I rarely write a review but decided to. First, I am old, like dirt. Retired as a system, network, cyber engineer a long, long time ago. How old? I started with Assembly language and the OSI model. LOL.
I still enjoy playing with computer stuff though.
I don't use these drives in a NAS but do use the IronWolf drives for my media server (recently rebuilt on a mini pc) from the old tower which I keep as a backup. I really like these drives. They can run 24x7 or on/off, depending on the system. I use them as my backup media across my desktops, laptops and servers via 6e wifi and also direct attached. They hang off external USB to SCSI enclosures and run like a charm.
Well, so much for the background. The first three I bought in 2021. The next in 2022, another in 2023 as a replacement and now an IronWolf Pro just ordered as another replacement (7200RPM!) a few minutes ago.
Real world experience is simply this. As of today, the last one bought in 2021 is showing signs of file corruption. Nothing major, but definitely getting some bad blocks. I scanned the drive and repaired it, but in my world, it is either perfect or replaced. Sure, they could probably go for another year, but I don't want the hassle. And for a few extra details. The drives did all not get the same usage. Some have one year, other three years. The one-year usage ones are running great, the three-year ones are showing errors.
My conclusion? The IronWolf drives are great for the money. Whether in an on/off environment or 24x7, they give a solid three years of great performance and reliability.
I decided to buy the IronWolf Pro 4TB running at 7200RPM for a little extra spin for those Ultra 4K movies. It was only 20 dollars more.
They get my vote, just plan a three-year endurance unless you are running a NAS. Then it is not that big a deal. Enjoy!
PS: I was going to buy SSD's, but with the crazy price increases since the first of the year, I'll stick with HDD's. They work great for my purposes.
| Hard Drive | 4 TB Mechanical Hard Disk |
|---|
