Seagate BarraCuda 2 TB

What’s the deal with these 2 TB drives? For example

The price gap between a 500GB drive and a 2 TB one is only about $67, sometimes even less, yet you get four times the storage! It's like getting a massive upgrade for pennies.
Are these 2 TB models significantly slower, which is why they're such a steal?

Nah, it’s just how the math works when you're looking at higher capacity Western Digital drives.

It’s pretty much the same logic as an SSD; a 60GB drive might cost $100, but if you step up to the 120GB model, it's maybe 370-$127, and then once you hit 240GB, it's barely $200.

A WD Blue is a bit sluggish, while a Seagate is usually a little faster than a Western Digital.

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-BarraCuda-2-TB-Internal-Hard/dp/B00XXXXX

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-BarraCuda-2-TB-Internal-Hard/dp/B00YYYYY

So, what’s the actual deal with the difference here? Is there any real distinction between SATA III-600 and SATA-6?

It looks like the cheaper option even comes with an extra year of warranty!

It’s basically the exact same thing, just different packaging. On paper, they’re identical—but if one happens to have a longer warranty, I’d say go with that one... though from what I can see, they both list 24 months 🤷 The more expensive Microsoft drive is available for next-day delivery, while the cheaper Western Digital one looks like it’ll take a few days to arrive. It says you have to contact the seller first, which usually means they don't actually have it sitting in stock right now.

It’s basically the same Microsoft drive, just from a different vendor. Plus, they both come with a 2-year warranty; that 1-year mention is just a typo...

Capacity isn't the only thing driving the price of a Western Digital drive; a significant chunk of what you're paying actually goes toward the internal mechanics (around $50 for a $107, or roughly $70 for a $133). If you're looking for the absolute best value based on the price-per-gigabyte ratio, the 3TB models are the sweet spot (usually running north of $100)

Joshua Patel68 said:It’s basically the exact same drive, just coming from a different supplier. Plus, they both carry a two-year warranty; that one-year mention is clearly just a typo...

Well, it turns out Best Buy works with a whole host of different distributors and lumps their entire price list into one massive catalog, so isn't it just incredibly easy to stumble upon the exact same item listed at several different price points?

Well, you really threw me for a loop there! I hadn't even considered checking the prices for a 3TB drive. I'm actually swapping out my Seagate 2 TB HDD for a 3TB one today—I haven't even unboxed the old one yet—and the price difference is only $33 😁
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