DatacenterDisk

HGST Ultrastar vs WD Ultrastar

Side-by-side spec and price comparison. Live data from Amazon US.

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Our Recommendation
👑
HGST Ultrastar He8 8TB SAS 12G

HGST Ultrastar He8 8TB SAS 12G wins on both price ($24.88/TB) and warranty (5 years).

Best $/TB: HGST
Best Warranty: HGST
Best for RAID: WD
Full Specification Comparison
Spec
HGST
Ultrastar He8 8TB SAS 12G
$24.88/TB
WD
Ultrastar 8TB SAS
$55.49/TB
Brand
HGST
WD
Model
Ultrastar He8 8TB SAS 12G
Ultrastar 8TB SAS
Series
Ultrastar He
Ultrastar HC320
Part Number
HUH728080AL5200
—
$/TB
👑$24.88
$55.49
Price
$199.00
$443.94
Condition
Refurb
New
Capacity
8TB
8TB
Interface
SAS-12G
SAS-12G
Form Factor
3.5"
3.5"
Drive Type
HDD
HDD
Recording Tech
CMR
CMR
RPM
7,200
N/A (SSD)
Cache
128MB
—
Sector Size
512e
—
Workload Rating
—
—
DWPD
N/A
N/A
Warranty
5 years
—
Workload Tier
nearline
nearline
In Stock
Check
✓ In Stock
Buy
Buy on Amazon →
Buy on Amazon →
Workload Fit
Workload
HGST
WD
NAS Storage
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Backup Target
●●●
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OLTP Database
●
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Cold Archive
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Virtualization
●
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AI/ML Storage
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Buying Recommendation
Choose HGST Ultrastar He8 8TB SAS 12G if:
  • ✓ You need maximum storage per dollar
  • ✓ You need 5-year warranty coverage for production
  • ✓ You're comfortable with datacenter refurb to maximize savings
Buy HGST →
Choose WD Ultrastar 8TB SAS if:
  • ✓ You're building a RAID array and need guaranteed CMR compatibility
  • ✓ You need new-with-warranty for compliance or budgeting
Buy WD →

Frequently Asked Questions

HGST Ultrastar offers better value at $24.88/TB vs $55.49/TB - a 55% price difference. Factor in warranty length and workload rating when the price gap is small.

Mixing drives of different models in RAID is not recommended even if capacities match. Different firmware, error handling and seek patterns can cause rebuild issues. Use identical drives within the same RAID group for reliable operation.

HGST Ultrastar carries a longer 5-year warranty vs unknown years for WD Ultrastar. Longer warranty typically correlates with manufacturer confidence in reliability.

HGST Ultrastar is the better fit for NAS storage. It uses CMR recording which is safe for all RAID levels. SAS interface requires a SAS HBA or SAS-capable NAS.