DatacenterDisk

Seagate SkyHawk vs WD Ultrastar

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

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Our Recommendation
👑
Seagate SkyHawk 4TB ST4000VX016

Seagate SkyHawk 4TB ST4000VX016 offers the best value at $35.00/TB. As a refurb unit, verify SMART data on arrival.

Best $/TB: Seagate
Best Warranty: WD
Best for RAID: WD
Full Specification Comparison
Spec
Seagate
SkyHawk 4TB ST4000VX016
$35.00/TB
WD
Ultrastar 7K4000 4TB SATA NAS
$44.89/TB
Brand
Seagate
WD
Model
SkyHawk 4TB ST4000VX016
Ultrastar 7K4000 4TB SATA NAS
Series
SkyHawk
Ultrastar
Part Number
ST4000VX016
HMS5C4040ALE640
$/TB
👑$35.00
$44.89
Price
$139.99
$179.57
Condition
Refurb
New
Capacity
4TB
4TB
Interface
SATA-6G
SATA-6G
Form Factor
3.5"
3.5"
Drive Type
HDD
HDD
Recording Tech
CMR
CMR
RPM
N/A (SSD)
7,200
Cache
—
—
Sector Size
—
512n
Workload Rating
—
—
DWPD
N/A
N/A
Warranty
—
—
Workload Tier
—
nearline
In Stock
✓ In Stock
✓ In Stock
Buy
Buy on Amazon →
Buy on Amazon →
Workload Fit
Workload
Seagate
WD
NAS Storage
●●●
●●●
Backup Target
●●●
●●●
OLTP Database
●
●
Cold Archive
●
●
Virtualization
●
●
AI/ML Storage
●
●
Buying Recommendation
Choose Seagate SkyHawk 4TB ST4000VX016 if:
  • ✓ You need maximum storage per dollar
  • ✓ You're comfortable with datacenter refurb to maximize savings
Buy Seagate →
Choose WD Ultrastar 7K4000 4TB SATA NAS 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

Seagate SkyHawk offers better value at $35.00/TB vs $44.89/TB - a 22% 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.

Seagate SkyHawk is the better fit for NAS storage. It uses CMR recording which is safe for all RAID levels. SATA interface is compatible with all NAS platforms including Synology, QNAP and TrueNAS.