External Hard Drive Enclosure

[Enquiries]

i plan on buying a DAS for home use data center just all my files , mostly videos which after the intial write i will be constantly watching them so continuous usage not just one write then its left alone (trying to show that i will be constantly using the devic as it will be powered on as long as the pc is powered on) so my Q is which Seagate 3.5 hdd is best for my usage the ironwolf, the barracoda or the barracoda pro?? i need to know which one fits this typr of usage best so i can buy it.

[TribalHound]

For a basic DAS requirement then the BarraCuda comes in a choice of 2.5 or 3.5 physical size (so you could go for a compact size DAS and a set of smaller discs). The smaller ones are a little slower, but more than capable of handling what you demand of them. Available up to 5TB per disc at 5400rpm, in slim or standard, and dual speeds choice of 5400 or 7200 rpm for the 1TB capacity and lower.

The DAS recommended 3.5 would be the BarraCuda 3.5" drive - Available in faster 7200 rpm up to 2TB and beyond that to 8TB in 5400 speed. The 3.5" gains around 30% faster r/w speeds than it's little brother, so unless you really need the smaller form factor this is your daily driver choice for DAS & where I'd pitch a 'sensible / moderate user'

Going for the IronWolf - you benefit from only 10% faster r/w speeds, but get a 3rd year of warranty. Capacities up to 12TB and a yearly workload of 180TB per year (or 0.5TB per day). You'll get additional cost with this too and those bigger drives, well they're going to get quite noisy with multiple ones stacked up and under constant strain. This is the choice if you're always accessing large files or if the 8TB of the BarraCuda just doesn't meet your expectations. Suitable for re-use in a NAS later on if you decide you want to up your DAS to be a remotely accessible personal cloud that's also your data warehouse. I'd recommend these for you if you're really going to keep hammering those videos - but that's a question only you can answer.

The IronWolf Pro is definitely reserved for big data warehouses / Teams of CAD designers or Video editors as opposed to a single user with a direct cable connection. Capacity is a tad higher at 20TB, but the 'work ethic' allows you to get well over 1.5 TB per disc per day with a guarantee to sustain that for 5 years. Buy these if you really need the 5 year warranty and have money to burn.

If you settle on the IronWolf - go for anything 4TB upwards - they benefit from the vibration sensors, the bigger you go, the more important this becomes.

Hope this helps you make an informed choice.