Recommended HDD Models, Series & Noise Comparison

Modified on Tue, 26 Mar at 5:53 AM

Some HDDs dedicated for specific applications are not compatible or not work well with R_volution player.


Recommended HDD models :
WD BLUE (up to 8TB) - Less noisy than bigger drives
WD RED (up to 16 TB) - Highly recommended model for high capacity
WD WHITE (up to 16 TB) 
SEAGATE SkyHawk™(up to 16 TB but noisy)
SEAGATE SkyHawk AI (up to 16 TB but noisy)
SEAGATE Exos™ (up to 16 TB but noisy) > In SATA only (no SAS models)
SEAGATE IronWolf™ (up to 16 TB)
SAMSUNG SSD with 2.5'' to 3.5'' adapter (up to 16 TB)
SEAGATE Archive HDD (up to 16 TB)

Not recommended models :
WD GREEN (up to 6 TB) - old models. These are not available anymore - some issues on movie playback
SEAGATE Baracuda (all models)
WD GOLD (all models)
WD PURPLE (new models - problems inserting disc into player)
WD PURPLE PRO  Poor performance and do not fit well
SAMSUNG (all models)
HITACHI (all models)

Not tested models : 
WD Ultrastar


Hard drive noise comparison :

WD Blue 1TB: 30 dB (seek) / 29 dB (idle average)
WD Blue 2TB: 27 dB (seek) / 23 dB (idle average)
WD Blue 3TB: 27 dB (seek) / 23 dB (idle average)
WD Blue 4TB: 27 dB (seek) / 23 dB (idle average)
WD Blue 6TB: 28 dB (seek) / 25 dB (idle average)

WD Red Plus 1TB: 25 dB (seek) / 24 dB (idle average)
WD Red Plus 2TB: 27 dB (seek) / 23 dB (idle average)
WD Red Plus 3TB: 27 dB (seek) / 23 dB (idle average)
WD Red Plus 4TB: 27 dB (seek) / 23 dB (idle average)
WD Red Plus 6TB: 30 dB (seek) / 25 dB (idle average)  
WD Red Plus 8TB: 30 dB (seek) / 27 dB (idle average)
WD Red Plus 10TB: 38 dB (seek) / 34 dB (idle average)
WD Red Plus 12TB: 29 dB (seek) / 20 dB (idle average)
WD Red Plus 14TB: 29 dB (seek) / 20 dB (idle average)

WD Red Pro 2TB: 31 dB (seek) / 29 dB (idle average)
WD Red Pro 4TB: 36 dB (seek) / 29 dB (idle average)
WD Red Pro 8TB: 36 dB (seek) / 29 dB (idle average)
WD Red Pro 10TB: 36 dB (seek) / 20 dB (idle average)
WD Red Pro 12TB: 36 dB (seek) / 20 dB (idle average)
WD Red Pro 14TB: 36 dB (seek) / 20 dB (idle average)
WD Red Pro 16TB: 36 dB (seek) / 20 dB (idle average)
WD Red Pro 18TB: 36 dB (seek) / 20 dB (idle average)

WD Purple 1TB: 22 dB (seek) / 21 dB (idle average)
WD Purple 2TB: 24 dB (seek) / 23 dB (idle average)
WD Purple 3TB: 24 dB (seek) / 23 dB (idle average)
WD Purple 4TB: 28 dB (seek) / 25 dB (idle average)
WD Purple 6TB: 28 dB (seek) / 25 dB (idle average)
WD Purple 8TB: 29 dB (seek) / 27 dB (idle average)
WD Purple 10TB: 29 dB (seek) / 20 dB (idle average)
WD Purple 12TB: 29 dB (seek) / 20 dB (idle average)

WD Purple Pro 8TB: 29 dB (seek) / 27 dB (idle average)
WD Purple Pro 10TB: 38 dB (seek) / 34 dB (idle average)
WD Purple Pro 12TB: 29 dB (seek) / 20 dB (idle average)
WD Purple Pro 14TB: 36 dB (seek) / 20 dB (idle average)
WD Purple Pro 18TB: 27 dB (seek) / 20 dB (idle average)

WD Gold 1TB: 28 dB (seek) / 25 dB (idle average)
WD Gold 2TB: 28 dB (seek) / 25 dB (idle average)
WD Gold 4TB: 36 dB (seek) / 29 dB (idle average)
WD Gold 6TB: 36 dB (seek) / 29 dB (idle average)
WD Gold 8TB: 36 dB (seek) / 20 dB (idle average)
WD Gold 10TB: 36 dB (seek) / 20 dB (idle average)
WD Gold 12TB: 36 dB (seek) / 20 dB (idle average)

WD Ultrastar 16TB: 36 dB (seek) / 20 dB (idle average)
WD Ultrastar 18TB: 36 dB (seek) / 20 dB (idle average)

SEAGATE Ironwolf 1TB: 23 dB (seek) 21 dB (idle average)
SEAGATE Ironwolf 2TB: 19 dB (seek) 21 dB (idle average)
SEAGATE Ironwolf 3TB: 25 dB (seek) 23 dB (idle average)
SEAGATE Ironwolf 4TB: 25 dB (seek) 23 dB (idle average)
SEAGATE Ironwolf 6TB: 28 dB (seek) 27 dB (idle average)
SEAGATE Ironwolf 8TB: 28 dB (seek) 27 dB (idle average)
SEAGATE Ironwolf 10TB: 32 dB (seek) 28 dB (idle average)
SEAGATE Ironwolf 12TB: 32 dB (seek) 28 dB (idle average)

SEAGATE Ironwolf Pro 4TB: 30 dB (seek) / 28 dB (idle average)
SEAGATE Ironwolf Pro 6TB: 30 dB (seek) / 28 dB (idle average)
SEAGATE Ironwolf Pro 8TB: 30 dB (seek) / 28 dB (idle average)
SEAGATE Ironwolf Pro 10TB: 30 dB (seek) / 28 dB (idle average)
SEAGATE Ironwolf Pro 12TB: 32 dB (seek) / 28 dB (idle average)  
SEAGATE Ironwolf Pro 14TB: 32 dB (seek) / 28 dB (idle average)
SEAGATE Ironwolf Pro 16TB: 32 dB (seek) / 28 dB (idle average)
SEAGATE IronWolf Pro 18To: 32 dB (seek) / 28 dB (idle average)
SEAGATE IronWolf Pro 20To: 32 dB (seek) / 28 dB (idle average)

Was this article helpful?

That’s Great!

Thank you for your feedback

Sorry! We couldn't be helpful

Thank you for your feedback

Let us know how can we improve this article!

Select at least one of the reasons
CAPTCHA verification is required.

Feedback sent

We appreciate your effort and will try to fix the article