Gaming Hard Disk: which one to choose

In this guide, we help you select the best gaming hard disk, an essential component for storing large amounts of games. Historically known as a magnetic drive, the hard disk has a capacity/price ratio unrivaled by modern SSDs. The ideal setup is to pair a fast SSD, on which to install the operating system and most software programs, to a more voluminous gaming hard disk, for video games and media files. Let’s see the parameters to consider when purchasing a hard disk.

Gaming Hard Disk: which one to buy

In order to choose the best gaming hard disk, you will have to consider the RPM (rotations per minute of the disk) and the cache, a small but fast memory storage.

Western Digital Blue 1TB

This 3.5” hard disk (Check on Amazon.com) has a capacity of 1TB, a maximum speed of 7200 RPM, and a cache of 64MB. It comes with a 2-year warranty.

Western Digital Blue is a simple but functional hard disk drive, combining a lot of storage space with a budget price. Being an entry-level product is oriented to basic needs, and is used preferably as secondary storage alongside an SSD. This disk is a no brainer if you just want the best hard disk for the money.

Seagate BarraCuda 2TB

This 3.5” hard disk (Check on Amazon.com) has a capacity of 2TB, a maximum speed of 7200 RPM, and a cache of 64MB. It comes with a 2-year warranty.

As a bigger alternative, you can opt for this Seagate BarraCuda, also an entry-level hard drive that boasts excellent sequential read and write speeds and is ideal as a secondary storage solution along with a faster SSD. For those of you who want to install dozens of games without ever having to worry about space.

Seagate FireCuda 2TB

This 3.5” hybrid hard disk (Check on Amazon.com) has a capacity of 2TB, a maximum speed of 7200 RPM, and a cache of 64MB. It comes with a 5-year warranty.

Seagate’s secret weapon for gamers is a so-called SSHD, a hybrid solution between an SSD and an HDD. The FireCuda consists of a normal hard disk drive paired with a fast, small NAND Flash memory, that speeds up the main drive. This makes the whole system more responsive by emulating the benefits of an expensive SSD. Basically, the device will learn which programs you use more often and place them on the faster memory, ensuring faster OS boot times and reduced loading times for video games. Of course, this setup has its limits, the applications and files that are excluded from this faster memory will run at the maximum speed of a normal HDD. If you have a dedicated gaming rig, you might want to consider buying a hybrid solution like this Seagate FireCuda.

Western Digital Black 2TB

This 3.5” hard disk (Check on Amazon.com) has a capacity of 2TB, a maximum speed of 7200 RPM, and a cache of 64MB. It comes with a 5-year warranty.

If you are looking for a solid and fast hard drive, this Western Digital product could be the one for you. Black series products are dedicated to power users who demand speed and durability. Its strong suit is its reliability thanks to an extended 5-year warranty. Its cost is much higher than the previous drives, but it is undoubtedly better to spend extra for a well-known quality hard disk drive than save your money now and regret it later.