TESTED: Western Digital 18TB Ultrastar DC HC550 hard drive in OWC Mercury Elite Pro USB 3.2 enclosure

Related: git, hard drive, Other World Computing, OWC Mercury Elite Pro, source code and versioning software, SSD, USB, USB-A

This page evaluates the Western Digital 18TB Ultrastar DC HC550 hard drive for speed across the entire volume capacity as well as speeds for 32K to 512MB transfers.

The OWC Mercury Elite Pro USB 3.2 enclosure was used to house the drive. It is a fanless, USB 3.2, all-aluminum proven performer.

The WD18 is in effect a much faster 14TB hard drive than a 14TB-capacity hard drive.

The Western Digital 18TB Ultrastar DC HC550 is the fastest hard drive that MPG has ever tested.

18TB Single-Drive Storage as Tested
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Western Digital 18TB hard drive: speed over volume capacity

Western Digital 18TB hard drive: speed vs transfer size

18TB Western Digital Hard Drive installed in OWC Mercury Elite Pro USB 3.2 Enclosure (outer cover removed)