5 Hard Drive Manufacturers You Should Know

The hard drive is an essential (maybe the most essential) component of your desktop PC and laptop. Hard drives come in almost every shape and size and have more metrics to choose from than an all-you-can-eat buffet. So how do you know which hard drive is right for you?

Do you want a solid-state drive (SSD) or a traditional hard disk drive (HDD)? Is the drive for internal or external use? What storage capacity do you need? How portable does the device need to be? Is speed important to you? How long do you want the drive to last?

These questions, and more, should be top-of-mind when you need to buy a hard drive. But before you decide what type of hard drive you want to buy, you should first determine which company you want to buy from. Who are the major hard drive manufacturers? Which is the best? Who makes hard drives that will meet your needs? And are the largest hard drive manufacturers automatically better?

Thinking about the actual computer hard disk drive manufacturers is an easily overlooked step to selecting a hard drive. But reliability, speed, and innovative features do matter when choosing a hard drive storage device. So before you make your next hard drive purchase, check out this HDD manufacturers list to learn more about who makes hard drives and who does what the best. Using this list, you can find five HDD manufacturers who fit your needs and preferences to help narrow down your search. 

Hard Drive Manufacturer #1: Hewlett-Packard (HP)

Even if you’re not particularly tech-savvy, the name HP should be familiar. It’s probably the most recognized entry on this hard disk manufacturers company list (apart from Sony, but we’ll get to them later).

HP is a top American hard disk drive manufacturer with a global reach and a well-established positive reputation. Over the years, they’ve become known for creating a wide range of hardware; they generally produce excellent hard drives at a reasonable price.

Their hard drives range from small-capacity, personal use flash drives all the way up to much larger media like enterprise arrays. Overall, their devices are well known for providing great value given their established reliability and low cost.

Hard Drive Manufacturer #2: Kingston Technology

Kingston Technology is another American hard disk drive manufacturer, although they have also established facilities worldwide. They produce hard drives that are highly regarded for their speed and reliability. So what sets this hard drive manufacturer apart from others? They focus on reliability over data storage, place a high value on security, and are known for their drive’s power-failure features that support operations even when power is scarce.

Because of their attentiveness to protecting users and their data, and those invaluable power-failure features, their products are popular in the business systems sector.

Hard Drive Manufacturer #3: Seagate

Seagate is one of the most well-known and oldest of the hard drive manufacturers. Founded in 1978, Seagate created its first HDD in 1980. Since that time then, the company has emerged as a leader in the hardware industry. Today, they’re one of the largest computer hard disk drive manufacturers in the world.

In head-to-head comparisons, Seagate hard drives are sometimes ranked as less reliable than other brands. But in recent studies, their smaller hard drives have been found to be more dependable and boasting good transfer and read speeds. One major plus for Seagate is that their hard drives are almost always the most affordable hard drive for personal users. Seagate has added to its success by acquiring companies like Conner Peripherals in 1996, Maxtor in 2006, and Samsung’s HDD division in 2011.

Hard Drive Manufacturer #4: Western-Digital

Founded in 1970, this American hard disk drive manufacturer is also the largest computer hard disk drive manufacturer of internal drives for desktops (3.5” format) and laptops (2.5” format). Their hard drives are generally considered top-quality, fast, and quite reliable. But after acquiring Hitachi in 2012, Western Digital became arguably the most popular hard drive manufacturer across the board.

Western Digital produces a wide range of disks, including SSDs and HDDs. The application of these devices is diverse. Their drives are widely used in home office settings and in large storage arrays for small to large businesses. Western Digital makes high-quality, workhorse hard drives and is considered a top-tier hard drive manufacturer.

Hard Drive Manufacturer #5:  SanDisk

SanDisk is a popular storage device brand that was founded in 1988. But what you may not have realized is that SanDisk has actually been a subsidiary of Western Digital, one of the largest computer hard disk drive manufacturers in the world, since 2016! Headquartered in California, SanDisk primarily focuses on flash memory like memory cards and readers, USB flash drives, and Solid State Drives (SSDs).

SanDisk’s co-founder Eli Harari was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President Obama in 2014 to recognize the company’s integral role in developing modern flash memory solutions.

This hard drive manufacturer’s company list is a great place to start before you make your next hard drive purchase. If you’re in the market for a new hard drive because your previous hardware has failed, you may be concerned about lost data. If that’s the case, DriveSavers is here for all your data recovery needs. Contact DriveSavers to find out if your data is recoverable before buying your next hard drive.