What Do We Expect From This Drive?

The WD 2TB Caviar Green spins at slower speed of 5,400rpm resulting from cooler, quieter operation and seriously reduces its power consumption for up to 40%. Some contributing factor of the drive is its 64MB cache and the SATA 6GB/s interface that helps to speed up its performance.

Western Digital 2TB Caviar Green product includes the top features such as the IntelliPower that balances the speed, transfer rate and caching algorithm while the IntelliSeek evaluates the maximum seek speed to further lower its noise level and power consumption.

Performance

The Western Digital 2TB Caviar Green performs well in a large file transfer test with a read speed of 146MB/s and write speed of 133MB/s which too fast for a 5,400rpm drive. Although, it slows down in a small file transfer with 56MB/s in read and 37MB/s in write.

The Verdict

We are pleased with the drives performance in a large file transfer though, it shows bit sluggishness in a small file transfer due to its lower spindle speed. If you already have an SSD as your primary drive, the Western Digital 2TB Caviar Green is well suited to serve as your secondary storage.

The drive is available at a very affordable price that brings an outstanding value on the table. If you’re craving for a cool, quiet, reliable and energy saver backup drive you can’t go wrong with it.

Performance: 8/10 Features: 9/10 Value: 10/10

The new Western Digital Red 2TB NAS WD20EFRX is perfectly suited for Network Attached System applications, if that’s what you’re looking for you certainly got it. Although, it is an enterprise class drive it is not intended for large server purposes but, ideal for small office and home appliance.

What Is It In The WD Red NAS Drive?

As you already know that ordinary desktop hard drives are not capable of 24x7 operations and only enterprise class drive can offer this qualities. These drives are factory tested to withstand longer hours of operations and under stress conditions to keep your files safe anytime you need it.

The drive spins at slower speed of 5,400rpm in contrast with other enterprise class with 7,200rpm. The reason behind this is to give you a cooler, quieter and energy saver drive.

Western Digital introduces a highly dense platter on their Red’s drive that provides you with more advantage. Firstly, it has faster data retrieval due to the closeness of its tracks. Secondly, fewer discs on the drive reduce its power consumption and lastly, a lighter drive is well suited in most computer casing.

Features

The Western Digital Red 2TB NAS has a built-in 64MB cache memory and SATA 6GB/s interface that leads to a faster data access. Additional feature is the IntelliPower technology that balances its rotational speed, transfer rate and caching algorithm for maximum performance.

Performance

The Western Digital Red 2TB NAS shows a good performance that records average of 112MB/s in read and write speed. This is particularly good numbers which is higher than typical 5,400rpm drives. The area where the drive really shines is in the power consumption department, it draws only 5.4w during heavy read/write process. It also follows that Western Digital Red’s are the coolest drive out there with 4-degrees less than its competition.

The Verdict

The Western Digital Red 2TB NAS is highly reliable drive which is capable in a 24x7 operation with exceptional enterprise quality. However, it is not intentionally applicable for fast servers due to its low spindle speed. The areas where it really excels are in its coolness, silent and energy saver which is ideal for backup purposes. The price it offers is truly attractive making it the cheapest enterprise class drive out there.

Performance: 8/10 Features: 9/10 Value: 10/10

The Western Digital RE4 2TB is all about speed and reliability that keeps your files safe. If you’re looking for a fast enterprise class drive, this is it. The RE4 is packed with features contributing to its optimum reliability and speed to give you the best drive from a wide range of applications from primary drive, Network Attached System and even fast servers.

What Do We Expect From The WD RE4?

The WD RE4 2TB drive spins at 7,200rpm with a built-in 64MB cache memory that runs in SATA 3GB/s interface. As I mention earlier, the drive is full of features such as the Dual Processor that double its performance for faster access time. It further reduces its vibration to give you a quieter operation while increasing its reliability; this makes it possible with the StableTrac technology.

The “No Touch” ramp technology avoids the recording head from touching the disc and will automatically park when shut down. This also includes the multi-Axis sensor that protects the data on the disc that works in tandem with the RAFF enhancement technology.

Every WD RE4 drive was put to test in a 24x7 environment with thermal cycling and all the drive’s heads are adjusted in Dynamic Fly High for maximum reliability. This also includes the Time Limited Error Recovery additional data accuracy. The company is giving a 5-year warranty to take full confident on it.

Performance

The Western Digital RE4 2TB shows a very good numbers in its sequential test performance with 178MB/s in read and 139MB/s in write. In small file transfer speed, it consistently give a nice results with 110MB/s and 98MB/s in read and write respectively.

The Verdict

The Western Digital RE4 2TB shows a solid performance with full reliability. Although, it is one of the oldest drive in this line up its enterprise quality is definitely unmatched. The price it offer is a bit higher than the rest but, certainly worthy to its additional premium. If you want to keep your files safe or just thinking to build a fast Network Attached System, the WD RE4 is definitely a wise choice.

Performance: 9/10 Features: 10/10 Value: 9/10

The Western Digital 2TB Caviar Black is another fast drive but, it doesn’t have the enterprise quality. The drive belongs to the Black series drive which is the fastest in all Western Digital lineups.

What Is It In The WD 2TB Caviar Black?

It has a rated speed of 7,200rpm with 64MB cache memory onboard that runs in SATA 6GB/s interface that all contribute to its fast performance. Some of the drive’s feature such as the Dual Processor, Dual Actuator, StableTrac and the No Touch Ramp was also found in the WD RE4 2TB drive. Western Digital is also giving a 5-year warranty on this drive.

Performance

The Western Digital 2TB Caviar Black performs well which is very close to the WD RE4 2TB. It records a 179MB/s in its sequential read and 128MB/s in write. In a small file transfer speed test it also shows good results with 111MB/s and 87MB/s in read/write performance respectively.

The Verdict

The Western Digital 2TB Caviar Black is in no doubt a very good performer. The price it offer is lower than the WD RE4 2TB making it a worthy to consider however, less the enterprise quality.

Performance: 9/10 Features: 8/10 Value: 9/10