3 ms·

I read somewhere recently (might have been here, I don’t recall for sure), that one of the problems with the recommendations from Backblaze is that the drives c

I read somewhere recently (might have been here, I don’t recall for sure), that one of the problems with the recommendations from Backblaze is that the drives change constantly and there can be variations over time in manufacturing. You could buy something today that has the same model number as what Backblaze bought 6-12 months ago, and it’s not really the same drive. They’re still my preferred resource for this, but it’s not without its caveats.

spiffytech 6y ago
That is a very valid criticism, but at the same time, could anyone really do any better? If the manufacturer is going to change the build for the same SKU within the time it takes to collect meaningful failure rate data, then I don't know that you can construct a more useful measurement technique than Backblaze has. The data on specific drive models may be of limited reliability, but you do at least get enough data to rank brands based on typical long-term reliability by brand and product line.