Seagate's 10TB HDDs

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boost
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Re: Seagate's 10TB HDDs

Post by boost » Mon Jun 04, 2018 6:23 am

Could you please give the model number of the 8TB WD Read drive you use. There are two different models currently listed for sale: WD80EFAX and WD80EFZX. Thanks in advance.

Abula
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Re: Seagate's 10TB HDDs

Post by Abula » Mon Jun 04, 2018 7:29 am

boost wrote:Could you please give the model number of the 8TB WD Read drive you use. There are two different models currently listed for sale: WD80EFAX and WD80EFZX. Thanks in advance.
Im also interested on the model to keep an eye when they go on sale to get some.

sneaker
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Re: Seagate's 10TB HDDs

Post by sneaker » Mon Jun 04, 2018 4:04 pm

Have owned six WD80EFRX (though only two were in my system - the others are in My Book Duos). Sold one in the process of upgrading to the 10-12TB drives, which I regret as my main rig will be returning to a three HDD configuration at some point - consisting of WD80EFRX.

My original comments on that model still apply, but I recall seeing mixed opinions. As I mentioned previously, I have a relatively forgiving setup (Fractal Mini on a carpeted floor about 1.5 metres from my sitting position). I can't say whether someone with more demanding requirements would be happy with the 8TB Red - just that if they weren't, they'd be even less happy with the 10-12TB models I tested.

Hadn't heard of the WD80EFAX, but from pictures, it looks like it might be more related to the WD100EFAX (i.e. the 10TB Red I wrote about having maddening 'background maintenance' noises). I won't be taking a risk on those and will leave it to a quiet PC enthusiast who owns one to comment.

Just hoping the WD80EFRX hasn't been messed with and that the current ones behave the same as my 2016-2017 units.

DaveD
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Re: Seagate's 10TB HDDs

Post by DaveD » Wed Jun 20, 2018 12:47 pm

sneaker wrote:Have owned six WD80EFRX (though only two were in my system - the others are in My Book Duos). Sold one in the process of upgrading to the 10-12TB drives, which I regret as my main rig will be returning to a three HDD configuration at some point - consisting of WD80EFRX.

My original comments on that model still apply, but I recall seeing mixed opinions. As I mentioned previously, I have a relatively forgiving setup (Fractal Mini on a carpeted floor about 1.5 metres from my sitting position). I can't say whether someone with more demanding requirements would be happy with the 8TB Red - just that if they weren't, they'd be even less happy with the 10-12TB models I tested.

Hadn't heard of the WD80EFAX, but from pictures, it looks like it might be more related to the WD100EFAX (i.e. the 10TB Red I wrote about having maddening 'background maintenance' noises). I won't be taking a risk on those and will leave it to a quiet PC enthusiast who owns one to comment.

Just hoping the WD80EFRX hasn't been messed with and that the current ones behave the same as my 2016-2017 units.

This is why we need SPCR to reactivate. So much has changed over the years (especially fans and PSUs), and HDDs are still relevant today as the vast majority of people can't even come close to affording SSDs anywhere close to the capacities of the HDDs that a lot of people need.

Maybe there are qualified people still on here who wouldn't mind taking on some product testing in their spare time. I sure would like to see a review of the new Noctua NF-A12x25 from a silent PC aspect.

Are there ANY other tech sites out there that do PC component testing with silence being the number one objective?

Cams
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Re: Seagate's 10TB HDDs

Post by Cams » Sun Aug 05, 2018 2:34 am

DaveD wrote:This is why we need SPCR to reactivate. So much has changed over the years (especially fans and PSUs), and HDDs are still relevant today as the vast majority of people can't even come close to affording SSDs anywhere close to the capacities of the HDDs that a lot of people need.

Maybe there are qualified people still on here who wouldn't mind taking on some product testing in their spare time. I sure would like to see a review of the new Noctua NF-A12x25 from a silent PC aspect.

Are there ANY other tech sites out there that do PC component testing with silence being the number one objective?
Totally agree. I didn't know it wasn't active any longer, but it's still as relevant as ever. Imagine the cost of an 8TB SSD? Yikes!

I'm reviewing noise differentials for 8TB drives and am looking at the WD after a lot of research. I can't find info on WD80EFAX vs WD80EFZX in terms of noise, other than a weird comparison site at span.com that says the EFZX is more quiet at idle (2db vs 2.7db). Ironically I'm having to buy this drive in order to copy data from my Drobo 5n which has had two failed WD 2TB Red drives, one of which causes such bad vibrations that my son couldn't sleep -- it was in the attic right above his room.

So, although I've had bad luck so far with WD Reds AND the EFZX is 128MB cache vs the 256MB cache of the EFAX, I'm gonna trust this comparison site's data and get the EFZX as I have no other data about the noise and the drive is going into my living room PC to copy data from the Drobo so I can reset the dang thing!

Luke M
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Re: Seagate's 10TB HDDs

Post by Luke M » Sun Oct 21, 2018 7:06 am

This thread should be moved to the hard drive forum; not many people will find it here. Anyway...

Some info that may be useful: the latest 8TB WD Reds (WD80EFAX) are air drives, not helium. This means higher motor noise (also higher power consumption than the 10TB WD100EFAX). But the seek noise is loud on the helium 8TB and probably similar on the air version, so the difference in motor noise may be a lesser concern.

Luke M
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Re: Seagate's 10TB HDDs

Post by Luke M » Thu Jan 24, 2019 9:32 am

sneaker wrote: Hadn't heard of the WD80EFAX, but from pictures, it looks like it might be more related to the WD100EFAX (i.e. the 10TB Red I wrote about having maddening 'background maintenance' noises). I won't be taking a risk on those and will leave it to a quiet PC enthusiast who owns one to comment.
I have a WD80EFAX (helium version, taken from external) and a WD100EMAZ (also from external), and the noise profile is the same: quiet motor noise, loud seeks, and autonomous background operations (e.g. "thump" every 5 seconds).

sneaker
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Re: Seagate's 10TB HDDs

Post by sneaker » Fri May 01, 2020 8:47 pm

I'm back two years later with comments on another high-capacity drive. Picked up a pair of 16TB Seagate Skyhawk AI (ST16000VE000) for backup purposes, but being the sucker for punishment that I am, I again decided to try one in my desktop as another potential replacement for my 8TB Reds.

Will be brief with my subjective conclusions:

Vibration: Excellent
Motor noise: Good
Seek noise: Bad (my comments for the 12TB IronWolf apply here)

One question mark is whether there will be noise from drive-managed background maintenance (or as the manual puts it, "during periods of drive idle, some offline activity may occur according to the S.M.A.R.T. specification, which may increase acoustic and power to operational levels"). Won't know for sure until I've observed for longer, but it wasn't a significant issue with the previous Seagates - just the 10TB WD Red.

So far, it seems this drive is basically a repeat of the 12TB IronWolf, where seek noise was the main issue, making the disappearance of AAM from the market quite frustrating.

Again, this is very subjective info, but there's basically nothing out there on noise for this drive as was the case with the previous ones, so hopefully this post is of some value.

kalicrys
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Re: Seagate's 10TB HDDs

Post by kalicrys » Wed Jan 06, 2021 7:25 pm

sneaker wrote:
Fri May 01, 2020 8:47 pm
One question mark is whether there will be noise from drive-managed background maintenance (or as the manual puts it, "during periods of drive idle, some offline activity may occur according to the S.M.A.R.T. specification, which may increase acoustic and power to operational levels"). Won't know for sure until I've observed for longer, but it wasn't a significant issue with the previous Seagates - just the 10TB WD Red.
Just as a data point for anybody who might be dealing with the regular knocking noise at idle:
I recently got an Ironwolf Pro 10tb, it suffers from the same issue--but only at elevated temperatures (above 48C). Actually it still seems to be doing the same thing at lower temperatures (I can still hear it by putting my ear right up to the drive) but it becomes barely audible at around 40C.

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