Internal HDD
Internal Hard Drives (HDD)
265 drives from Seagate, WD, Toshiba, Synology and HPE. When you need many terabytes at the lowest cost per capacity, the mechanical drive remains irreplaceable.
- Seagate 96 · WD 104 · Toshiba 38 · Synology 17 · HPE
- 192 drives with a five-year warranty
- For file storage, backups, NAS and surveillance recorders
- The lowest cost per terabyte
Where the mechanical drive still wins
On speed it does not compare with an SSD and there is no point hiding that. But it wins clearly on cost per terabyte: for archives, photographs, video and backups, a mechanical drive gives many times the space for the same money.
The right combination in most systems is an SSD for the operating system and applications, an HDD for bulk. That way the machine boots and responds instantly while you still have room for everything.
Which type of drive to choose
Desktop — general purpose, for a second storage drive. What most people need.
NAS — designed for continuous 24-hour operation, with resistance to vibration from neighbouring drives and a longer warranty. Essential if you are building network storage.
Surveillance — optimised for continuous video recording from cameras, where the stream never stops.
One technical point worth knowing: there are two recording technologies, and one of them performs noticeably worse under sustained large writes. If the drive is destined for a NAS or for frequent large transfers, check the recording technology in the specifications.
Capacity, speed and noise
7200 rpm drives are faster and slightly noisier; 5400 rpm ones are quieter, cooler and more efficient. For a secondary storage drive the speed difference is not noticeable in daily use.
A practical note on backups: one drive is not a backup. A backup exists when the same data lives on at least two separate devices, ideally in two different places.
Browse the rest
Frequently asked questions
- HDD or SSD?
- Both: an SSD for the system and applications, an HDD for files and backups. The HDD gives many times the space for the same money.
- What is different about a NAS drive?
- It is built for continuous operation and to tolerate the vibration of several drives in one chassis. In network storage the difference is substantial.
- 7200 or 5400 rpm?
- 7200 for speed, 5400 for quiet running and lower power draw. On a secondary storage drive the difference is rarely noticeable.
- Will it fit my case?
- 3.5-inch drives need a matching bay. Count how many your case has — many current cases have fewer than older ones.
- Is my data safe on one drive?
- No drive is a backup by itself. Keep anything important on at least two devices.
For bulk data at a sensible cost, the mechanical drive remains the right answer. Pair it with an SSD for the system.