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Hard Drives (HDDs)

High-capacity, reliable data storage — whether you’re backing up your home computer, expanding your game library, or optimizing your data center.

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Why Use HDDs?

Internal HDD capacities up to 28TB1,2,*

Endurance up to 550TB/year3,4,*

Fast read speeds up to 291MB/s5,6,*

Internal, external, and portable HDD form factors

*Applies to select models only.

Learn More About HDDs

HDDs use rotating magnetic disks, known as platters, to store data. These platters spin at high speeds while a movable read/write head hovers just above them. As data is read or written, the head adjusts its position to access the correct part of the disk, interpreting or altering the magnetic patterns on the platter to represent data.

Types of HDDs

Internal Hard Drives

Internal hard drives are installed directly into your computer, making them a fast, reliable way to affordably store large data sets. Try internal hard drives to:

  •  
    Expand your game library
  •  
    Update your home PC
  •  
    Manage NAS and RAID
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External Hard Drives

External hard drives connect via Thunderbolt™ and/or USB and use a separate power source for extra performance. Try external hard drives to:

  •  
    Store a large library of games
  •  
    Handle bigger home backups
  •  
    Build RAID storage or NAS
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Portable Hard Drives

Portable hard drives are compact, lightweight devices that rely on USB power. Try portable hard drives to:

  •  
    Take your game library on the go
  •  
    Store large files during work travel
  •  
    Power professional workflows in the field
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Hard Drives on the Blog

BLOG

Orchestrating the World’s Highest Capacity HDDs

Learn how Western Digital built the latest generation of industry-leading 22TB and 26TB HDDs to store and manage the world’s growing volume of complex data.

Discover High-Capacity HDDs

BLOG

The Race to Seal Helium HDDs

Helium-sealed hard drives allow dramatically increased data storage capacity and reliability. Western Digital played a key role in pioneering this revolutionary tech.

Learn How Helium Boosts HDDs

BLOG

OptiNAND, the New Flash-Enhanced HDD Architecture

OptiNAND embeds iNAND flash technology into HDDs for greater storage capacity, higher performance, and reduced data loss.

Explore Flash-Enhanced HDDs

BLOG

OptiNAND Insights from Western Digital Leaders

Combining HDD and flash creates a unique force multiplier. See what Western Digital leaders have to say about this new innovation.

Hear From Storage Visionaries

Featured Products

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Disclosures

  1. 1TB = one trillion bytes. Actual user capacity may be less depending on operating environment. For RAID products, storage capacity is based on RAID 0 mode, unless otherwise stated.
  2. Applies only to Ultrastar DC HC680.
  3. Terabytes written values calculated using JEDEC client workload (JESD219) and vary by product and capacity.
  4. Applies only to Ultrastar DC HC680, Ultrastar DC HC650, Ultrastar DC HC570, Ultrastar DC HC560, Ultrastar DC HC550, Ultrastar DC HC530, Ultrastar DC HC520, Ultrastar DC HC330, Ultrastar DC HC320, Ultrastar DC HC310, Ultrastar DC HA210, WD Red Pro HDD, WD Gold SATA HDD (20TB models and up), and WD Purple Pro HDD.
  5. 1 MB/s = 1 million bytes per second. Based on internal testing; performance may vary depending upon host device, usage conditions, drive capacity, and other factors.
  6. Applies only to Ultrastar DC HC580.

*Applies to select models only.