DatacenterDisk

HP 834031-B21 vs WD Ultrastar

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

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Our Recommendation
👑
HP 834031-B21 8TB SAS LFF

HP 834031-B21 8TB SAS LFF offers the best value at $32.75/TB. Available new with manufacturer warranty.

Best $/TB: HP
Best Warranty: WD
Best for RAID: WD
Full Specification Comparison
Spec
HP
834031-B21 8TB SAS LFF
$32.75/TB
WD
Ultrastar 8TB SAS
$61.74/TB
Brand
HP
WD
Model
834031-B21 8TB SAS LFF
Ultrastar 8TB SAS
Series
ProLiant OEM
Ultrastar HC320
Part Number
834031-B21
—
$/TB
👑$32.75
$61.74
Price
$262.00
$493.94
Condition
New
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
—
—
Sector Size
512e
—
Workload Rating
—
—
DWPD
N/A
N/A
Warranty
—
—
Workload Tier
nearline
nearline
In Stock
✓ In Stock
✓ In Stock
Buy
Buy on Amazon →
Buy on Amazon →
Workload Fit
Workload
HP
WD
NAS Storage
●●
●●
Backup Target
●●●
●●●
OLTP Database
●
●
Cold Archive
●●
●●
Virtualization
●
●
AI/ML Storage
●
●
Buying Recommendation
Choose HP 834031-B21 8TB SAS LFF if:
  • ✓ You need maximum storage per dollar
  • ✓ You need new-with-warranty for compliance or budgeting
Buy HP →
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

HP 834031-B21 offers better value at $32.75/TB vs $61.74/TB - a 47% 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.

Both drives carry similar warranty terms and are built for enterprise operation. Check brand-specific AFR data and Backblaze drive stats for real-world failure rate comparisons.

HP 834031-B21 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.