HGST & WD Ultrastar 8TB Drives Compared — DC HC-Series, Helium Drives, Enterprise Storage

Ultrastar 8TB hard drives represent the gold standard in enterprise storage reliability. Originally developed by HGST (Hitachi Global Storage Technologies) and now part of Western Digital's enterprise portfolio, Ultrastar drives are engineered for data centers demanding 24/7 operation, extreme workloads, and multi-year deployments without failure. For homelab enthusiasts and small businesses, these enterprise drives offer unmatched reliability at increasingly accessible prices.

The Ultrastar lineage includes legendary series like the He8 (one of the first helium-filled drives), the DC HC320 (mainstream enterprise workhorse), and various specialized models optimized for different workloads. At 8TB, you're getting proven enterprise technology — drives designed to handle 550TB/year workloads, rated for 2.5 million hours MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures), and backed by 5-year warranties. These specifications far exceed consumer drives like the WD Red Plus or Seagate IronWolf.

Whether you're finding new Ultrastar drives for a business deployment or hunting for refurbished enterprise pulls at fraction of retail cost, this page compares all HGST and WD Ultrastar 8TB options currently available. The 8TB capacity hits a sweet spot for many users — substantial storage per drive while maintaining excellent price-per-terabyte ratios, especially in the refurbished market where enterprise drives truly shine.

Understanding HGST and Ultrastar: A Brief History

The Ultrastar brand carries significant weight in enterprise storage circles, with a history spanning decades of innovation. Understanding this lineage helps explain why these drives command respect — and why refurbished Ultrastar drives remain highly sought after in homelab communities.

From IBM to HGST to Western Digital

Ultrastar's roots trace back to IBM's hard drive division, which pioneered many fundamental storage technologies. In 2003, Hitachi acquired IBM's hard drive business, creating Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST). Under HGST, the Ultrastar line flourished with groundbreaking innovations including helium-filled drives that reduced internal turbulence, increased platter density, and improved power efficiency.

Western Digital acquired HGST in 2012, though regulatory requirements initially kept the brands separate. Today, WD has fully integrated HGST's enterprise technology into the Ultrastar brand while maintaining the engineering excellence that made HGST drives legendary. Modern Ultrastar drives combine HGST's enterprise heritage with WD's manufacturing scale.

Why Ultrastar Drives Excel

Ultrastar drives are engineered differently from consumer products. Where a WD Blue or Seagate Barracuda might be designed for 8-hour daily operation and light workloads, Ultrastar drives assume continuous 24/7 operation under heavy loads. This manifests in several ways:

Higher-grade components: Ultrastar drives use premium motors, actuators, and platters selected for tighter tolerances and longer life. The helium-sealed models (like the He8) use hermetically sealed enclosures that maintain helium atmosphere throughout the drive's life.

Advanced firmware: Enterprise firmware includes sophisticated error correction, predictive failure analysis, and optimization for RAID environments. Features like rotational vibration sensors help maintain performance in multi-drive enclosures.

Extreme testing: Every Ultrastar drive undergoes extensive burn-in testing before shipping. Drives that show any anomalies during testing are rejected — a level of quality control that consumer drives don't receive.

Ultrastar Model Naming Explained

Ultrastar naming can be confusing with multiple generations and variants. Here's a quick guide for 8TB models:

He8 / He10: "He" indicates helium-filled drives. The number roughly corresponds to capacity class (He8 for 8TB-class, He10 for 10TB-class). These were groundbreaking drives that proved helium technology's viability.

DC HC320: "DC" means Data Center, "HC" means High Capacity. The HC320 is an 8TB drive in the mainstream enterprise lineup. It's air-filled (not helium) but incorporates many enterprise features.

HC510/HC520: Higher-capacity helium drives; the 8TB models in these families offer excellent density and efficiency.

New vs Refurbished Ultrastar 8TB: Making the Right Choice

One of the most compelling aspects of Ultrastar drives is the robust refurbished market. Enterprise drives cycled out of data centers after 3-5 years often have decades of useful life remaining. Understanding when to buy new versus refurbished can save significant money without sacrificing reliability.

The Case for Refurbished Ultrastar Drives

Data centers operate on replacement cycles driven by capacity needs rather than drive failures. When a company upgrades from 8TB to 16TB drives, perfectly functional 8TB drives become available on the secondary market. These drives were maintained in climate-controlled environments, operated within specifications, and often have extensive SMART data histories proving their health.

Price advantage: Refurbished Ultrastar 8TB drives often cost 40-60% less than new equivalents — sometimes matching consumer drive prices while offering enterprise reliability. At these prices, you can afford to buy spares.

Proven reliability: A refurbished drive with 30,000 power-on hours and clean SMART data has proven itself reliable. Infant mortality (early failures) has been filtered out — if a drive was going to fail early, it already would have.

Environmental considerations: Extending the life of enterprise drives reduces electronic waste. These drives were built to last 5+ years of continuous operation; using them for another 5 years in a homelab maximizes their value.

When to Buy New

New Ultrastar drives make sense for: business deployments where warranty matters, mission-critical data where you want zero prior usage, environments requiring vendor support, or when refurbished stock is unavailable for specific models. New drives also guarantee the latest firmware and manufacturing improvements.

Evaluating Refurbished Drives

When buying refurbished, consider these factors:

Seller reputation: Buy from established sellers with positive reviews and reasonable return policies. Avoid suspiciously cheap listings without adequate seller history.

Warranty coverage: Many refurbished sellers offer 30-90 day warranties. Some premium sellers offer 1-2 year warranties on tested drives — worth the small premium.

SMART data: Request or verify SMART data upon receipt. Key metrics: Reallocated Sector Count (should be 0 or very low), Current Pending Sector Count (should be 0), Power-On Hours (context matters — 20,000 hours is fine, 80,000 hours needs more scrutiny).

Physical condition: Minor cosmetic wear is normal. Dents, deep scratches on the label, or damaged connectors are red flags.

Ultrastar 8TB Use Cases and Applications

Ultrastar drives serve diverse applications beyond their original data center purpose. Their enterprise specifications make them suitable for demanding workloads that would stress consumer drives.

Homelab and Personal Servers

The homelab community embraces Ultrastar drives for good reason. A Synology or TrueNAS system filled with Ultrastar drives combines enterprise reliability with consumer-friendly software. For Plex servers, file storage, or home virtualization, Ultrastar 8TB drives provide peace of mind that consumer drives can't match. The higher workload rating (550TB/year vs 180TB/year for IronWolf) means these drives handle heavy Plex transcoding, frequent backup jobs, and constant VM I/O without concern.

Small Business and Professional Use

Businesses running on-premise servers for file sharing, databases, or application hosting benefit from Ultrastar reliability. The 5-year warranty matches or exceeds business equipment lifecycles, and the 2.5M hour MTBF provides confidence in continuous operation. For creative professionals managing large media libraries, the sustained transfer rates and vibration tolerance make Ultrastar drives excellent choices.

Backup and Archive Storage

Long-term data retention requires drives you can trust. Ultrastar's enterprise heritage means components selected for longevity, not just cost optimization. For irreplaceable data — family archives, business records, creative work — investing in enterprise drives provides insurance against the frustration and cost of data loss.

Considerations and Tradeoffs

Noise: Ultrastar drives are louder than consumer drives — they're designed for data center environments with ambient noise. In a quiet home office, the difference is noticeable. Helium drives (He8) tend to run quieter than air-filled models.

Power consumption: Enterprise drives prioritize performance over efficiency. Expect 6-8W idle, 8-12W active — higher than consumer NAS drives. In a large array, this adds up in electricity costs and heat generation.

Vibration: The rotational vibration sensors in Ultrastar drives help maintain performance in multi-drive environments but don't eliminate vibration. Proper mounting and enclosure design still matter for optimal performance and longevity.