WD Blue vs Seagate Barracuda 2TB HDD full comparison

Summary

In this video, Eloy from Knowledge Sharing Tech compares two popular 2TB mechanical hard drives: the Western Digital Blue and Seagate Barracuda. He tests their read and write speeds across various file types and sizes, including large files, photos/videos, and small files. While both drives perform well, the Western Digital Blue generally outperforms the Seagate in write operations, especially with small files. However, the Seagate is faster in reading small files and photos/videos. Eloy concludes that if prices are similar, the Western Digital Blue is the better choice, but price differences may sway your decision.

Takeaways

• 😀 The video compares two popular 2TB mechanical hard drives: Western Digital Blue and Seagate Barracuda.
• 😀 Both drives are SMR technology, 7200 RPM, and 3.5-inch size.
• 😀 The tests include read and write operations on large files, photos and videos, and small files.
• 😀 The test setup uses an SSD to avoid bottlenecking the hard drives' performance.
• 😀 The Western Digital Blue is slightly faster in reading large files compared to Seagate Barracuda by 4%.
• 😀 In reading photos and videos, Seagate Barracuda outperforms Western Digital Blue by 17%.
• 😀 Reading small files is more challenging for mechanical hard drives, and Seagate Barracuda wins by a small margin.
• 😀 Western Digital Blue is faster in writing large files, beating Seagate Barracuda by 16%.
• 😀 Western Digital Blue is much faster in writing photos, videos, and small files, with a lead of up to 31%.
• 😀 CrystalDiskMark tests confirm that Western Digital Blue excels in writing random 4K files, while both drives are almost equal in 4K read performance.
• 😀 If the price of both drives is similar, the Western Digital Blue is recommended for its faster write performance.

Q & A

What are the two hard drives compared in this video?

The two hard drives compared in this video are the Western Digital Blue 2TB and the Seagate Barracuda 2TB, both with 7200 RPM and SMR technology.

What is the purpose of the tests performed in this review?

The tests aim to compare the read and write performance of the Western Digital Blue and Seagate Barracuda in real-world conditions, including large files, photos and videos, and small files.

What is the first test performed in the review?

The first test is a read test using a large file, where both hard drives are tested by reading from them and writing to an SSD.

Which hard drive performed better in the large file read test?

The Western Digital Blue outperformed the Seagate Barracuda by 4% in the large file read test.

How did the Seagate Barracuda perform in the photos and videos read test?

The Seagate Barracuda was 17% faster than the Western Digital Blue in the photos and videos read test.

What makes reading small files challenging for hard drives?

Reading small files is challenging for hard drives because mechanical drives tend to become fragmented over time, which slows down the read speed, especially with many small files.

Which hard drive performed better in the small files read test?

The Seagate Barracuda was slightly faster than the Western Digital Blue in the small files read test, though the difference was minimal.

Which hard drive had better performance in writing large files?

The Western Digital Blue was 16% faster than the Seagate Barracuda in writing large files.

Which hard drive excelled in writing photos and videos?

The Western Digital Blue was 29% faster than the Seagate Barracuda in writing photos and videos, which are a mix of large, medium, and small files.

What was the performance difference in writing small files?

The Western Digital Blue was 31% faster than the Seagate Barracuda in writing small files, a significant difference.

What does the Crystal Disk Mark test reveal about these two hard drives?

The Crystal Disk Mark test confirmed that the Western Digital Blue is faster in writing operations, particularly in random 4K writes, while the Seagate Barracuda was slightly better in certain real-life read operations, such as small files and photos/videos.

Based on the comparison, which hard drive does Eloy recommend purchasing?

Eloy recommends purchasing the Western Digital Blue if the prices of both drives are similar, due to its superior write performance, particularly for small files. However, if the Seagate Barracuda is cheaper, it could still be a good option.