It's A Digital Disease!

The original post: /r/datahoarder by /u/AntarcticNightingale on 2024-05-20 19:06:57.

I'm looking to buy a large (or several smaller) internal HDD for backups, before I invest a ton of time and money for a NAS solution, it will be a quick solution for now. (Yes I know the general advice that the best brand is having another copy regardless of brand. But with that said ...)

I have no idea what all the colors of WD internal drives mean. Sometimes I see a color being trashed on this subreddit, but I don't remember.

1. Is it true for externally powered HDD, that Western Digital is more reliable in general than other brands? If not, what is the most reliable brand and which internal drive should I get from it?
2. Is it true that WD internal drives don't have encryption? Which is good for me because encryption is a headache if we ever need data recovery and I don't have any sensitive stuff that needs encryption.
3. Is a faster RPM (7200) more reliable than a slower RPM (5400 or 5640)? Does cache size matter?
4. Is it true that CMR is more reliable than SMR? I don't care about speed or cost and size is a minor concern (because I can always buy multiples of a good small drive). I just want to have the highest chance of my data not go poof.
5. What are the best Western Digital internal drive colors in terms of long-term reliability? Do storage capacity and cache size (64, 128, or 256MB) affects reliability too? I have made the following list based on Amazon's best selling WD drives:

• WD Blue PC 3.5" HDD

  • 54,500 ratings, 4.6 average, 80% 5 star, 4% 1 star
  • 8 TB with 5640 RMP and 256 MB cache WD80EAAZ
  • 3-6 TB with 5400 RMP and 256 MB cache WD30EZAX, WD40EZAX, WD60EZAX, respectively
  • 2 TB with 7200 RMP and 256 MB cache WD20EZBX

• WD Blue PC 3.5" HDD I don't know why there is a second different link for WD Blue

  • 23,600 ratings, 4.6 average, 81% 5 star, 4% 1 star
  • 1, 3, 4 or 6 TB with 5400 RMP and 64 MB cache WD10EZRZ, WD30EZRZ, WD40EZRZ, WD60EZRZ
  • 2 TB with 5400 RMP and 256 MB cache WD20EZAZ

• WD Black Performance Gaming 3.5" HDD

  • 14,700 ratings, 4.6 average, 80% 5 star, 6% 1 star
  • 4, 6, or 10 TB with 7200 RPM and 256 MB cache WD4005FZBX, WD6003FZBX, WD101FZBX
  • 6 or 8 TB with 7200 RPM and 128 MB cache WD6004FZWX, WD8002FZWX
  • 1, or 2 TB with 7200 RPM and 64 MB cache WD1003FZEX, WD2003FZEX

• WD Purple Surveillance 3.5" HDD

  • 13,500 ratings, 4.6 average, 80% 5 star, 5% 1 star
  • 14 TB with 7200 RMP and 512 MB cache
  • 10 TB with 7200 RMP and 256 MB cache
  • 8 TB with 5400 RMP and 256 MB cache
  • 6 TB with 5400 RMP and 256 MB cache or 5640 RMP and 128 MB cache
  • 1-4 TB with 5400 RMP and 64 or 256 MB cache

• WD Red Plus 3.5" HDD

  • 9,100 ratings, 4.6 average, 80% 5 star, 5% 1 star
  • 12 TB with 7200 RMP and 512 MB cache WD120EFBX
  • 10 TB with 7200 RMP and 256 MB cache
  • 8 TB with 5640 RMP and 256 MB cache
  • 6 TB with 5400 RMP and 256 MB cache or 5640 RMP and 128 MB cache
  • 4 TB with 5640 RMP and 128 or 256 MB cache
  • 2 or 3 TB with 5400 RMP and 128 MB cache
  • 1 or 2 TB with 5400 RMP and 64 MB cache

• WD Red Pro 3.5" HDD CMR

  • 1,700 ratings, 4.5 average, 78% 5 star, 8% 1 star
  • 14, 20, 22, or 24 TB with 7200 RMP and 512 MB cache WD240KFGX
  • 4-16, or 18 TB with 7200 RMP and 256 MB cache
  • 2 TB with 7200 RMP and 64 MB cache

• WD Purple Pro Surveillance 3.5" HDD

  • 630 ratings, 4.6 average, 81% 5 star, 7% 1 star
  • 14 - 22 TB with 7200 RMP and 512 MB cache WD221PURP
  • 8 - 12 TB with 7200 RMP and 256 MB cache

• WD Gold Enterprise 3.5" HDD

  • NO ratings!
  • 8 TB with 7200 RMP and 256 MB cache WD8005FRYZ

• let me know if I missed any other reliable drives to compare, especially if it's better than any listed here, regardless of brand.

I have no idea the purpose of so many colors is. I have no idea why some are marketed only for surveillance or gaming, or enterprise. As you can see, the ratings are very similar.

Please let me know which one(s) is/are the most reliable!

Thank you so much!!