Seagate quietly launched the world’s largest HDD with a capacity of 32 TB, but it uses a controversial technology
- ST32000NM003K is part of the Exos M series and uses SMR, which is more complex to implement and manage
- The revelation comes weeks after Western Digital launched its own 32TB HDD
- And almost a year after Seagate debuted its second largest drive, a 30TB model
Seagate has launched its largest hard drive ever, a 32TB model in the Exos M Series, just weeks after Western Digital unveiled its own 32TB HDD.
The new one Exos M is available in two capacities: a 30 TB model ST30000NM004K, which uses conventional magnetic recording (CMR), and a 32 TB model ST32000NM003K, which uses Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR). The latter’s overlapping write tracks are the reason for the larger capacity, and WD’s drive uses the same recording technology.
This release comes almost a year after Seagate introduced its previous largest drive, a 30TB model in the Exos range.
Stop, HAMR time!
The drives, which feature a SATA III interface with data transfer speeds of up to 6 Gbps, are built on Seagate’s somewhat controversial Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) platform in combination with Mozaic 3+ technology.
This combination allows the drive to deliver 3TB per drive, maximizing storage density while maintaining the industry-standard 3.5-inch form factor for seamless integration into existing server setups.
Seagate says the new drive offers three times the energy efficiency per terabyte compared to typical models, reducing operating costs and supporting the company’s sustainability goals. The Exos M Series is also built using more renewable energy and recycled materials than any other Seagate product.
The drive combines what the company calls proven components from previous generations with next-generation improvements. About 90% of the components are carried over from previous models.
There has long been skepticism surrounding the HAMR technology, which took Seagate more than a decade to perfect, with concerns about its readiness, quality, reliability and compatibility.
However, Seagate emphasizes that these concerns are unfounded. The estimated mean time between failures (MTBF) for Seagate Mozaic 3+ hard drives and Exos enterprise hard drives is reported to be 2.5 million hours.
Although development has suffered numerous delays, Seagate states that it has now passed qualification testing for its HAMR-based Mozaic drives and remains on track to ramp up production in 2025.