Toshiba X300 4TB vs HGST Deskstar 4TB

[HoaxXx]

Trying to decide between a HGST Deskstar and the Toshiba X300 4 TB drive.
This will be a secondary drive (OS is on SSD), used for games and media/data storage.

■ Toshiba X300 Performance 3.5 Pro 4TB 7200RPM 128MB, warranty: 2yr base / 5yr extended (at +16% price)
■ Hitachi HGST 4TB H3IK40003272SE (0S03356) 7200RPM 64MB, warranty: 3yr base / 5yr extended (at +12% price)
■ HGST Internal Drive Kit 4TB 3,5"" 7200rpm (0S03665) 7200RPM 64MB, warranty: 3yr base / 5yr extended (at +12% price)

• 
  ■ Not sure if 64MB cache vs 128MB cache makes any real world difference.
  ■ In general the HGSTs are praised for reliability, but I'm not sure how these particular models fare. The Toshiba (which most probably is a Hitachi design all the same) comes highly recommended to me, and looks like their top consumer model.
  ■ HGST are stated as NAS drives, but I assume that makes no difference here.
  ■ The second HGST has a higher product number, other than that I have no idea how the two differ.
  ■ Not quite sure if extended warranty makes much sense, can't find info whether the manufacturers allow RMA based on bad sectors or not.
  ■ Price: of those three the Toshiba is the least expensive, the second HGST (0S03665) the most.
  Price difference between those is +/-15-20% without extended warranty (2 vs 3yrs) and +/-12% at 5 yrs both), the other HGST (0S03356) sits somewhere in between.
  ■ There are lots of other HGST models, but those two are in my price range.

Any suggestions highly appreciated.
Thanks!

Edit: Thinking about a WD Black 4TB as well (have access to a sale where it would be actually less expensive than the above ones, 5 yr warranty from the actual manufacturer rather than the seller), but am kind of afraid it might be too noisy (many comments make it out to be extremely loud(?)), but frankly don't know how it even compares to the other ones in that regard (I have a 1TB Samsung HD103SJ, also 7200RPM, and it is inaudible to me).

 

[HoaxXx]

I went with the WD Black 4TB. Hope it won't be too noisy...

Judging by a tom's benchmark, 7200RPM HGSTs seem to be even noisier in idle (considerably) and similar during seek. Comparing data sheets the Toshiba has very identical db levels in idle as the WD Black.

 

[Phas3Zer0]

I've had issues with both Toshiba and WD (Toshiba actually gave me a $160 gift card for a 2tb drive I originally purchased for $90 though) WD passports are terrible btw. HGST has been reliable for me so far and is definitely a good choice if you ever decide to go that route as statistics show them having the least amount of failures across the board of hard drive manufactures. Let me know how the WD Black goes for you.

I recently picked up a Toshiba P300 2TB to replace my old drive and it's been great. 200-220MB/s read and 150-180 write. Also cheap. Now that I think about it that says 3TB, but I'm pretty sure mine shows 2TB... Guess I will check that when I get off work. (Looks like you can't get the 2TB version anymore?)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822149632

 

[HoaxXx]

For me the main deciding factor was warranty.
I'd get 5yr with any of those, but with WD Black it's manufacturer warranty for the whole period, whereas the others would be partly covered by an up-sold seller warranty. In my experience the manufacturer is usually more pro consumer than online shops, which might refuse to replace a disk on first sign of bad sectors.

 

[HoaxXx]

Let me know how the WD Black goes for you.

Will do.

HGST has been reliable for me so far and is definitely a good choice if you ever decide to go that route as statistics show them having the least amount of failures across the board of hard drive manufactures.

Can you comment on the idle and seek noise levels of the HGST (and vibrations)?

I recently picked up a Toshiba P300 2TB to replace my old drive and it's been great. 200-220MB/s read and 150-180 write. Also cheap.

Seems a bit high. More likely max speeds in a benchmark (burst speed) than average or real world results?

Now that I think about it that says 3TB, but I'm pretty sure mine shows 2TB... Guess I will check that when I get off work. (Looks like you can't get the 2TB version anymore?)

"P300" is just the series designation and comes apparently in 500GB (HDWD105EZSTA), 1TB (HDWD110EZSTA), 2TB (HDWD120EZSTA) and 3TB (HDWD130EZSTA) versions. All are available where I live.

I guess the P300 is very similar to the X300, just smaller capacity models maybe - both are labeled Performance and the X300 have very similar model numbers: e.g. HDWE140EZSTA for the 4TB one (doesn't neccessarily mean much of course).

All the different series are rather confusing.

 

[HoaxXx]

First minutes with the WD Black I have to say, it IS a loud beast. The spinning alone sounds more like a DVD drive than any hdd I ever had.

I've been warned, but hell, it is loud.

 

[Phas3Zer0]

Been awhile since I've been on. I'll have to post some benchmarks later on and it is the 2TB model. It is quiet for the most part with the occasional clicking but it's not loud in any manner. The HGST drives I've had I guess it really just depends on the model some are louder than others. I just know they are reliable drives.

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/02/hgst-hard-disks-still-super-reliable-seagates-have-greatly-improved/