Seagate Exos 7E8 Enterprise 4TB 7200RPM 256MB 512N SATA 6Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - ST4000NM000A

Cons: LOUD

Overall Review: We installed this today, and it makes a heck of a lot of noise. You can hear it writing from another room. Came without packaging, and now I'm wondering if it was really NEW like it was supposed to be.

Pros: LONG lasting (MTBF), Exceptional data throughput for SATA (much higher with SAS), super warranty and energy efficient. Built for ENTERPRISE level reliability in demanding production data environments like: Transactional Databases, Email Servers, NAS/SAN Storage, Application Servers, Surveillance Storage Servers and Domain Controllers. Despite their cost they also are great for high demand workstations. Disc level encryption on selected models makes disc retirement easier and more secure.

Cons: Not enough System Admin's take the time to get on these forums and relate their 'real-world' experiences with these products.

Overall Review: I hope this review is helpful to anyone looking at this line of drives and worried about some of the posted reviews related to experience/reliability. I have several hundred of the Seagate EXOS series drives from 1Tib to 14Tib deployed on production systems which I own, rent or administer - in all types of environments from climate controlled datacenter deployments to hot and dirty network closets in industrial environments. These products shine in Mission Critical NAS/SAN Storage, High availability Transactional Databases, Corporate Video Surveillance Storage Systems, Web Server Clusters and Email Server Clusters. I also deploy them in high powered workstations where endurance is necessary and/or desired. All of this endurance/reliability does not mean these drives are not at ease in the average home computer because they work great in an 'everyday' application if you don't mind the cost of entry. The workstation where I am writing this review has a pair of 1Tib Segate Enterprise drives in RAID 1 which have been happily spinning along for 5+ years. The bottom line is this: if your data or the data of your clients is important, these discs are an exceptional choice for reliability and high ROI (return on investment). I see reviews complaining about disc failures related to the EXOS/Enterprise line, I can confidently pass on that I have experienced no such problem with this line of drives. I have NEVER had an EXOS/Enterprise drive come DOA. This doesn't mean that DOA drives don't show up, I have simply never experienced this issue. Again, these drives are targeted for ENTERPRISE level storage systems - they can and do fail like any equipment. That being said, Seagate has NEVER failed to Warranty a failed disc (within the warranty period) from the systems within my responsibility. The difference here might be - ENTERPRISE users keep backup drives on site and in stock for immediate replacement when eventual failures occur so this generally does not become a game ending issue and warranty processing wait times are non-critical. As a service to people looking at this line of drives I checked the average age of my running drives and 65% of the deployed stock has been installed in production environments for 5+ years (approximately 250 drives). I have not had an EXOS disc failure in 235 days (as of this review). I generally purchase some of my discs directly from NEWEGG when the prices are right. Never a warranty issue related to direct purchase from a Seagate authorized reseller. MY CONCLUSION/OPINION: This is an exceptional line of ENTERPRISE level products with a good warranty and superb return on investment.