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Seagate Exos X16 vs WD Ultrastar DC HC520 12TB

It's a split. The Seagate Exos X16 wins on reliability and the WD Ultrastar DC HC520 on where it fits, so it comes down to which of those matters more to you.

Compared on 10 specs from the makers' datasheets and Backblaze's failure data, and a group only gets a winner when the gap between the two is clear-cut.

Side by side

SpecSeagate Exos X16WD Ultrastar DC HC520
Reliability Seagate Exos X16 wins
Backblaze failure rateLifetime, 95% interval in brackets 1.00% (0.93%–1.08%) (better) 1.77% (1.67%–1.87%)
Warranty and workload Level
Warranty 5 years 5 years
Workload ratingReads and writes a year 550 TB/yr 550 TB/yr
Where it fits WD Ultrastar DC HC520 wins
Line Data-centre Data-centre
Rated NAS bays Not stated Not stated
Recording Not stated CMR (better)
Noise and speed Level
Spindle speedFaster reads quicker, slower is quieter 7,200 rpm 7,200 rpm
Noise on the datasheetIdle / seeking, the maker's figure 28 / 32 dB 20 / 36 dB
Power Within 10% at idle
Power at idleMaker's average 5 W 5 W
Power in useMaker's average Not published 6.9 W

The Backblaze figures are lifetime annualised failure rates (Source: Backblaze), and we only call reliability when the two 95% intervals don't overlap.