Skip to content

Toshiba · Data-centre drive · MG10ACA18TE

Toshiba MG10 18TB

Sold for data centres, but underneath it's a standard 3.5in SATA drive and any NAS with a 3.5in bay will take it without complaint.

Capacity
18 TB
Recording
CMR
Speed
7,200 rpm
Warranty
5 years
Workload
550 TB/yr
Failure rate
No failure data

Good for

  • Busy arrays (550 TB a year)
  • Big media libraries
  • RAID, SHR and ZFS rebuilds
  • 5 years' warranty

Not for

  • A desk or bedroom (7,200 rpm is the louder class)

Updated 27 Oct 2026 · Method 2.0

Who the MG10 18 TB is for

It makes most sense when you're chasing terabytes per pound and the NAS sits somewhere noise doesn't matter. Think garage, or a rack in the cupboard under the stairs. You also get five years' warranty, two more than the cheapest NAS lines. It's CMR, which is what you want anywhere near a RAID or ZFS rebuild.

Watch out for

Being 7,200 rpm, it's in the noisier, warmer class of drive, and you'll want it somewhere you don't sit.

There's no Backblaze data worth quoting here. Toshiba's datasheet puts it at 20 dB idle and 32 dB seeking. Power draw is 4.17 W idle and 7.86 W working on Toshiba's figures, or 37 kWh a year if it spends the whole year idling. A 4-bay box full of these gives 54 TB after one drive's worth of parity.

Specifications

Each value links to the Toshiba page or datasheet it came from.

Toshiba MG10 18TB specifications
Drive type Data centre source for Drive type (toshiba-storage.com, opens in new tab)
Capacity 18 TB source for Capacity (toshiba.semicon-storage.com, opens in new tab)
Spindle speed 7,200 rpm source for Spindle speed (toshiba.semicon-storage.com, opens in new tab)
Recording technology CMR source for Recording technology (toshiba.semicon-storage.com, opens in new tab)
Cache 512 MB source for Cache (toshiba.semicon-storage.com, opens in new tab)
Interface SATA 6Gb/s source for Interface (toshiba.semicon-storage.com, opens in new tab)
Form factor 3.5in source for Form factor (toshiba.semicon-storage.com, opens in new tab)
Workload rating 550 TB/yr source for Workload rating (toshiba.semicon-storage.com, opens in new tab)
MTBF / MTTF 2,500,000 hours source for MTBF / MTTF (toshiba.semicon-storage.com, opens in new tab)
Maker's rated AFR 0.35% source for Maker's rated AFR (toshiba.semicon-storage.com, opens in new tab)
Warranty 5 years source for Warranty (toshiba-storage.com, opens in new tab)
Power at idle 4.17 W source for Power at idle (toshiba.semicon-storage.com, opens in new tab)
Power in use 7.86 W source for Power in use (toshiba.semicon-storage.com, opens in new tab)
Noise at idle 20 dB source for Noise at idle (toshiba.semicon-storage.com, opens in new tab)
Noise when seeking 32 dB source for Noise when seeking (toshiba.semicon-storage.com, opens in new tab)

Sources: toshiba.semicon-storage.com, toshiba-storage.com