The Best Budget Hard Drive For 2024
The Rundown
1. Best Overall: Seagate 2TB Internal Hard Drive HDD ST2000DM008/ST2000DMZ08
Store more, compute faster, and do it confidently with the proven reliability of BarraCuda internal hard drives. Our line-up of 2TB and 3TB capacities is perfect for building a powerhouse gaming computer or desktop setup. Read Review
2. Best For The Price: Western Digital 4TB Internal Hard Drive HDD WD40EZAZ
Western Digital reliability and quality,Massive capacity up to 6TB,Never worry about storage space again. Western Digital's 4TB Internal Hard Drive offers reliable everyday computing, a true WD quality and reliability, free Acronis True Image WD Edition cloning software and massive capacity up to 6TB. Read Review
3. Best Quality: WD_BLACK 5TB External Hard Drive HDD WDBA3A0050BBK-WESN
External Hard Drives give you the freedom to store your files wherever you want. With up to 5TB of space, this WD BLACK file storage solution is perfect for gamers, photographers and anyone who needs space for big files. Read Review
4. Best Easy To Install: Seagate IronWolf 4TB NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD ST4000VNZ06
Seagate IronWolf 4TB NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD ST4000VNZ06 - NAS-optimized hard drive providing ultra-high capacity up to 16TB and cache of up to 256MB. With a built-in health management system, you can monitor the health status of your drives for long-term reliability. Read Review
5. Best Storage Capacity: WD_BLACK 6TB Gaming Internal Hard Drive HDD WD6004FZWX
The WD Black 6TB HDD is the gaming storage drive that provides high performance storage available in up to 10TB capacities. Designed for gamers, system builders, and creative professionals, this 7200 RPM hard drive offers a massive amount of storage and speed for your computing needs. Read Review
Hard drive are a commodity. As such, hard drive prices have come down to earth in the past few years. You can find great deals on hard drives right now if you know where to look.
Even if you don’t plan on upgrading your computer frequently, it’s still important to get the best hard drive you can afford at each point in time. The value of your computer depends on how well it runs and that starts with the operating system and programs installed. The following guide highlights some of the best affordable internal solid state drives as well as external ones available today that you should consider adding to your computer to raise its performance.
We think the best budget hard drive of 2024 is Seagate 2TB Internal Hard Drive HDD ST2000DM008/ST2000DMZ08. However, in order to provide the reader with a wider variety of alternatives, we recommend adding Western Digital 4TB Internal Hard Drive HDD WD40EZAZ if you are interested in purchasing another appealing one.
Here are the buying guides that we specially made for you guys. Follow all the words below for successful shopping!
RELATED: Want to know the best hard drive for your computer? In this article, we'll cover what you need to know about the best 7200 rpm hard drives for -the year.
Our Top Picks
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
Note: Graphics May Vary and Size (3.5") refer to the size of the data platters not the size of the hard drive mechanism
Store more, compute faster, and do it confidently with the proven reliability of BarraCuda internal hard drives
Build a powerhouse gaming computer or desktop setup with a variety of capacities and form factors
Reliable everyday computing
Western Digital quality and reliability
Massive capacity up to 6TB
Free Acronis True Image WD Edition cloning software
Compatible with Xbox Series X/S (play and store Xbox One games, archive Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S games) and PlayStation 5 (play and store PS4 games, archive PS5 games) consoles
Portable form factor with sleek metal top covering that provides fast access to your growing game library
Premium HDD with 3-year limited warranty, purpose-built for gamers based on WD_BLACK quality and reliability
Comes with an 18-inch (457mm) USB Type-A to Micro-B cable with SuperSpeed interface up to 5Gbps (Cable length may vary.)
Available in capacities up to 5TB that can hold up to 125 games, so that you can save old favorites and still have room for new titles (As used for storage capacity, one terabyte (TB) = one trillion bytes. Total accessible capacity varies depending on operating environment. Number of games based on a 36GB average per game. The number of games will vary based on file size, formatting, other programs, and factors.)
Store more and work faster with a NAS-optimized hard drive providing ultra-high capacity up to 16TB and cache of up to 256MB
Purpose built for NAS enclosures, IronWolf delivers less wear and tear, little to no noise/vibration, no lags or down time, increased file-sharing performance, and much more
IronWolf internal hard drives are the ideal solution for up to 8-bay, multi-user NAS environments craving powerhouse performance
Easily monitor the health of drives using the integrated IronWolf Health Management system and enjoy long-term reliability with 1M hours MTBF
Three-year limited warranty protection plan included and three year Rescue Data Recovery Services included
Desktop performance gaming hard drive
Designed for gamers, system builders, and creative professionals.
An industry-leading 5-year limited warranty | See official Western Digital website for warranty details.
Western Digital’s StableTrac and Dynamic Cache Technology increase reliability and optimize performance
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.
Supports up to 180 TB/yr workload rate | Workload Rate is defined as the amount of user data transferred to or from the hard drive. Workload Rate is annualized (TB transferred ✕ (8760 / recorded power-on hours)). Workload Rate will vary depending on your hardware and software components and configurations.
NASware firmware for compatibility
3-year limited warranty | See official Western Digital website for regional specific warranty details.
Small or medium business NAS systems in a 24x7 environment
Available in capacities ranging from 1-14TB with support for up to 8 bays | As used for storage capacity, 1GB = 1 billion bytes and 1TB = 1 trillion bytes. Actual user capacity may be less depending on operating environment.
Supports up to 180 TB/yr workload rate Workload Rate is defined as the amount of user data transferred to or from the hard drive. Workload Rate is annualized (TB transferred ✕ (8760 / recorded power-on hours)). Workload Rate will vary depending on your hardware and software components and configurations.
Small or medium business NAS systems in a 24x7 environment
Available in capacities ranging from 1-14TB with support for up to 8 bays
NASware firmware for compatibility
HIGH CAPACITY: Support data analytics capabilities and other dense architectures for highest rack-space efficiency
COST EFFECTIVE: Optimize TCO with the lowest cost per terabyte
RELIABLE: Enjoy extended reliability with 2.5M-hour MTBF and 5-year limited warranty
SCALABLE: Run big data applications to meet hyperscale demands
EFFICIENT: Get consistent performance with low latency and repeatable response times with enhanced caching
Purpose-built for gamers based on WD_Black quality and reliability.
Extra storage to capture and collect your best in-screen game captures.
Speed up to 250 MB/s rated at 7200RPM with active cooling technology to help you stay in the game.
Features two 7.5W USB Type-A charging ports to charge your gaming gear and accessories.
Designed for gaming PC and high-end desktop workstations
Ramp loading technology and shock sensor for reliability
High Performance with 7200 RPM and large cache size
Toshiba's cache technology to deliver high-level performance in real time
Massive capacity to accommodate large gaming libraries
What to Look For in a best budget hard drive?
You may think purchasing seems simple, and it sometimes does the opposite! Studying the outcome of best budget hard drive will take a considerable amount of time. Also, there are multiple sides of best budget hard drive you need to check. That’s the reason why we’re all ready to assist you with best budget hard drive issue.
You should pay more attention to the following criteria of best budget hard drive in 2024:
Size Of The Disk
Rotation Speed
Performance
Cache Memory
External Vs. Internal HDD
Speed
Reliability
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 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.
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.
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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