by 251 reviews.
HGST Ultrastar He8 HUH728080ALE601 8TB Enterprise Hard Drive Review: Is It Worth the Investment?
When it comes to enterprise-grade storage solutions, the HGST Ultrastar He8 HUH728080ALE601 8TB Enterprise Hard Drive stands out as a reliable and high-performance option. Designed for heavy-duty, 24/7 operations, this renewed hard drive is perfect for data centers, servers, NAS systems, RAID setups, and more. With its 8TB capacity, 7200 RPM speed, and 128MB cache, it promises to deliver exceptional performance for demanding environments. But is it worth the investment? Let’s dive into the details based on real customer experiences.
Pros and Cons: What Do Customers Say?
Performance and Speed
The HGST Ultrastar He8 is praised for its impressive performance, especially considering its renewed status. Customers report write speeds exceeding 200 MB/s, with some even reaching 260 MB/s. While it may not match the speed of SSDs, it’s more than sufficient for most enterprise and personal storage needs. One user mentioned, "Write speeds exceed 200 MB/s easily and top out around 260, but it varies. Still plenty fast for a rotating drive."
However, some users noted that the drive is slightly slower compared to newer models or SSDs. For instance, one reviewer said, "This drive works well but is a little slower than my other drives." If you’re looking for lightning-fast speeds, this might not be the best choice, but for bulk storage, it performs admirably.
Reliability and Durability
One of the standout features of the HGST Ultrastar He8 is its enterprise-grade reliability. With a 2.5M-hour MTBF rating and helium-sealed design, this drive is built to last. Many customers have reported using the drive for thousands of hours without issues. One user shared, "Mine has over 20k hours of use on Crystal Disk Utility, but works great and stays plenty cool."
That said, there are some concerns about the refurbished nature of the product. A few customers experienced drive failures within a short period. One reviewer warned, "2 of the 4 drives I bought failed in less than 2 months." While this isn’t the norm, it’s something to consider if you’re planning to use these drives for critical data storage.
Noise and Temperature
The helium-sealed design not only enhances durability but also keeps the drive cool and quiet. Many users have praised its low operating temperatures, with one stating, "My SSD’s run much hotter than this drive. This one stays under 40 degrees C even under load." Another reviewer added, "It’s extremely quiet compared to my old Seagate drive. I hear my case fans more than my HDD."
However, a few customers reported noise issues, with one mentioning, "I hear constant disk 'thrashing' from this drive, and the noise never stops." While this seems to be an isolated issue, it’s worth noting if you’re sensitive to noise.
Value for Money
For the price, the HGST Ultrastar He8 offers excellent value, especially for those needing large storage capacities. One satisfied customer said, "For the money, I would say these are worth buying if you aren’t gaming or trying to set any speed records." Another user highlighted its affordability, stating, "These are refurbished Western Digital drives at a very nicely reduced price!"
However, the refurbished nature of the product does come with some risks. A dissatisfied customer shared, "I don’t trust this used drive to last. Would not buy again." If you’re on a tight budget and willing to take a calculated risk, this drive could be a great deal. But for mission-critical applications, you might want to consider new drives.
Conclusion: Should You Buy the HGST Ultrastar He8 8TB Enterprise Hard Drive?
The HGST Ultrastar He8 HUH728080ALE601 8TB Enterprise Hard Drive is a solid choice for those in need of high-capacity, reliable storage. Its helium-sealed design, low operating temperatures, and quiet performance make it a standout option for enterprise and personal use. However, the refurbished nature of the product does come with some risks, as evidenced by a few reports of early failures.
Final Verdict:
- Pros: High capacity, excellent performance for bulk storage, low noise and temperature, great value for money.
- Cons: Slightly slower than newer models, potential reliability concerns due to refurbished status.
If you’re looking for an affordable, high-capacity drive for non-critical applications like media storage, surveillance systems, or backups, the HGST Ultrastar He8 is a fantastic choice. However, for mission-critical data, you might want to invest in new drives or ensure you have a robust backup strategy in place.
Specification HGST Ultrastar He8 HUH728080ALE601 8TB 7200RPM 128MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5inch Enterprise Mechanical Hard Disk (Renewed):
Comments from Amazon:
I needed more storage and purchased this drive to replace a 3tb drive that I had. This drive works well but is a little slower than my other drives. I haven't experienced the drive being "noisy" as others have reported, at least so far (knock on wood). So far I love having the extra storage, but have quickly been filling it up so I may have to order a couple more. Hopefully, I'll have the same luck with any additional drives as I have had with this one. For the money, I would say these are worth buying if you aren't gaming or trying to set any speed records. I download and stream a lot of TV, Podcasts, and other media, and also have 13 security cameras that save footage to the drive on an intermittent basis, and haven't had any issues while replaying anything from this drive via my network locally or remotely even when streaming to multiple locations at the same time. The only thing I have noticed when streaming anything that is stored on this drive is it takes slightly longer for it to initially load/start than from any of my other drives. I would recommend these to anyone looking for cheap large storage drives for movies, media, security, or anything that they won't necessarily miss if they do fail at some point. Based on what others have said I probably wouldn't store my family photos or important documents on them if I didn't also have another backup somewhere else, but for my use these are perfectly fine and there is no real loss.
Working great in a Raid 1 NAS with a Raspberry Pi!
The drive I got had about 57,000 hours on it (which is about the same amount of life as the other 5 hard drives in my home server). So far it's working great and has reported no issues. It was physically in perfect condition and I expect it to last a long time in my server.
Bad drives ... accountability mess with WD and HGST. DO NOT BUY!! End of December, I bought 4 8TB drives for a NAS, 2 of which failed in less than 2 months. Amazon "renewed" and would NOT replace ( they said the seller had no more replacements ), EVEN THOUGH they said they give 5 years of service, and they should have minimum 60day warranty. W.D. ( who now owns HGST ) is washing their hands of the HGST drives and tried to tell me the serials I had were "not known". I highly advise NOT buying Amazon renewed HGST drives if you don't want to get stuck with them. Save yourself a headache and buy Seagate or some other brand if you expect ANY sort of long-term backing by Amazon or the manufacturer.
For unknown reason, I hear constant disk "thrashing" from this drive, and noise. Never stops. It did accept files and Windows disk check does not indicate errors, but why the constant disk noise and "thrashing"? It never stops. I don't trust this used drive to last. Would not buy again...
I bought a small file server that did not come with any hard drives. After that arrived I started investigating what hard drives to buy. What a challenging process that was. I've always been a fan of Western Digital, so I really wanted to stay with that name. But, due to pricing for the amount of storage I wanted I was considering various options. If I found the right drive it would either be too expensive or out of stock. So, I did some research and discovered that these are refurbished Western Digital drives at a very nicely reduced price! You would think as the computer nerd that I am I would have known that already, but I did not. It still made me a bit nervous to try out refurbished drives for this scenario without having any prior experience with these before. But, I thought I would give it a try. So far, I'm glad that I did! I learned that the capacities larger than this model use an adapter. I could not purchase those because the enclosure I was going to put them in was not designed with that additional adapter in mind. I doubt they would fit, which would have been a real bummer. So, if you're shopping these drives, do keep that in mind. I am unclear on why they are using these adapters on higher capacity refurbished drives. But, these do not have them! They went right in my enclosure with no problem and all four that I purchased have been running fine since I received them approximately a month ago at time of writing. I have a ton of data on them already, but I have it all backed up as well. I want to keep running them a bit longer to see that I can trust them. But, I'd do that with any new drives I installed for long-term storage of important information. In short, I have nothing bad to report. I have 32tb of storage now, and that is what I was hoping for.
If you need storage, don't worry that you are buying used, refurbished, or from data centers. These drives work great, are very reliable, stay relatively quiet too, and are a great value! 5 yr. seller warranty too! How can you say no to this? Mine has over 20k hours of use on crystal disk utility, but works great and stays plenty cool. My ssd's run much hotter than this drive. This one stays under 40 degrees C even under load. {Usually around 32 C}Write speeds exceed 200 mb/s easily and top out around 260, but it varies. Still plenty fast for rotating drive. It's also extremely quiet compared to my old Seagate drive, I hear my case fans more than my hdd and the gpu fan for mining.