I have a Synology that needs more storage. Thoughts on WD vs Seagate?
I’ve always bought WD Red, but with the recent WD controversies (including the SMR/CMR scandal and the recent WDDA warning), I’m considering Seagate. Also, I can’t find any difference between the IronWolf Pro and Exos drives. What am I missing?
| Metric | Seagate IronWolf Pro 20TB | Seagate Exos X20 20TB | WD Red Pro 20TB | 
|---|---|---|---|
| Spindle speed (RPM) | 7200 | 7200 | 7200 | 
| Internal transfer rate | 285 MB/s | 272 MB/s | 268 MB/s | 
| Gas | Helium | Helium | ??? | 
| Cache | 256MB | 256MB | 512MB | 
| CMR? | Yes | Yes | Yes | 
| MTBF (hours) | 2.5m | 2.5m | 2.5m | 
| Non-recoverable errors per bits read | 1 in 10^15 | 1 in 10^15 | 1 in 10^15 | 
| Load unload cycles | 600k | 600k | 600k | 
| Workload rate (TB/yr) | 550 | 550 | 550 | 
| Annualized Failure Rate (AFR) | 0.35% | 0.35% | ??? | 
| Warranty | 5yr | 5yr | 5yr | 
| Price | $349.99 | $329.99 | $379.99 | 
Also, please don’t recommend shucking (those drives are in external enclosures because they didn’t pass QC to become internal HDDs).


I always run WD. None of my drives have failed in regular use. Been using WD in my NAS for two years now without issues.