WD Purple vs Seagate Skyhawk: Which Internal Hard Drives are Better?

When it comes to your surveillance system, there can be no room for error with data storage. At the same time, with such large amounts of data, an internal hard drive is going to help take the workload off your device.

Today, we are going to look at two internal hard drives that have been designed especially for surveillance systems, the WD Purple vs Seagate Skyhawk. We will compare their format, uses, speed and technology. You will be able to see all of the specifications in a side-by-side chart as well as some pros and cons before our final verdict.

There are various options that you can buy for each, which we will cover, however, our focus will be on the specifics of the SATA 6.0GB/s 4TB surveillance hard drives. We will begin with their similarities.

Quick Glance

The comparison chart below will recap the features we have mentioned.

	WD Purple	Seagate Skyhawk
Image
Size	5.79 x 4 x 1.03 inches	5.79 x 4 x 1.03 inches
Weight	1.5lbs	1.4lbs
Storage Capacity	4TB	4TB
Other Capacities	500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 3TB, 6TB, 8TB, 10TB	1TB, 2TB, 3TB, 6TB, 8TB, 10TB, 12TB, 14TB
Form Factor	3.5 inches	3.5 inches
Compatibility	Windows and Mac with reformatting	Windows/Mac reformatting
Uses	Surveillance- up to 64 cameras, up to 8 bays, home or small businesses	Surveillance- up to 64 HD cameras, up to 8 bays, home, small businesses, enterprise
Surveillance Technology	AllFrame 4K	Drive health management, Image Perfect firmware
Cache	64MB	256MB
Revolutions per minute	5,400RPM	5,900RPM
Transfer Rate	Up to 150MB/s	Up to 190MB/s
SATA 6.0 GB/s	Yes	Yes
MTBF	1.5 million hours	1 million hours
Workload	180TB/year	180TB/year
Warranty	3-year limited warranty	3-year limited warranty
Price	Check Price on Amazon	Check Price on Amazon

Appearance

Although the WD Purple and the Seagate Skyhawk do not have the same colors, they are the same size at 5.79 x 4 x 1.03 inches, and they have the same form factor of 3.5 inches. The WD Purple weighs 1.5 pounds and the Seagate Skyhawk weighs 1.4 pounds. Neither the color nor the weight was enough to make a difference in our decision.

Workload

The workload indicates just how much data they can handle on a yearly basis. The WD Purple and the Seagate Skyhawk can both handle a workload of up to 180TB per year.

Warranty

The WD Purple and the Seagate Skyhawk come with a 3-year limited warranty for added peace of mind.

As we move on to the difference, you will notice that in some cases, the WD Purple and the Seagate Skyhawk are still quite similar.

Aside from the 4TB internal hard drives, you can choose from a good range of other storage capacities.

WD Purple

Currently, there are 8 other purchasing options, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 3TB, 6TB, 8TB, 10 and 12 TB.

Seagate Skyhawk

You get 8 other choices and more storage. There is a 1TB, 2TB, 3TB, 6TB, 8TB, 10TB, 12TB and 14TB internal hard drive.

The Winner Is- A Tie

These hard drives are compatible with devices that have a spare 3.5-inch bay.

WD Purple

For Windows, this is pretty much a plug-and-play hard drive although you will need to reformat for Mac.

Seagate Skyhawk

The hard drive doesn’t come formatted for either operating system.

The Winner Is- The WD Purple

Both hard drives are able to handle 24/7 use. The difference in the ideal uses may just come down to how the products are advertised.

WD Purple

You can run this surveillance hard drive with up to 64 cameras and with up to 8 bays. It’s perfect for businesses and small homes.

Seagate Skyhawk

While you can still use up to 64 cameras, it is perfect for HD cameras. As well as home and small business use, it’s good for enterprise too.

The Winner Is- The Seagate Skyhawk

Read next – WD Purple vs WD Black: Which Hard Drives are Better?

Any additional technology a hard drive has can help with the running of your surveillance system.

WD Purple

All of the WD Purple hard drives come with AllFrame 4K, a technology that helps to reduce frame loss, improve video playback and increase the number of hard drive bays supported in your NVR system.

Seagate Skyhawk

Skyhawk health management helps to ensure that the hard drive is running at its best performance while Image Perfect firmware ensures perfect video integrity.

The Winner Is- A Tie

We looked at the cache (the temporary storage during data transfer), RPM (the number of times the disk spins) and transfer rates to decide which of the surveillance hard drives performs better.

WD Purple

It comes with a fairly standard cache size of 64MB and 5,400 revolutions per minute. You can enjoy transfer speeds of up to 150MB/s.

Seagate Skyhawk

The RPM is just a little higher at 5,900 but the cache is much larger at 256MB. You can also benefit from slightly faster transfer speeds of up to 190MB/s.

The Winner Is- The Seagate Skyhawk

Read next – WD Red vs WD Purple: Which Hard Drives are Better?

The MTBF gives you an estimation of the number of hours before you may experience a problem with the surveillance internal hard drive.

WD Purple

The MTBF is 1.5 million hours

Seagate Skyhawk

It might be less at 1 million hours, but this is still rather impressive.

The Winner Is- The Seagate Skyhawk

To make sure we have covered all areas, here are some pros and cons of the WD Purple and the Seagate Skyhawk.