3TB 32MB Cache 5700PM SATA 6.0Gb/S 3.5" Internal Surveillance CCTV DVR Hard Drive (MD3000GSA3257DVR)

This drive is a rebranded Hitachi Deskstar 5K3000 HDS5C3030ALA630. Mine will be used externally for backup purposes only. Upon initial boot, the SMART data displayed zero power hours/cycles, zero errors, zero reallocated sectors/events, etc. and all tests with WinDFT passed. *WinDFT is a diagnostic tool for Hitachi/HGST drives.I expected the drive to be new/unused because it is not advertised as refurbished/renewed; however, there are light scuffs on the metal cover and scratches around several of the mounting screw holes. It formatted successfully and as of now, functions as expected.The 5K3000 is not a performance drive, so don’t expect it to be fast. Benchmark numbers are around 100 MB/s for read and write. Actual performance while copying data fluctuates from 65-80 MB/s depending on the size and type of files copied. Performance is comparable to Western Digital Blue or Seagate Barracuda even though their price and benchmarks are significantly higher.Research reveals that Hitachi drives are known to make noise, but this one is reasonably quiet even while used in an open-style dock. Upon powering on/off, the drive makes the typical spin up/down noise. At idle, it makes a soft grinding/vibration noise. Under load it is pretty quiet. The noise at idle is similar to the write noise on my WD drives. I am not very familiar with Hitachi drives and don’t know if this is normal or not. The noise is consistent and like I stated, goes away under load. Hmm.During testing, format and initial copying of data, I had fans positioned around the drive to keep it cool since it was powered on for 18 hours. With the fans, temps stayed around 80 degrees F (70 ambient). For weekly syncing of files, I probably won’t use the fans since the drive will be running for a few minutes (max) instead of hours and I don’t expect temps to get much higher than ambient. I will automatically monitor temps with a program and set it to alert me if temps go above my acceptable limit.The price of this drive fluctuated between $36.99 - 39.95 over the last few weeks. An old stock/non-performance 3TB drive for under $40 is good - especially if the drive is truly new/unused. I have my doubts and think this drive is most likely refurbished/renewed and only new to me. As long as it serves its intended purpose for data backup and doesn’t fail from using it only a few minutes per month for a few years, I’ll be satisfied.

We all should know by now for the price we pay this is most likely a hitachi/hgst drive with the smart data and counters reset. It should come at no surprise there is a gamble when you buy these. Once in a while you get a bad one. The return process went smoothly.One thing to note is my drive was 7200 RPM. I when i ran full disk diagnostics It sounded different from other used drives i bought. This should have been my first sign.It’s passed full diagnostics and then i placed in my NAS anyway. Started throwing errors a few days later and then freenas outright dropped the drive out the pool a few hours later. When in doubt or if the drive isn’t even the right rpm, return. Might be best to consider a different seller.**I use crystaldisk info and western digital data lifeguard tools for diagnostics and testing.

The drive ran quiet and smooth. A surface scan came out fine with no bad sectors. The pricing was acceptable but not supper low.Issues encountered:1.) It runs HOT during continuous use. During the surface scan the temperature stabilized at 52 degrees C ( 125 F ), much too hot to hold in your hand. As a reference I checked a used WDC purple 3Tb with 8890 hours on it that I purchased on Ebay for $30. The used purple only reached 41 degrees C during the surface scan.2.) This drive has a small vent hole that commonly would have a label next to it warning you - DON’T COVER THE HOLE. The large MDD label on this drive complicatedly sealed off that hole.My guess is that this drive is an old Hitachi that was removed from service due to rising temperature, and that it was tested, scrubbed, tweaked, relabeled, and sold for use in non critical, intermittent video surveillance systems. It should do fine in that environment.

SMART data reports as Hitachi Deskstar 5K3000. SMART data reset has been to zero hours / power on cycles, as expected. Full surface test came up 100% error free with no remapped sectors.

This thing works perfect for about 3 months then just randomly stops working I have to go in unplug everything and turn it all back on again. Go in and reformat it. And it don’t save any of my previous stuff. It’s junk stay away. There is no way to contact the company I’ve tried a few time.