The original post: /r/datahoarder by /u/Spinelli__ on 2025-03-13 05:30:17.
I’m thinking of replacing my WD Ultrastar HC520 (SATA) 12 GB HDDs with Seagate Exos 2x14 Mach.2 (SATA) 14 GB HDDs. I thought the Seagate would be around at least as fast, if not a touch faster - and it is in sequential r/W - but in random 4K QD1 T1 tests, according to a video review of the Seagate 2x18 (even slightly faster than the 2x14), my WD seems to completely & utterly obliterate the Seagate to the point that I’m skeptical of the results and rubbing my eyes in disbelief.
I’ve included a picture of the tests but here’s a breakdown.
My WD is performing around 3.5x - 4.0x faster in 4K random reads and around 1.6x - 1.7x faster in 4K random writes.
For a HDD to be around 3.5 - 4.0x faster in something than another HDD, that’s like 20 years or so of progress, isn’t it? Normally drives are like 20% faster here, 5% slower there, etc., not 250-300 % faster than another competitor’s drive.
Is the WD Ultrastar really 3.5x - 4.0x faster in 4k random reads and 1.6x - 1.7x faster in random writes? This seems unbelievable to me. Even “unbelievable” is an understatement. There’s just no way.
System:
- Motherboard: Asus Z790-A Strix D4
- CPU: Intel i9-14900KS
- GPU: Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti
- RAM: G.Skill 2x 16 GB Samsung B-die dual-rank 4200 MHz, 16-16-16-32, fully tuned (secondary, tertiary, etc. timings)
- OS: Windows 10
P.S. I have my WD drives connected via USB 3.2 via a very cheap USB 3.2 HDD enclosure.
