Western Digital vs Seagate: A Detailed Comparison Guide

Both Western Digital and Seagate are leading storage device manufacturers, but what are the specific differences between their drives? Which company makes the most cost-effective and reliable hard drives?

Part 1: About Western Digital
Part 2: About Seagate
Part 3: WD vs Seagate Internal Hard Drives
Part 4: WD vs Seagate External Hard Drives
Part 5: Clone HDD with AOMEI Partition Assistant

Part 1: About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation, abbreviated as WD, is a renowned American manufacturer of computer hard drives, offering various data storage solutions. WD manufactures, develops, and supplies data center systems, storage devices, and cloud storage solutions to cater to the evolving demands of the IT industry.

WD went on to become one of the big players in the market for hard disks for large computers, and it successfully acquired several companies. In 2012, it bought Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, a move that had a major impact on the disk-drive industry and made WD the world's largest maker of hard disks.

In May 2016, WD acquired the flash-memory maker SanDisk. In 2017, it bought the cloud-storage provider Upthere to build out its cloud-storage capabilities. And in September 2017, WD purchased Tegile Systems, a maker of flash-based storage arrays.

That's it for Western Digital. Let's briefly look at Seagate!

Part 2: On Seagate

Seagate Technology is an American data storage company that was founded in 1978. Initially named Shugart Technology, the company later changed its name to Seagate Technology. Since 2010, it has been registered in Dublin, Ireland, while its headquarters are located in Cupertino, California, USA.

It began developing the first 5.25-inch hard-disk drive in 1980, and, over the course of the decade, Seagate became a major supplier to the nascent microcomputer industry. Today, Seagate Technology and its rival Western Digital dominate the market for hard disk drives, with products that include drives for laptops, desktops, archiving, enterprise, and solid state.

Seagate's growth has come in large part through acquisitions of competitors, beginning with its purchase of Control Data Corporation's Imprimis division, a maker of disk products, in 1989. In 1996, it bought Compaq's peripheral-products division. In 2006, Seagate acquired Maxtor. And in 2011, it bought Samsung's hard-disk business.

With all of these acquisitions, Seagate is clearly the leader in global data storage solutions. With years of experience, Seagate has developed excellent storage devices that allow households and businesses around the world to share, create, and save important data.

Today, WD and Seagate are the leading hard-disk manufacturers, which means that the industry is an oligopoly. This can make it tough to choose between them!

Next, we will delve deeper into these two types of drives and compare their pros and cons. If you found this page helpful, please share it with your friends using the button below.

III. WD vs. Seagate Internal Hard Drives

An internal hard drive is the primary storage device found within a computer system. This drive usually comes preloaded with software, applications, operating systems, and other files. Most desktop computers have multiple internal hard drives, allowing for substantial data storage capacity.

When it comes to choosing the best internal hard drive for computer systems, most users get confused between the top brands, i.e., Western Digital (WD) VS Seagate. So, let's check out the WD internal hard drive vs Seagate internal hard drive comparison in a tabular form!

As you can see, Seagate internal hard drives are clearly superior to Western Digital internal hard drives in all aspects. Hence, Seagate internal hard drives offer better performance results at a cheaper and more affordable price, outperforming Western Digital internal hard drives in terms of cost, speed, and storage capacity.

For more information about the internal hard drives from Seagate and Western Digital, check out the pros and cons below!

Pros and Cons of WD Internal Hard Drives

Advantages:

• Diverse storage options.
• High cost-effectiveness.
• Comes with warranty service.
• Excellent reliability.

Drawbacks:

• More expensive than the Seagate.
• Some reports of warranty issues.
• Noisier than the Seagate at times.

Seagate Internal Hard Drive: Pros and Cons Pros: 1. Reliability: Seagate is a well-known hard drive manufacturer, and their internal drives are generally considered reliable and durable. 2. High storage capacity: They offer various capacity options from a few hundred GB to several TB, catering to different user needs. 3. Performance: Seagate's drives typically have fast data read and write speeds, providing efficient file transfer experiences. 4. Compatibility: Works with various operating systems and devices, including desktops, laptops, gaming consoles, etc. 5. Warranty service: Seagate usually provides standard limited warranties, with some products also offering data recovery services. Cons: 1. Noise and heat: Certain Seagate models may produce noise during operation and generate more heat. 2. Failure rate: While overall reliability is high, some users might experience drive failures or premature failure issues. 3. Price: Compared to some competitors, Seagate's drives might be slightly more expensive. 4. Environmental impact: Hard drive production involves electronic waste, which has an environmental impact - a common issue for all hard drive manufacturers. 5. Evolving technology: With the rise of Solid State Drives (SSDs), traditional mechanical drives like Seagate's may see their performance advantages diminish, particularly in terms of quick access and power consumption.

Advantages:

• Incredible value.
• Multiple storage options.
• Typically runs quietly.
• Comes with a warranty.

Disadvantages:

• Flash acceleration may not always show immediate results

Part 4: WD vs Seagate External Hard Drive

External hard drives can be easily connected to a computer system through a USB cable. These drives have high storage capacities and are typically used for backing up computer data or as network drives. External hard drives operate on a plug-and-play basis and can serve as emergency backup drives.

Choosing between Western Digital (WD) and Seagate for an external hard drive for your computer can be confusing! So, here's a comparison chart of WD vs Seagate external hard drives to help you make a better decision!

As can be seen from the table above, although the data transfer speed of Western Digital external hard drive is slightly slower, it outperforms Seagate in terms of storage capacity, price, and data security.

So, if speed matters to you, go for the Seagate; otherwise, the WD is a good choice!

To make a better choice between Western Digital and Seagate external hard drives, check out their respective pros and cons!

Advantages and Disadvantages of WD External Hard Drives

Advantages:

- Outstanding and swift performance. - Extremely user-friendly with plug-and-play technology. - Ideal hard drive size, approximately 2.5 inches. - Modern, stylish, and appealing design.

Drawbacks:

• Its small size makes it easy to drop or get knocked around.
• The plastic construction may result in poor shock resistance.
• Extended use can lead to device overheating.

Seagate External Hard Drive Pros and Cons: Pros: 1. High capacity: Seagate external hard drives come in various capacity options, ranging from hundreds of GB to several TB, catering to different user needs. 2. Reliability: Seagate is a well-known hard drive manufacturer, and its products generally have high durability and reliability. 3. Fast transfer speeds: Many Seagate external drives support fast interfaces like USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt, providing quick data transfer rates. 4. Compatibility: Works with multiple operating systems such as Windows, Mac, and Linux, without requiring additional formatting. 5. Backup convenience: Seagate offers dedicated backup software like Backup Plus, making it easy for users to backup and restore their data. 6. Portability: Most Seagate external hard drives are designed compactly, making them easy to carry around. Cons: 1. Hardware failures: Despite Seagate's reputation, any hard drive can fail, potentially resulting in data loss. 2. Noise: Some users report that Seagate external drives can be noisy, especially when reading or writing large amounts of data. 3. Price: Compared to some competitors, certain Seagate models may be more expensive. 4. Software issues: Users might encounter compatibility or performance issues with Seagate's backup software. 5. Power requirement: Larger capacity Seagate external drives might need to be plugged into a power outlet, limiting their usability in areas without a power source. 6. Data security: External hard drives are vulnerable to physical damage or theft, so data security might not be as secure as cloud storage solutions.

Advantages:

• They are easy to set up.
• They are lightweight and compact.
• Your Windows operating system will recognize the drive automatically.

Drawback:

- Short warranty. - No backup software included. - If the drive fails, you'll have to pay to recover your data.

Now you can decide whether Western Digital is better than Seagate or not! Consider the price, storage capacity, read/write speed, and data security offered by each manufacturer, and choose the one that suits your needs best. But if you ask us, we'd recommend going with Seagate for internal hard drives and Western Digital for external ones!

Part 5: Clone Hard Drive with AOMEI Partition Assistant Tool

There are times when you need to clone a hard drive. Disk cloning is basically the process of creating an exact replica of the contents of a hard disk. You would typically want to clone a hard drive to create a backup image in case of HD failure, boost your disk performance for a computer upgrade, or migrate your OS to an SSD without reinstalling apps and the operating system (OS).

There are many disk cloning software out there, but none of them works as perfectly as Partition Master. Click here for more information about Partition Master!

Clone Internal/External Hard Drive with Partition Master Tool

AOMEI Partition Assistant is an excellent hard drive cloning tool that allows you to effortlessly clone HDD to SSD or another HDD. The cloning feature of this tool enables users to clone a hard drive for data backup or upgrading the disk.

Equipped with many features and utilities, Partition Master offers the most reliable disk cloning option to help you clone a single partition or an entire disk to another target drive, even if it has less storage space than the source drive.

Features of the Partition Master Tool:

• Resize/move partitions
• Merge partitions
• Clear/ delete/ format partition
• Wipe data
• Check errors on the selected partition
• Clone partition
• Change partition label

Using the Partition Master Tool Guide:

Here's how to clone a hard drive using Partition Master!

Step 1: Select the source disk.

Click "Clone" from the left menu. Choose "Clone system disk" or "Clone data disk", then click "Next". Select the source disk and click "Next".

Step 2: Select the target disk.

Select the HDD/SSD you want as the target disk, then click "Next" to continue. Read the warning information and confirm by clicking the "Yes" button.

Step 3: Look at the disk layout and edit the target disk partition sizes if needed.

When prompted that all data on the target disk will be erased, click “Continue” (make sure to back up any important data on your target disk ahead of time).

Here you can choose to “Automatically adjust disk size,” “Clone source disk,” or “Edit disk layout.” (Choose the last option if you want to allocate more space for the C drive.)

Step 4: Click "Start" to begin cloning the disk.

It's that easy to clone a hard drive with Partition Master Tool!

VI. Conclusion

It's all about Western Digital vs Seagate! These two giants are renowned brands in storage drive solutions, and choosing the best one can be quite challenging. But with this article, you can easily compare them and pick the right hard drive for your computer. Plus, our extra tips on cloning a hard drive with Partition Master will come in handy since it's a top tool that delivers excellent results when managing PC hard drives.