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expired Posted by RB4926 • Apr 6, 2024
expired Posted by RB4926 • Apr 6, 2024

Refurb: 12TB HGST Ultrastar HC520 7.2K RPM SATA 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

+ Free Shipping

$80

Server Part Deals
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Deal Details
Server Part Deals has 12TB HGST Ultrastar HC520 7.2K RPM 6Gb/s SATA 3.5" Internal Hard Drive (Seller Refurbished, HUH721212ALE601) on sale for $79.99. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Community Member RB4926 for sharing this deal
  • Note: Includes a 1-Year Seller Warranty.
Specs:
  • 12TB Internal Capacity
  • 3.5" Form Factor
  • SATA 6Gb/s Interface
  • 256MB Cache
  • 7.2K RPM Spindle Speed

Editor's Notes

Written by qwikwit | Staff
  • About this Deal:
    • Offer valid while supplies last.
  • Condition Notes:
    • Approx 35k power on hours. Tested with 0 errors, 0 bad sectors, 0 defects. SMART details intact.
  • Please see the original post for additional details & give the WIKI and additional forum comments a read for helpful discussion. 

Original Post

Written by RB4926
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Community Notes
About the Poster
Server Part Deals has 12TB HGST Ultrastar HC520 7.2K RPM 6Gb/s SATA 3.5" Internal Hard Drive (Seller Refurbished, HUH721212ALE601) on sale for $79.99. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Community Member RB4926 for sharing this deal
  • Note: Includes a 1-Year Seller Warranty.
Specs:
  • 12TB Internal Capacity
  • 3.5" Form Factor
  • SATA 6Gb/s Interface
  • 256MB Cache
  • 7.2K RPM Spindle Speed

Editor's Notes

Written by qwikwit | Staff
  • About this Deal:
    • Offer valid while supplies last.
  • Condition Notes:
    • Approx 35k power on hours. Tested with 0 errors, 0 bad sectors, 0 defects. SMART details intact.
  • Please see the original post for additional details & give the WIKI and additional forum comments a read for helpful discussion. 

Original Post

Written by RB4926

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Top Comments

This is a good, but fairly normal "sale" price these days. You will find similar price for the size from goharddrive and they come with a 5yr warranty from the seller.
So you're basically just picking the vendor/warranty that you like for the same price.

Having said that, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger on this. Beyond that,
1) Yes, these are used drives. You don't want anyone to actually try to refurbish these because they are welded shut to contain the helium. I'm guessing virtually zero third-party places can effectively service these.

2) Yes, it IS a lot of data to potentially lose. But if you actually care about your data, it shouldn't matter since you have backups and are potentially putting this into an array where RAID/parity means you also have fault tolerance and (hopefully) reporting.

3) Just like with any new (to you) drive, use software to run a full surface test of the drive. Something like the older WD Data Lifeguard will suffice here, but some people prefer HD Sentinel, badblocks, H2testw, or the stuff built into their array solution (like unraid preclear or Stablebit Scanner).
Code LINCOLN5 will get an extra $5 off.
Server Part Deals, if you are reading this, give us a good deal on some 16TB Ultrastars (not Seagate). I, for one, would be good for at least a dozen of them.

120 Comments

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Apr 6, 2024
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lastwraith
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Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank lastwraith

This is a good, but fairly normal "sale" price these days. You will find similar price for the size from goharddrive and they come with a 5yr warranty from the seller.
So you're basically just picking the vendor/warranty that you like for the same price.

Having said that, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger on this. Beyond that,
1) Yes, these are used drives. You don't want anyone to actually try to refurbish these because they are welded shut to contain the helium. I'm guessing virtually zero third-party places can effectively service these.

2) Yes, it IS a lot of data to potentially lose. But if you actually care about your data, it shouldn't matter since you have backups and are potentially putting this into an array where RAID/parity means you also have fault tolerance and (hopefully) reporting.

3) Just like with any new (to you) drive, use software to run a full surface test of the drive. Something like the older WD Data Lifeguard will suffice here, but some people prefer HD Sentinel, badblocks, H2testw, or the stuff built into their array solution (like unraid preclear or Stablebit Scanner).
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Apr 6, 2024
934 Posts
Joined Dec 2012
Apr 6, 2024
j-5
Apr 6, 2024
934 Posts
Quote from lastwraith :
1) Yes, these are used drives. You don't want anyone to actually try to refurbish these because they are welded shut to contain the helium. I'm guessing virtually zero third-party places can effectively service these.
You know, I've always thought a "refurb" drive was one where the controller board had issues and needed a new one, or a component replaced.
Last edited by j-5 April 6, 2024 at 04:57 AM.
1
Apr 6, 2024
231 Posts
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Apr 6, 2024
MyndFX
Apr 6, 2024
231 Posts
Quote from j-5 :
You know, I've always thought a "refurb" drive was one where the controller board had issues and needed a new one, or a component replaced.
I've always wondered how the refurbish process differs between "seller refurbished" (like this one) and "manufacturer refurbished." I'd imagine "seller refurbished" means that they just read and reset the SMART data and scanned the drive for bad blocks. Do they really operate a clean room? I could be wrong though.
Apr 6, 2024
231 Posts
Joined Feb 2019
Apr 6, 2024
MyndFX
Apr 6, 2024
231 Posts
Quote from lastwraith :
This is a good, but fairly normal "sale" price these days. You will find similar price for the size from goharddrive and they come with a 5yr warranty from the seller.
So you're basically just picking the vendor/warranty that you like for the same price.

Having said that, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger on this. Beyond that,
1) Yes, these are used drives. You don't want anyone to actually try to refurbish these because they are welded shut to contain the helium. I'm guessing virtually zero third-party places can effectively service these.

2) Yes, it IS a lot of data to potentially lose. But if you actually care about your data, it shouldn't matter since you have backups and are potentially putting this into an array where RAID/parity means you also have fault tolerance and (hopefully) reporting.

3) Just like with any new (to you) drive, use software to run a full surface test of the drive. Something like the older WD Data Lifeguard will suffice here, but some people prefer HD Sentinel, badblocks, H2testw, or the stuff built into their array solution (like unraid preclear or Stablebit Scanner).
How does goHardDrive's packaging compare to SPD's? I've received one DOA hard drive from SPD and they replaced it no questions asked.
Apr 6, 2024
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DreamerbyDesign
Apr 6, 2024
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Quote from MyndFX :
How does goHardDrive's packaging compare to SPD's? I've received one DOA hard drive from SPD and they replaced it no questions asked.
Ive bought from both and they seem about the same with packaging. Both have been more than sufficient
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MyndFX
Apr 6, 2024
231 Posts
From reading the doc's on Western Digital's site, the HE12 is now known as the HC520. I imagine that means these drives are on the older side.

The main differences that I could find between the HC520 and HC550 is that the HC550 is a little faster, and the HC520 uses PMR technology versus the HC550's EAMR technology.
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Apr 6, 2024
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MyndFX
Apr 6, 2024
231 Posts
Server Part Deals, if you are reading this, give us a good deal on some 16TB Ultrastars (not Seagate). I, for one, would be good for at least a dozen of them.

Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.

Apr 6, 2024
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Apr 6, 2024
Kunou
Apr 6, 2024
16 Posts
I've only bought 3 drives (Seagate Exos X18 12TB) from Server Part Deals, and all 3 did have their Power On Hours reset to 0 (now they're close to 8000 since I bought them last year).

I've only bought 2 drives (these same ones from this page) recently from GoHardDrive few months ago, and what I really liked is that the SMART data didn't seemed to be reset. I'm not an export on this, so that's all I check for and for Reallocated Sector Count (which were 0).

Honestly, for those of you on the fence, just get them. Worst case scenario is that you'll have to return them (your data should be safe if you have multiple copies, as everyone should). 5 year warranty is a long time. These guys (and SPD) are known for their great customer support. I'll just buy from GHD from now on though because of the 2 extra years on warranty. Can't say no to that!

Oh, and yes, I've never had issues with my refurb'd drives. I'm a homelabber, though, so my input might not be very important to some.
Last edited by Kunou April 6, 2024 at 01:21 PM.
1
Apr 6, 2024
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Apr 6, 2024
greymoose
Apr 6, 2024
1,134 Posts
I just received the 2 drives I ordered when the recent goharddrive via ebay deal came up for $80. Both powered up in their external enclosures, both had around 32K power-on hours, and sector test is running now (no bad sectors so far). Crystaldiskinfo does not recognize the drives, but Passmark disk checkup did.

HOWEVER, one of the drives only showed 936GB available. I think someone accidentally slapped a 12TB label on a 10TB drive. I've already emailed for an RMA.

edit: goharddrive emailed me back within 3 hours with an RMA label and will replace the drive.

edit 2: The 936GB was the only thing visible and there was an unallocated partition with ~10TB. Once I combined partitions, it was indeed a 12TB disk. Kinda feeling like a tech noob here!
Last edited by greymoose April 7, 2024 at 03:47 PM.
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Apr 6, 2024
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phantasy.
Apr 6, 2024
98 Posts
Mine HGST 12TB with 5yr warranty from GoHardDrive arrived yesterday. It has no Bad Sectors (tested by HDDscan). CrystalDiskInfo: shows 32700 (= 3.7yr) Power On Hours.
Apr 6, 2024
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slicksdeal
Apr 6, 2024
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How are these drives for cold backup storage? It would be my 3rd copy of data and the drive would only get turned on every 3-6 months.
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lastwraith
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Quote from slicksdeal :
How are these drives for cold backup storage? It would be my 3rd copy of data and the drive would only get turned on every 3-6 months.
As good as any other modern HDD. They're big and cheap, so that's nice.
Just make sure you test them thoroughly when you get them, shipping can be cruel.
Apr 7, 2024
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jLikeToShop
Apr 7, 2024
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From the earlier goharddrive deal... My drive has 37k power on hours (4.2yrs), but start/stop count is only 92.

I calculated around 650TB +/- 10% for reads and writes on mine. So, certainly used, but the drives are certified for up to 550TB/year. Also max temp was 50c, within its operating spec.

So I feel it's a fair roll of the dice. Not great, but not horrible. I love that smart data is intact! No other errors/issues, running longer tests now...
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lastwraith
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Quote from j-5 :
You know, I've always thought a "refurb" drive was one where the controller board had issues and needed a new one, or a component replaced.
Refurbished is a very nebulous term these days. I buy a fair amount of refurb PCs and for the most part they check them to power up, reload the OS, and slap a sticker on them.
Not what some people want, but it's fine by me if the price is right. Same applies here IMO, especially since they're welded shut helium drives, there's not much a 3rd party can realistically do.

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lastwraith
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Quote from MyndFX :
I've always wondered how the refurbish process differs between "seller refurbished" (like this one) and "manufacturer refurbished." I'd imagine "seller refurbished" means that they just read and reset the SMART data and scanned the drive for bad blocks. Do they really operate a clean room? I could be wrong though.
These are welded shut to contain the helium. No way is SPD or goharddrive (or anyone similar) opening these up as part of any refurb process, not would I trust a third party to do that anyway.

These are essentially just used (which is fine for the price) and sometimes a reseller will wipe the SMART data, but not always. Seems like goharddrive doesn't usually wipe SMART, so you actually get to see what you got.
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