The 10 Best 6tb Hard Drive Of 2024, Tested By Our Experts

Nicolas Ward By, Nicolas Ward
Updated
Best 6tb Hard Drive
Best 6tb Hard Drive

The Rundown

1. Best Of The Best: Seagate Expansion Hard Drive HDD STKP6000400

This HDD is a portable hard drive that offers continuous storage of your digital files. This Seagate hard drive will automatically recognize Windows and Mac computers for simple setup. It has a fast transfer speed and easy to use design that makes it perfect for your next project. Read Review

2. Best Bang For The Buck: Western Digital WD60EZAZ 6TB Hard Drive

With a large capacity of 6TB, this hard drive never touches the disc media, ensuring significantly less wear on the recorder and media and better drive protection in shipping process. With low power consumption and a continuous recording feature, this hard drive is designed for 24/7 use without concern for power or convenience. Read Review

3. Best Quality: WD_BLACK 6TB WD6004FZWX Hard Drive HDD

With storage capacity of up to 6 TB, this hard drive is ideal for gamers with large game libraries, system builders or creative professionals. Western Digital's StableTrac and Dynamic Cache Technology increase reliability and optimize performance rates for a more consistent gaming experience. Read Review

4. Best Efficient: Toshiba X300 PRO 6TB HDWR460XZSTB Hard Drive

Toshiba X300 PRO 6TB HDWR460XZSTB Hard Drive is designed for professional desktops. Featuring up to 7200 RPM and large cache sizes, High Performance with up to 300 TB/year workload rates and up to MTTF 1.0 million hours. Find the perfect balance of speed and reliability with this high performance drive. Read Review

5. Best Easy To Use: SanDisk Professional 6TB Hard Drive

The SanDisk Professional 6TB Hard Drive is an ultra-fast USB-C drive for fast backup with up to 250MB/s read and 250MB/s write. With our powerful, enterprise-grade Ultrastar 7200RPM drive inside, the SanDisk Professional 6TB Hard Drive offers high capacity and durability. The Anodized aluminum housing offers durability as well. Read Review

When it comes to storing digital files, you have many options. You can use a desktop computer to store your photos and videos, a home server for your media, or an external hard drive for backup purposes. Nowadays, most people have their photos on smartphones as well.

That’s why storage solutions that are affordable yet large enough to hold our photos and videos are becoming more and more important. With the growing number of photos we take every day, it is important to have a large enough storage solution from the get-go. However, buying the biggest and best 6tb hard drive available will not only give you more space but also help you keep your photography skills sharp going forward as well.

After nearly 18 hours of research, we were able to come up with many top products from prominent brands. Among them, We think the best 6tb hard drive is Seagate Expansion Hard Drive HDD STKP6000400. This is a hard drive with a large capacity, easy to set up, and a reliable information store. Alternatively, if you're simply looking for another option, you may go with Western Digital WD60EZAZ 6TB Hard Drive.

Our article today focuses mainly on giving you guidelines and tips to be able to buy the right product that best suits your needs. Explore with us right here.

Our Top Picks

TOP Choice #1 Seagate Expansion Hard Drive HDD STKP6000400
Our Score:
9.8
Seagate

Easy-to-use desktop hard drive — simply plug in the power adapter and USB cable

Fast file transfers with USB 3.0

Automatic recognition of Windows and Mac computers for simple setup (reformatting required for use with Time Machine)

Enjoy peace of mind with the included limited warranty and Rescue Data Recovery Services

Drag-and-drop file saving right out of the box

TOP Choice #2 Western Digital WD60EZAZ 6TB Hard Drive
Our Score:
9.7
Western Digital

Reliable everyday computing

Free Acronis True Image WD Edition cloning software

Massive capacities up to 6 TB available

WD quality and reliability

TOP Choice #3 WD_BLACK 6TB WD6004FZWX  Hard Drive HDD
Our Score:
9.5
WD_BLACK

Desktop performance gaming hard drive

Western Digital’s StableTrac and Dynamic Cache Technology increase reliability and optimize performance

An industry-leading 5-year limited warranty | See official Western Digital website for warranty details.

Designed for gamers, system builders, and creative professionals.

Performance storage available in up to 10TB capacities | As used for storage capacity, 1TB = one trillion bytes. Actual user capacity may be less depending on operating environment.

Toshiba's cache technology to deliver high-level performance in real time

Ramp loading technology & built-in shock sensors to help protect your content.

High reliability with workload rate of up to 300 TB/year and MTTF up to 1.0 million hours.

High Performance with 7200 RPM and large cache size

Designed for professional desktop workstations and high performance PC

5 SanDisk Professional 6TB Hard Drive
Our Score:
9.3
SanDisk Professional

Mac Ready, Apple Time Machine compatible; easily reformatted for Windows

High-capacity, enterprise-class Ultrastar 7200RPM drive inside

Three modes of brightness to adjust the LED lights

Stackable, anodized aluminum enclosure offers premium durability

USB-C (10Gbps) drive for fast backup with up to 250MB/s read and 250MB/s write (1 MB/s = 1 million bytes per second. Based on internal testing; performance may vary depending upon host device, usage conditions, drive capacity, and other factors.)

Build a powerhouse gaming computer or desktop setup with a variety of capacities and form factors

Store more, compute faster, and do it confidently with the proven reliability of BarraCuda internal hard drives

Confidently rely on internal hard drive technology backed by 20 years of innovation

The go-to SATA hard drive solution for nearly every PC application—from music to video to photo editing to PC gaming

Enjoy long-term peace of mind with the included two-year limited warranty

High-capacity add-on storage

WD quality inside and out

Plug-and-play ready for Windows PCs

Fast data transfers

8 Seagate SkyHawk ST6000VX001 Hard Drive
Our Score:
8.8
Seagate

Maximum 180TB/year workload rating—3× the workload rating of desktop drives—for reliable performance in write-intensive surveillance systems

Up to 10TB of capacity to store up to 10,000 hours of HD video

Rotational vibration (RV) sensors help maintain performance in RAID and multi-drive systems (4TB or higher)

Custom-built for surveillance applications with Image Perfect firmware for crisp, clear, 24×7 video workloads

9 Western Digital WD62PURZ 6TB Hard Drive
Our Score:
8.6
Western Digital

Tuned for write-intensive, low bit-rate, high stream-count workloads typical to most surveillance applications.

AllFrame AI technology delivers additional enhancements and higher workload rate for AI-enabled recorders, systems and solutions

Support for more than eight bays.

Engineered specifically for surveillance security systems.

Supports up to 180 TB/yr workload rate** (Up to 360 TB/yr workload rate on drives that support AllFrame AI technology).

10 Toshiba N300 PRO 6TB Hard Drive
Our Score:
8.4
Toshiba

Designed for 24/7 operation

Optimized for RAID environments with integrated RV sensors to mitigate rotational vibrations

Built for medium or large business NAS with up to 24 bays

High performance 7200 RPM drive with large cache size

High reliability with workload rate of up to 300 TB/year and MTTF up to 1.2 million hours.

Product Images, Product Titles, Product Highlights from Amazon Product Advertising API

What to Look For in a best 6tb hard drive?

Size Of The Disk

I understand that you are buying the hard disk in order to eliminate the need to delete some files when you install a new game or add modifications. Also, at a time when a single game can take up to 100GB, Call of Duty WWII is 90GB; it only makes sense that you select the hard disk that will allow you sufficient storage space.

Reliability

All hard drives eventually die, and there’s no definitive answer on when that day will come. We recommend replacing your backup drives between the third and sixth years of use, if possible. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to get metrics on which hard drive models are more reliable over the long run, and even so, there will always be outliers and failures that occur sooner than expected.

External Vs. Internal HDD

The main advantage of external hard disks is their portability. Which also makes them perfect backups in case your PC is compromised. Desktop PCs allow you room to add extra hard disks, but if you are using a laptop or other gaming device, you will have to replace your existing hard drive.

Speed

HDDs, or hard drives, contain spinning disks that read and write your data. The faster these disks spin—rated in rotations per minute (RPM)—the faster the drive can access data and transfer it to your computer.

Cache Memory

This is a cache that functions much like Computer RAM Memory. It stores important files temporarily so that it takes less time to access them on the disk. The larger the cache size, the faster the hard disk will be. However, the difference is not major, and as such, this should not be the biggest determiner.

Performance

Transfer speed is the feature that most people notice on a daily basis. We evaluated each drive with tests that replicated different real-world uses, and we focused on the drives that consistently outperformed the other contenders. Drives that did well on some tests but failed others were unreliable and not worth purchasing.

Rotation Speed

Did you know that hard drives store information on spinning magnetic plates? The faster these plates spin, the faster the load and access time. The rotation is measured in RPM (Rotations per Minute), and although we recommend hard disks with 7200RPM, 5400RPM is still a good option.

FAQs

What Is The Reason Why My Data Transfer May Sometimes Stop Mid-process?

If you are using a USB 3.0 external hard drive, it may require more current than a similar USB 2.0 device. So it is possible that the USB 2.0 connection will not deliver the required amount of power. If this happens, use both connectors on the Y cable to connect the drive to two USB 2.0 ports, in order to ensure adequate power for the USB 3.0 device.

Is It Better To Install Games On A Separate Hard Drive?

Every PC or Laptop setup comes with an inbuilt storage option. However, it is limited. Obviously, storing games and software on the same drive would impact the performance of your PC. You might experience some lag time while playing online games. Instead, an external HDD or a second hard disc is a better solution. It has the ability to save data from memory storage.

Is A Hard Drive Good For Gaming?

Hard drives are relatively good for gaming. Multiple storage devices help to expand the memory. However, there are some hard drive models that have enough capacity to store games. Today, most modern games can consume a lot of space. As a result, it will become difficult to keep it in some regular hard drive models.

Do I Need 2 HDD For Gaming?

The main purpose of the hard drive is to improve the storage space in your computer or any other device. Normally, a single hard drive should be enough. You can add an external hard drive for your game storage if you want to make it portable in nature. However, it is important to have adequate space for your needs. Many people consider having an external hard drive with an internal hard drive which makes it 2 drives for storage. It can be a good option.

Black Screen And Can't Boot. Is This The Hard Drive?

It is very likely that the hard drive or motherboard is going bad or is dead. If you can access your drive from another computer (slaving) and retrieve your data, now would be a good time, however, if this isn't possible and the drive is dead, you will need to have your data recovered professionally. Please see Drive Saver's information on the home page for more information.

What Hard Drive Should I Get For Gaming?

When choosing the right hardware for your gaming, it is important to take into account your requirements and the type of games you wish to play. It is also important to consider the console you are using. You need to be selective about picking out the right tool for your needs.

How Often Should I Backup?

Backup your data all the time. realistically, it depends on your workload or the sensitivity of data. If your data is general data like pictures, mp3's, documents, etc., but you only add to them occasionally, backing up at least once a month would be a good starting point. If you are daily adding to your library of files, doing a daily backup is necessary.


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About Nicolas Ward

Nicolas Ward

Nicolas Ward is an elite author with many years of experience in the music field and the owner of many engaging articles at TheAudioInsights. He studies music production and has many years of passionate research into sound systems. Appearing in many popular newspapers, Nicolas Ward provides useful knowledge and the latest information on music and sound.